Will Slysoft support both HD-DVD and Blue Ray? [Archive]

View Full Version : Will Slysoft support both HD-DVD and Blue Ray?

lordvader

6th February 2007, 23:40

Does SlySoft tend to support both formats if they both take off? Or will they support whichever one out shines the other? I know both are new and it is a little difficult to say which one will be the fore runner.

DetroitBaseball

6th February 2007, 23:42

Slysoft as of now is going with HD-DVD, this could change though if Blu-Ray becomes the winner in the next few months. AnyHD-DVD is due to be released in the next few weeks.

transws6am

7th February 2007, 13:41

DetroitBaseball

7th February 2007, 13:42

SamuriHL

7th February 2007, 19:03

I own both a Blu-Ray and HD-DVD player. The Blu-Ray picture is dog crap compared to the HD-DVD. I don't understand how anyone can argue superiority on the Blu-Ray side. Anyone that does has never seen both pictures side by side.

It was a stupid idea for Sony to stick with mpeg2 for a lot of their BluRay transfers. Just because you have the space to do it doesn't make it the right thing to do. The ones that use the other formats are closer in quality to HD-DVD.

James

7th February 2007, 20:16

It was a stupid idea for Sony to stick with mpeg2 for a lot of their BluRay transfers. Just because you have the space to do it doesn't make it the right thing to do. The ones that use the other formats are closer in quality to HD-DVD.
I believe *all* releases from Sony Pictures are MPEG2. No wonder they need 50GB discs. :doh:
I have only seen one single HD DVD where the feature was encoded in MPEG2, and it was not a mainstream title (Chronos).

SamuriHL

7th February 2007, 20:49

I believe *all* releases from Sony Pictures are MPEG2. No wonder they need 50GB discs. :doh:
I have only seen one single HD DVD where the feature was encoded in MPEG2, and it was not a mainstream title (Chronos).

I thought, and of course I have no experience with this so I am probably wrong here, that they were STARTING to release BluRay discs encoded in the other formats? I'll have to see if I can find where I saw that.

James

7th February 2007, 20:57

I thought, and of course I have no experience with this so I am probably wrong here, that they were STARTING to release BluRay discs encoded in the other formats? I'll have to see if I can find where I saw that.
The other studios do, but I believe Sony Pictures sticks with MPEG2. But I may be wrong, as things change quite rapidly.
EDIT: Sony Pictures. I mean the movie studio. Columbia / TriStar. A Sony Pictures Corporation. Not Sony "Blu-ray".

DetroitBaseball

7th February 2007, 20:59

Codecs are compression schemes that can be used to store audio and video information on a disc. The BD-ROM specification places requirements on both hardware decoders (players) and the movie-software (content).

For video, ISO MPEG-2, H.264/AVC, and SMPTE VC-1 are player-mandatory. (This means all BD-ROM players must be capable of decoding all three video codecs.) MPEG-2 video allows decoder backward compatibility for DVDs. H.264, sometimes called MPEG-4 part 10, is a more recent video codec. VC-1 is a competing MPEG-4 derivative codec proposed by Microsoft (based on Microsoft's previous work in Windows Media 9). BD-ROM titles with video must store video using one of the three mandatory codecs (multiple codecs on a single title are allowed).

Initial versions of Sony's Blu-ray Disc-authoring software only included support for MPEG-2 video, so the initial Blu-ray Discs were forced to use MPEG-2 rather than the newer codecs, VC-1 and H.264. An upgrade was subsequently released supporting the newer compression methods so the second wave of Blu-ray Disc titles were able to make use of this. The choice of codecs affects disc cost (due to related licensing/royalty payments) as well as program capacity. The two more advanced video codecs can typically achieve twice the video runtime of MPEG-2. When using MPEG-2, quality considerations would limit the publisher to around two hours of high-definition content on a single-layer (25 GB) BD-ROM.

For audio, BD-ROM players are required to support Dolby Digital AC-3, DTS, and linear PCM (up to 7.1 channels). Dolby Digital Plus, and lossless formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD are player optional. BD-ROM titles must use one of mandatory audiotracks for the primary soundtrack (linear PCM 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1.). A secondary audiotrack, if present, may use any of the mandatory or optional codecs.[8] For uncompressed PCM and lossless audio in Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio formats, Blu-ray Discs support encoding in up to 24-bit/192 kHz for up to six channels, or up to eight channels of up to 24-bit/96 kHz encoding.[9] For reference, even new big-budget Hollywood films are mastered in only 24-bit/48 kHz, with 16-bit/48 kHz being common for ordinary films.

For users recording digital television broadcasts, the Blu-ray Disc's baseline datarate of 54 Mbit/s is more than adequate to record high-definition broadcasts. Support for new codecs will evolve as they are encapsulated by broadcasters into their MPEG-2 transport streams, and consumer set-top boxes capable of decoding them are rolled out. For Blu-ray Disc movies the maximum transfer rate is 54 Mbit/s (1.5x) for the combined audio and video payload, of which a maximum of 40 Mbit/s can be dedicated to video data. This compares favorably to the maximum of 36.55 Mbit/s in HD DVD movies for audio and video data.[10]
From Wikipedia.

TM2-Megatron

7th February 2007, 21:00

According to the Wikipedia Blu-Ray article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-Ray#Codecs):

Initial versions of Sony's Blu-ray Disc-authoring software only included support for MPEG-2 video, so the initial Blu-ray Discs were forced to use MPEG-2 rather than the newer codecs, VC-1 and H.264. An upgrade was subsequently released supporting the newer compression methods so the second wave of Blu-ray Disc titles were able to make use of this. The choice of codecs affects disc cost (due to related licensing/royalty payments) as well as program capacity. The two more advanced video codecs can typically achieve twice the video runtime of MPEG-2. When using MPEG-2, quality considerations would limit the publisher to around two hours of high-definition content on a single-layer (25 GB) BD-ROM.

So it wouldn't surprise me if MPEG-2 compression dissapeared entirely off HD releases in the near future.

SamuriHL

7th February 2007, 21:01

The other studios do, but I believe Sony Pictures sticks with MPEG2. But I may be wrong, as things change quite rapidly.
EDIT: Sony Pictures. I mean the movie studio. Columbia / TriStar. A Sony Pictures Corporation. Not Sony "Blu-ray".

Ah, ok, I see what you mean. I was pretty sure there were bluray movies out there that weren't mpeg2 based. :) mpeg2 is probably the WORST idea for HD video. VC1 would be my choice(as much as I hate supporting MS...it is the best as far as I've seen so far).

DetroitBaseball

7th February 2007, 21:01

According to the Wikipedia Blu-Ray article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-Ray#Codecs):

So it wouldn't surprise me if MPEG-2 compression dissapeared entirely off HD releases in the near future.
Uhh, I just posted that. :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

SamuriHL

7th February 2007, 21:02

According to the Wikipedia Blu-Ray article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-Ray#Codecs):

So it wouldn't surprise me if MPEG-2 compression dissapeared entirely off HD releases in the near future.

We could only hope. :D Maybe BluRay can go along with it? ROFLMAO!

James

7th February 2007, 21:04

According to the Wikipedia Blu-Ray article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-Ray#Codecs):

So it wouldn't surprise me if MPEG-2 compression dissapeared entirely off HD releases in the near future.

Really? Licensing costs may drive the decision:

The choice of codecs affects disc cost (due to related licensing/royalty payments)

James

7th February 2007, 21:09

Ah, ok, I see what you mean. I was pretty sure there were bluray movies out there that weren't mpeg2 based. :) mpeg2 is probably the WORST idea for HD video. VC1 would be my choice(as much as I hate supporting MS...it is the best as far as I've seen so far).
You're right, VC1 is really awsome. It is used on most HD DVD discs I tried.
Only one studio (the Weinstein Company / Dimension Films) doesn't use VC1 but MP4-H264, and I have to say, it looks very, very good, too.

TM2-Megatron

7th February 2007, 21:10

SamuriHL

7th February 2007, 21:22

You're right, VC1 is really awsome. It is used on most HD DVD discs I tried.
Only one studio (the Weinstein Company / Dimension Films) doesn't use VC1 but MP4-H264, and I have to say, it looks very, very good, too.

I wasn't going to comment on H.264 cause I've yet to see anything done in that format yet. But I've seen VC1 and I really like it. MS has been on a roll lately.

SlyFox 1

7th February 2007, 22:04

Lately SamuriHL, they have been on a roll since 1984. Too bad we didn't buy that stock back then. We would all have HD and Blu-Ray entertainment Centers now. LOL.:D

SamuriHL

7th February 2007, 22:15

Lately SamuriHL, they have been on a roll since 1984. Too bad we didn't buy that stock back then. We would all have HD and Blu-Ray entertainment Centers now. LOL.:D

Ok, ok. I'll give you that. :) I'm a former C++ developer who has switched to Java and gotten away from Windows only development these days, so, I tend to think about MS from that side of things. Maybe I'm a bit jaded. :) However, I absolutely give them MAJOR props for the Xbox 360 and Live. This is coming from a HUGE Sony Playstation fan...who is now an EX-Sony fan who refuses to get a PS3. But yes, stock would have been nice!! Too bad I was only 11. :D

DetroitBaseball

7th February 2007, 22:16

Ok, ok. I'll give you that. :) I'm a former C++ developer who has switched to Java and gotten away from Windows only development these days, so, I tend to think about MS from that side of things. Maybe I'm a bit jaded. :) However, I absolutely give them MAJOR props for the Xbox 360 and Live. This is coming from a HUGE Sony Playstation fan...who is now an EX-Sony fan who refuses to get a PS3. But yes, stock would have been nice!! Too bad I was only 11. :D
Sweet, I didn't know that you knew how to program. How geeky are you with computers? No offense.

SamuriHL

7th February 2007, 22:28

Sweet, I didn't know that you knew how to program. How geeky are you with computers? No offense.

More than I care to admit. :D I've been using computers since I was 7. Started out on a Vic 20. That's actually when my interest in programming started. From that age I knew what I wanted to do in life. I'm the first person everyone in my circle of friends comes to for any kind of computer advice. I really enjoy working with the machines.

DetroitBaseball

7th February 2007, 22:33

More than I care to admit. :D I've been using computers since I was 7. Started out on a Vic 20. That's actually when my interest in programming started. From that age I knew what I wanted to do in life. I'm the first person everyone in my circle of friends comes to for any kind of computer advice. I really enjoy working with the machines.
I'm pretty intelligent with computers myself, it's good to know that this forum isn't just full of n00bs. No offense to n00bs.

SamuriHL

7th February 2007, 22:36

I'm pretty intelligent with computers myself, it's good to know that this forum isn't just full of n00bs. No offense to n00bs.

Everyone has to start somewhere. Forums like this help you get up to speed rather quickly which is great. I've learned a lot from forums like CDF and of course this forum now. Always nice to be around people that are so knowledgeable. Learning is great. :)

DetroitBaseball

7th February 2007, 22:37

Everyone has to start somewhere. Forums like this help you get up to speed rather quickly which is great. I've learned a lot from forums like CDF and of course this forum now. Always nice to be around people that are so knowledgeable. Learning is great. :)
I like helping out beginners so that they can properly use Slysoft products and pass on the information to help others. Because you're right, everyone has to start somewhere.

frogman

13th February 2007, 12:18

Just read Sony Blu ray Disc will go with VC-1 coding, Starting sometime late June 2007. Can someone confirm this.

SamuriHL

13th February 2007, 12:24

Just read Sony Blu ray Disc will go with VC-1 coding, Starting sometime late June 2007. Can someone confirm this.

I can't confirm it, but, it'd be a very good move on their part if they did. It'll vastly improve their image quality.

James

13th February 2007, 12:28

Just read Sony Blu ray Disc will go with VC-1 coding, Starting sometime late June 2007. Can someone confirm this.
Blu-ray titles from Warner are already encoded with VC-1. I don't believe you'll see VC-1 with the "Blu-ray exclusive" studios anytime soon.
Even Paramount (format neutral) encodes the HD DVD titles with VC-1, the Blu-ray titles with MPEG2 or MPEG4-AVC.
Sony Pictures just started to move from MPEG2 to MPEG4-AVC.

SamuriHL

13th February 2007, 12:35

Blu-ray titles from Warner are already encoded with VC-1. I don't believe you'll see VC-1 with the "Blu-ray exclusive" studios anytime soon.
Even Paramount (format neutral) encodes the HD DVD titles with VC-1, the Blu-ray titles with MPEG2 or MPEG4-AVC.
Sony Pictures just started to move from MPEG2 to MPEG4-AVC.

As long as they move away from mpeg2 I consider it a good thing. Yes, I'm glad they kept MPEG2 in the standard, but, I never honestly expected them to actually USE it for new stuff. The other two codecs are by far more useful for HD video.

jolson

14th February 2007, 09:11

Maybe, but I can't see licensing costs remaining a factor forever. The difference will become negligable, eventually. And even now, there's still the advantage that the other codecs have better compression than MPEG-2, allowing you to get more bonus content onto a disc alongside the movie without going to a second disc.
As I understand it, licensing cost would be one more reason for everyone but Sony Pictures to *stay away* from MPEG-2. It has the highest licensing cost (but Sony Corp grabs a big chunk of that). M$ doesn't take *all* of the licensing fee for VC-1, there're several splitting that money as well.