Audio Video News

Blu-ray Players, Java Interactivity, And1080p


At the close of CES 2006 a few stories circulated around the Internet that some of the first Blu-ray players out of the gate would not support the full implementation of Java-based interactivity (dubbed BDJ, for Blu-ray Disc Java) touted as one of the format's chief selling points. These stories expounded that players would be classified as either basic or full profile, with the latter being the only players that would support full BD-J interactivity.

Intrigued for obvious reasons, I contacted the Blu-ray Disc Association's PR firm and asked for clarification. Pioneer's Andy Parsons told me in a phone interview that he doesn't know where the information became distorted, but that all licensed Blu-ray players will be required to be fully BDJ capable with no distinctions of functionality. Pioneer's own Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1 will certainly be fully BDJ compatible and is currently targeted for the end of May. Parsons added that he expects BD software in stores when the players arrive.

I took further advantage of having Parsons on the phone to ask how Pioneer's BD player will handle 1080p native material on Blu-ray Discs (BDs) in a world in which native 1080p is supported by so few displays. He answered that to his knowledge, BDs will store movie material at 1080p/24fps. Users will be able to select whether their BD players output the native 1080p signal from the disc, or the more commonly supported1080i. In the latter case, the player will interlace the signal and essentially perform 3/2 pulldown on the fly to create the 1080i output at the proper frame rate. That seems like a lot of processing overhead, but Parsons assured me that's how the Pioneer Elite player will work, and other players are likely to do the same. There could be a disparity in image quality between players based on how well this conversion is performed.

Sony Blu-ray Discs To Cost 15-20% More Than DVDs At Wholesale


Sony Pictures announced its wholesale pricing structure for BDs. While catalog titles will wholesale for $17.95, new releases will wholesale at $23.45, which according to Reuters is a 15-20% premium over new release current generation DVDs. Suggested retail prices have not been announced, but one can safely assume wholesalers are not going to give up their margins, so we can expect BDs to cost more than DVDs currently cost, and it wouldn't be at all surprising if the 15-20% premium wholesalers pay is passed right along to consumers.

A great many pundits believe that if BDs or HD DVDs cost significantly more than current generation DVDs it's unlikely that the average consumer will be willing to pay more, at least delaying either format's widespread acceptance. For a fact, DVDs and DVD players became a lot cheaper before DVD became the ubiquitous format it is today.

Sony also announced that starting in March it will be experimenting with combo packages containing both DVD and UMD discs, the latter of which only plays on PlayStation Portable game consoles. The combo packages will cost only $2-$4 more than the DVD release alone. If this model proves successful it could open the door to similar combo packs featuring current-gen DVDs and BDs.

More HD For Your $10.99- TNT HD To Debut On DirecTV In Days


DirecTV announced that on February 17th it will be adding TNT HD to it's HD package, which currently costs $10.99 per month and features ESPN and ESPN2 HD, Discovery HD Theater, HDNet and HDNet Movies, and Universal HD. Even better, I've confirmed with DirecTV that TNT HD will be broadcast using MPEG2 compression, so consumers with current triple-LNB oval dishes and MPEG2 HD receivers can receive it without upgrading to the newfangled MPEG4 compatible equipment.