 |
 |
 The High Definition DVD Studio Support Petition Campaign |
 |
|
Welcome to the world of High Definition DVD! December 17th 2007 Don't get STUCK with an obsolete Bluray player - Here are some guidelines to picking the right one! The older Bluray player designs are now being discounted for "clearance" out there on the internet. But no one tells potential buyers that they are essentially obsolete, nor which ones meet the "full" BD 1.1 Bluray specification, and which ones are only the BD 1.0 "initial" or "grace period" spec. So we have come up with a helpful guide on how to avoid getting "stuck" like a pig. It is easier to be mislead than you think, and we feel that "mislead" IS the correct terminology, as Bluray advertising and in-store promotions do not adequately warn consumers that the players are not capable of much of what is promoted as being so-called strengths of the format. In fact, it now appears that there may even be some class-action lawsuits brewing. There are 4 potential pitfalls that we recommend you avoid if choosing a Bluray player, which we will explain in more detail below: 1) Do not buy an "interim spec" or "grace period" BD 1.0 player Our recommendations are at the bottom of this page, but we think you'll find the reasoning that follows to be very interesting reading. Also, you can jump into the middle of an interesting conversation here at AVS that shows some of the thinking as to why these "player profiles" were adopted for Bluray, for them to avoid being "late" to the HD party, even though they were clearly not ready. Here is a little more information about our recommendations: 1) In previous stories on this issue (1, 2, 3), we have expressed our opinion that pretty much all Bluray players released to date are obsolete. This is because none of them met the "Basic" functionality of the official Bluray standard. Because the Bluray format was not really ready for the market when it launched, an "interim" or "grace period" player specification was agreed upon, that dropped certain performance requirements for Bluray players that were released in the "early" days of the standard. However, this "grace period" was extended until November 1st, 2007 - at which point it was announced that even then, certain players would be allowed to be introduced that were not BD 1.1 compliant. What is the difference? The "initial", "interim" or "grace period" specification players (you choose you favorite name, the BDA have renamed these specs so many times that it is mind boggling) are not able to perform the full features of the Bluray player standard. Basically, some few key areas are affected: Text based subtitles; Dual stream video decoding for PiP and/or real-time commentaries; Dual stream audio decoding for real-time commentary overlays, etc. "Interim" spec players are not able to perform these features, whereas "full spec" BD 1.1 players are supposed to be able to. Here is more info. What's that you say? But can't all HD DVD players already do this stuff? Yup... they can, but Bluray?... not necessarily. In addition, the Bluray camp have now "renamed" the BD 1.1 specification and have called it "Bonus View" - so perhaps they feel that you should think that you are "lucky" to get this basic functionality. And of course, even BD 1.1 Bluray players still cannot do interactive networking over the internet, like you can with HD DVD. That requires a network port, and BD 2.0 functionality - yes, that's right, yet another player specification. They call BD 2.0 "BD-Live". HD DVD calls it a standard feature in all players, from the first to the last. 2) Insufficient horsepower? What the heck do you mean "insufficient horsepower" - it's just a DVD player isn't it? Well, actually no. Bluray has had a track record of various apparent problems with the Bluray Java (BD-J) programming language that they selected to run the interactive functions of the format. Some of these problems seemed to be linked to them having difficulties getting the BD-J "virtual machines" properly designed and tested for each of the players released, so that every movie disc functions predictably on the various players. However, some of the problems with BD-J unquestionably have boiled down to some of the Bluray player just not having enough hardware muscle to run the BD-J software on the discs. A quick search in Google will pop up loads of articles or pages like this and this. On some discs, the initial players can take up to a reported 2 1/2 minutes to load!! This is a HUGELY important consideration in our opinion! The more Bluray discs that start to use the touted interactive features, then the MORE unhappy you will become at the format if you are stuck with one of these obsolete, underpowered players! Certainly, you wouldn't want to get stuck with one of those. In contrast, the newest Bluray player (Panasonic BD30) will apparently load those problem Java discs in "only" 45 to 61 seconds. This is considered a great improvement by Bluray fans. Frankly, I've never seen a HD DVD disc take that long, whether it had interactive content or not! And before you get excited about that Panasonic BD30 Bluray player, don't... it cannot decode ANY of the next gen audio standards, such as DD+ or Dolby TrueHD (which all HD DVD player, of course, are required to do). 3) Which brings us to point number 3 - We strongly advise against choosing a Bluray player which cannot decode the new Hi Def audio formats, such as DD+ and Dolby TrueHD. To do so, would be akin to buying an HD player that can only output standard definition. We cannot sanction any HD or Bluray player that is not able to decode at least TrueHD and DD+. So many films are now released with stunning soundtracks in these formats, and if your player is not able to decode them, your only other choice is to buy an expensive new AVR which can decode them. Why is this even an issue to consider? Well, unlike HD DVD, the Bluray standard did not require that players be able to decode these audio standards, so the field is very "hit or miss". Remember that new Panasonic BD-30 we just mentioned, which is the first BD 1.1 player to ship? Guess what - it does not decode DD+, nor TrueHD, nor DTS MA. Don't be taken for a mug. 4) Our final recommendation is to try to make sure that, if you MUST buy a Bluray player, that you at least ensure that it has a network port which it can use to access the internet. Why? Interactive content is the future of home video. And the ability to download new content, or features, is something that you will come to appreciate. Not only that, but I strongly feel that this internet connection is the best and easiest way to download firmware updates for your next-gen player. Again, HD DVD players, right from the very first unit built, are ALL mandated to have this Ethernet port, and are all capable of accessing the internet for content, or for system updates. But Bluray cut another corner here, so watch out. Recommendations: So what Bluray players can do these basic things? Well, first of all, the PS3 game machine is rumored to be getting an update in the future to make it BD 1.1 compliant. Also, the PS3 has enough horsepower to be able to run Bluray Java adequately. However, let's face it, it's a game machine, and it's probably not the best thing for placing in your rack of AV gear. And it's still twice the price of an HD DVD player. So we'll focus on "standalone" or "dedicated" Bluray players. Although the Panasonic BD30 is the first BD 1.1 player to reach the market, it cannot decode ANY of the next-gen audio formats, nor does it have a network port. So we've had to rule this out. Every other dedicated Bluray player on the market is only BD 1.0 and/or uses underpowered hardware that is inadequate for acceptable BD-J functionality... except two. So the two Bluray players that are BD 1.1, can handle BD-J, can decode DD+ and TrueHD and have network ports? The LG BH-200 and the Samsung BD-UP5000. Perhaps it is no coincidence that these are Dual-Format Bluray and HD DVD players. By having to meet the requirements to carry the HD DVD logo, these payers were required to have the hardware necessary to decode dual-stream audio and video, which made them also BD 1.1 compliant. And they had to carry Ethernet ports, which also made them capable of getting BD 2.0 compliance later, through a promised firmware update. And they also had to decode DD+ and TrueHD audio to meet the HD DVD specs, which means they make great Bluray players also. The only downside now becomes price. These two players are not cheap, but there is no other dedicated Bluray player on the market yet, that meets the BD 1.1 spec, and the other requirements listed here. If these are outside of your budget, then you are better off waiting it out - something cheaper will come along in the Bluray camp soon enough. And in the meantime - buy yourself an HD DVD player. At least HD DVD did it right, set the right standards for all players, and priced them reasonably. It's no wonder that HD DVD standalone players are said to outsell their Bluray counterparts by almost 3 to 1. List of BD 1.0 ("interim spec" or "initial spec") Bluray players to avoid These are the players that we would urge you to avoid like the plague. The following players are only "grace period" BD 1.0 players and will NEVER be able to be upgraded to the full BD 1.1 standard, because they lack the required hardware. (If you notice any errors here, please contact us here and we will happily correct it). Don't get bitten by the Bluray "unfinished format" bug. LG Electronics BD100 |
|
| ||||||||||||
|
|