Bear in mind that these are WMV encodes but it still gives some indication of storage capacity requirements for hi-def movies. Also note that all HD-DVD movies on release are already are 1080p. So where exactly is the extra capacity on HD-DVD or Blu-ray disc going to be used for? There's no point having all this extra capacity is there isn’t a requirement for it!

Ali

I am working on several Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD projects as we speak. Unfortunately, I have to say that as a Producer...Sony's Blu-ray Disc is my preferred format. I have already run in to limitations with the 25Mbps Video / 5Mbps Audio Stream that HD-DVD offers and had to compromise by using DTS-HD instead of DTS Master Audio for the Soundtracks. Also, the early generation HD MPEG Video Encoders, while they look great (they really do), are not all that efficient with respect to the encoding process. I am having to run all my video encodes up to the very edge of the Maximum BitRate to get acceptable results.

Blu-ray Disc on the other had gives me more Bandwidth providing a 32Mbps Video / 8Mbps Audio Stream to work with....but I should be able to get DTS Master Audio on the disc at around 6Mbps...and maybe a Dolby True HD at 640Kbps...but not much else. To be honest, I could still use more Audio Bandwidth...but the Video Bandwidth should be good. I am pushing the envelope on the video encodes and believe I can get them to look spectacular ... even with the early generation encoders.

Bill Whalen, senior product manager at Hitachi, told us that while the chip can create and convert the highest resolution, the TV itself cannot. In fact, the chip may take a 1080i (interlaced) or 1080p source, convert it to 1080p (in case of 1080i sources) - and then render it back down to a resolution the TV actually supports. In the case of the four new Hitachi LCD TVs, which will be introduced later this year for prices between $2200 and $3000, that would be 768p (1366x768 progressive).

All is not what it seems in the world of 1080p TVs;

http://tomshardware.co.uk/2006/06/07/10 ... ily_1080p/



First they were TV that couldn’t handle 1080p input but not they are TVs that take 1080p input but hasn't got the resolution to display them One day they might get the combo right

Ali

There are many Displays, in all formats, LCD Plasma CRT Projection etc, that have a native resolution of 1920x1080 (1080P)

According to the Sony Style website, the BDP-S1 will now ship "on or about August 15, 2006." The USD 1000 player was originally given a June 30th launch date, which was later changed to July.

Pioneer has also abandoned the proposed June release date for its BDP-HD1 player, apparently due to interoperability issues. It will now launch in September at a price point of USD 1500 - a drop of USD 300 from the MRP originally suggested.

Blu-ray video quality was excellent. No surprise there. The only Blu-ray software I had was Memento--the Blu-ray disc that'll be included inside the box of every BD-P1000--and a special demo disc that contained a few trailers, a Black Crowes concert, and some great close-up footage of intricate windup watches (?). I viewed all material on a calibrated, 56-inch, 1080p Samsung DLP, the HL-S5687W, in a darkened room with the player set to 1080p output mode.

1080i vs. 1080p was a wash. Much ado has been made of the fact that Blu-ray players can output 1080p resolution while first-generation HD-DVD players, namely the Toshiba HD-A1 and its ilk, can output "only" 1080i. I've said before that it's nearly impossible to tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p sources on a 1080p HDTV, and after the following test, I feel even more confident that 1080p output capability is overrated.

Michel which kit are you getting? Will you be getting either HD-DVD or Blu-ray any time soon or wait till the dust has settled?

Ali