Blu-ray и HD-DVD

Тем временем в крупном интернет магазине www.dvdempire.com фильмы на Blu-Ray продаются почти в два раза лучше фильмов на HD DVD
Blu-ray 63.65%
HD-DVD 36.35%
http://www.dvdempire.com/index.asp?userid=99365259430219&tab_id=60&site_id=69&site_media_id=0
В Японии Blu-Ray также лидер
http://wesleytech.com/blu-ray-takes-96-of-the-japanese-market/
В рождественский сезон в Японии также очень хорошо продавались BD рекордеры.
Panasonic DMR-BW200 = 30 000
Sony BDZ-V9 = 20 000
На Amazon Blu-Ray также лидирует
http://www.eproductwars.com/dvd/

 

Ну так понятно почему.

CES: Blu-ray and HD DVD camps Reveal 2006 Hardware Sales Figures, Both Claim Victory

In dueling CES press conferences Sunday, representatives for both HD DVD and Blu-ray used 2006 sales numbers to claim early victory in the high-def format wars.

For Blu-ray backer Sony, this meant emphasizing the one million PlayStation 3 units unleashed on the market in the fourth quarter of 2006. Since each PS3 comes equipped with a Blu-ray drive, Sony's clear victory was in extending Blu-ray's installed base far beyond that of rival format HD DVD, whose supporters announced at their own press conference an installed base of just 175,000 players sold.


But the HD DVD camp had its own story to tell, emphasizing their format's high attach rates (which they annualize at 28 discs per player), while implying that most PS3 owners had yet to actually buy a single Blu-ray movie disc. HD DVD backers went so far as to differentiate buyer intent between the two competing game console high-def playback solutions, including this statement in their CES press release: "With the knowledge that every Xbox 360 HD DVD player sold is purchased by someone who wants to watch high definition movies, studios supporting HD DVD see significant value in the player, as a great way to bring "The Look and Sound of Perfect" to gamers while helping ensure strong movie attach rates for each and every player sold."

Without publicly available (and independently reported) overall high-def disc sales for either HD DVD or Blu-ray, there's no way of officially telling which format might be benefiting most from their stated advantage, although Blu-ray backing studio Fox said this morning in a new press release (look for a separate story on that topic shortly) that Blu-ray disc sales surpassed HD DVD for the first time the week of December 24 -- by a healthy 20%. The studio also cited internal research indicating a growing sales gap that would see Blu-ray outselling HD DVD by a 3.5-to-1 ratio by the end of March this year.
Источник

 

А чего никто не пишет о том, что вроде как похакали защиту Blu-Ray?

 

Консорциум, объединяющий киностудии и компании, ответственные за систему шифрования на дисках DVD высокой плотности, подтвердили, что хакерам удалось получить доступ к ключам и использовать их для расшифровки данных на дисках. Известно, что ключи были получены через уязвимости в программном обеспечении DVD-плееров.


По словам источника из Advanced Access Content System (AACS) Licensing Authority в подтверждение своих слов, хакеры выложили ключи и сами фильмы для общего доступа на веб-сайте. Хакеры не предпринимали попыток взломать сайт самой AACS, а получали ключи в момент их передачи между плеером и диском. Причем проблема затрагивает и HD-DVD диски от Toshiba и Blu-Ray диски от Sony. Такая крупномасштабная ошибка AACS может стать угрозой для DVD-индустрии весом в 24 млрд. долларов.


Помимо этого, AACS заявила, что ей известно о том, что доступ к ключевой информации был получен лишь через некоторые программные продукты. Тем не менее, пока нет никакой информации о том, какие именно это были программы и будут ли отозваны лицензии AACS.


Таким образом, подтверждение факта взлома поступило лишь спустя месяц после того, как хакер под ником Muslix64 опубликовал в сети описание того, как он расправился над системой шифрования, используя программное обеспечение DVD-плеера.

 

drug, напишите пожайлуста источник текста! Сами перевели или скопировали - если второй вариант то вдвойне нужен источник.
Тем временем интервью с самим muslix64!

Interview with muslix64, Developer of BackupHDDVD

The next generation of optical disc technology holds the promise to change the way we interact with and store digital media. Perhaps the most exciting change is the arrival of High Definition (HD) video, with its glorious 1920x1080 pixel resolution. It’s a quantum leap forward in terms of watching digital content, as its vast resolution reveals a quality never seen before in such fine detail.

Because of the rapid escalation of digital file-sharing – especially of video files – Hollywood has been working around the clock to protect HD content. This is especially relevant for one of its primary delivery mechanisms – HD DVD and Blu-ray discs. These next generation discs, with capacities of 30 gigabytes and 50 gigabytes respectively, have their content protected with an array of DRM (Digital Rights Management.) Both are protected with a scheme called AACS, or Advanced Access Content System. This DRM is a great leap forward compared to the weak CSS, or Content Scrambling System, that currently “protects” DVDs. Thanks to Fox, Blu-ray has an additional layer of protection, called BD+, however most discs have yet to support this protection.

Although Hollywood has constructed enough DRM architecture to rival the Pyramid of Giza, it has long been suspected that it would be only a matter of time before HD DVD and Blu-ray content protection were compromised. Convinced the golden DRM egg had been laid, it seemed that nothing could penetrate the great AACS wall. And to this day, that great wall still stands.

But why crash through the main gates of Constantinople when you can just pick the lock of a long forgotten rear entrance?
On December 26, 2006, a member of the Doom9.net forums named muslix64 introduced himself as circumventing the content protection – not the copy protection – of HD DVD. Additionally, he made available an open source program named BackupHDDDVD. At the time, this program was a command line program that bypassed the content protection – providing the individual successfully obtained the title and volume keys associated with the HD DVD. Once the individual has the keys, the AACS protection can be sidestepped, and the HD movie content can be extracted. According to muslix64, it took all of eight days to successfully circumvent HD DVD content protection.

Much of the more difficult work, such as extracting the keys, has been alleviated as the once encrypted information has proliferated online. To understand where this stunning turn of events is heading, Slyck.com spoke with muslix64, who agreed to a PM (private message) interview.

The mainstream media tends to have many labels for you, i.e. hacker, cracker, pirate, etc., in response to your efforts. What would you call yourself and what would you label your efforts?
I'm just an upset customer. My efforts can be called "fair use enforcement"!

What motivated you to help circumvent the content protection scheme associated with HD DVD and Blu-ray?
With the HD-DVD, I wasn't able to play my movie on my non-HDCP HD monitor. Not being able to play a movie that I have paid for, because some executive in Hollywood decided I cannot, made me mad...

After the HD-DVD crack, I realized that things where "unbalanced" by having just one format cracked, so I did Blu-ray too.

Explain how decrypting the device and volume keys are critical to your success. Could you explain the difference between the two?
The device keys, are the keys associated to the player.

The volume key, is the key associated to the movie.

I don't care about device keys. I do care about volume keys, because by using volume keys instead of devices keys, I totally bypass the revocation system. There is no "volume key revocation". There is content revocation, but I really doubt they will ever use it. If you use device keys, they can revoke them. Having the volume key means that you can decrypt title's keys (or CPS Unit key in the case of Blu-ray) and then you can decrypt the media file without problem.

I was shocked to realize the volume key was not protected in memory!

Explain how a movie studio could prevent the general public from taking advantage of pirated HD movies, such as ones currently available via Usenet and BitTorrent. For example, if an individual were to download "Serenity", and play it successfully on his or her Power DVD player - and never updated the software - would it be immune from any Hollywood counterattack?
Yes, immune. If the movie is decrypted there is nothing you can do! Or you can use open-source player, like VideoLan, if a player like PowerDVD become more restrictive about playing decrypted movies.

There appears to be some confusion to the extent and specifics of your success. Explain what content protection has been compromised, and what content protection is still intact?
There is no easy answer but, IMHO, AACS is totally busted. The only thing I can see for now to prevent the attack I have described is to put different keys on every disc! It will cost a fortune for the manufacturing, so I'm not sure they will go that way...

People say I have not broken AACS, but players. But players are part of this system! And a system is only as strong as his weakest link. Even if players become more secure, key extraction will always be possible.

I know many people of the industry try to cover up this breach, by saying I have only poked a tiny hole in AACS, but it is more serious than that. Only the future will tell.

The AACS security layer is almost the same for both HD-DVD and Blu-ray, so they are both busted for good.

The only extra security layer is for the Blu-ray format, and it's called BD+. BD+ is not there yet, and I don't know when it will be. May be my "exploits" will speed up the adoption of BD+, we will see...

You've recently helped defeat Blu-ray's content protection as well. What were the similarities/differences in defeating this copy protection scheme?
Almost the same. I use the same known-plaintext attack for both formats. But media format and encryption are slightly different. Because I already had experience with the HD-DVD, it was really easy for Blu-ray.

What are your ultimate goals? Do you feel that most - if not all - of the content protect will be ultimately defeated?
If you can play it, you can decrypt it! There is nothing you can do about it. The only thing they can try is to slow people down.

To what extent do you feel you can bring your efforts to the mainstream? Do you believe Hollywood's content protect will rendered so impotent that HDDVD Backup (or a similar device) will be utilized to the same extent as DVD Decrypter or DVD Shrink?
Probably. There are multiple scenarios here. You can write a fully automated decrypter with stolen player keys, but they will revoke the keys.

Anyways, even if they do key revocation, the revocation process will be very slow. It would take at least one month (or more) between revoking the player and new version of movies with the revocation in stores.

The reaction time of the community will be way faster than the reaction time of the industry.

Explain the differences between DeCSS and your efforts.

I really respect the work of DVD Jon and his friends (he was not alone!) They do more than me. They had to reverse a cipher! I didn't have to reverse anything. So technically speaking, it was easier to bypass AACS than CSS.

To what extent is your work a community effort? Do you feel that without the community's input, we would be having this conversation today?
I was pretty much alone to do the HD-DVD exploit. But I receive a lot of help with the Blu-ray, thanks Janvitos!

My 2 programs are only "proof of concept" software. Right now, the community's contribution is vital. They will bring this software to higher level. I just tell people it was possible and I made the demonstration.

What PC based DVD players are currently compatible with defeated HD movies?

I don't want to give specific names but I can tell you they are all vulnerable [to a] different extent.

Let's look into the crystal ball. When would you say people will be able to decrypt, burn, and play HD movies (whether HD DVD or Blu-ray) on their stand alone player?
I think they are already doing it right now! I have seen post of people claiming they did that on both format...But I cannot confirm it.

Do you see Microsoft Vista's implementation of HDCP being an obstacle to playing compromised HD movies in high definition?
No. To my understanding, this limitation is enforced in the player! So if you use an open-source player, like VideoLan, there is no problem. Also, a decrypted movie [doesn’t] have this limitation if you have disabled the security flags.

The limitation with Vista seems more on the process and memory protection. But I cannot comment on that, I don't know Vista.

Do you see AACS encryption being defeated in the near future?
If you’re talking about AES itself (the crypto algorithm), I don't think it will be cracked anytime soon, but we never know. May be someone will find another hole, or another way to attack AACS. You cannot attack the crypto itself, you have to attack the protocol or the procedure. When will we find another way around AACS? No idea...

If studios begin revoking encryption keys, do you believe this will pose a significant threat to your progress or overall goals?
Players will become more and more secure. It will slow me down, but it won't prevent key extraction in the long term.

Does the defeat of HD DVD automatically mean a victory for Blu-ray in the marketplace, or will Blu-ray be just as vulnerable to the community's efforts?
The less secure the format, the more people will buy. I know a lot of people will disagree with that, but that's my opinion. Right now, both format are equally vulnerable. We have to wait the introduction of BD+ to see if it is really that secure...

In the long run, Blu-ray seems more secure (because of BD+) and now is more expensive. So HD-DVD wins!

Describe a potential Hollywood counterattack, and how the community would repulse such an offensive?
Making the keys unique per disc will be the perfect counterattack. So we have to start another attack by stealing player’s key and doing the whole AACS decryption. Then the community will win because they have a faster response time to the revocation than the industry.

Who do you feel most benefits from your work, and who stands to lose the most?
The consumers will benefit. I hope it will enforce fair use, not piracy. Of course pirates will use this technique, and they already did...

Studios will lose more money with mass counterfeiting than file or key exchange on the net.

Considering the legal problems Jon Lech Johansen endured, are you at all concerned about the repercussions of your work?

I'm really concern about that. So I will stay put for a while, and watch the show. When the first BD+ movie [comes] out, I will wake up!

Is there anything you would like to add?
I don't think I'm the first who did it. They are probably a lot of people who did that before me, but they keep it secret.

I was disappointed to realize, that BD+ (the other security layer of Blu-ray) was not there yet. It would have been a great challenge! AACS was not a challenge at all...

I'm not the smart guy around; they are just careless about security.

Editor's note: One of the more important lessons muslix64 probably best exemplifies is the enormous delayed reaction of the entertainment industry. Napster was released in 1999, and to this day the music industry continues to struggle against free file-sharing. There are indications now that DRM is being considered for obsolescence. With muslix64's work, the amount of work required to keep up with the community oriented efforts may simply be impossible to maintain.
Источник

 

Первая порнушка на bluray



http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20070203/tc_cmp/197002968

 

Крута :tabako1:

 

Нифига не первая, у меня 3 BR-диска с японской порнухой есть, купил на следующий день после выхода PS3. =)

 

Даже в США уже выходило порно,видел в инет магазине за 80 баксов пару релизов.
Кстати фильмы на Blu-Ray сейчас в два с половиной раза лучше продаются фильмов на HD DVD,особенно этому поспособствовал преордер на Casino Royale ,который зверски бьет рекорды продаж HD фильмов.

 

Вообще, "Деби покоряет Далас" - это классика, ее переиздать не стыдно, только вот ценность сей картины на BR весьма сомнительна. Я смотрел Кубриковскую "Цельнометаллическую оболочку" на этом модном формате и остался крайне не доволен, зерно старых пленок после оцифровки, очень сильно режет глаз, а ведь эта картина 1987 года, года "Деби" - 1978, я не представляю как это можно будет смотреть на BR.

 

Вообще Vivid единственная крупная компания,которая будет выпускать порно на Blu-Ray,другие перешли на сторону HD DVD из за сложности с репликацией.
В мире 8 компаний могут заниматься репликацией Blu-Ray дисков.
2 из них принадлежит Sony и они не собираются связываться с порнографией.
5 компаний имеют контракты с Disney,поэтому также никакого порно.
И только одна компания,которая согласна заниматься репликацией порно релизов.

 

Мега подробный обзор PS3, как Blu-Ray и DVD плеера.


Sony's long-delayed Playstation 3 console finally launched in most major territories in late 2006, after a string of seemingly disastrous press. First and foremost was the announcement of the machine's high price, backed up by claims of a "worldwide launch" which failed to materialise, leaving European and Australasian fans not content with importing an American or Japanese unit with a long wait. Gamers that were content with imported machines (I'm one example of a European gamer who prefers to use American equipment, for several reasons) were then appalled, if not outright disgusted, by news of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's lawyers pursuing legal action against hardcore gaming store Lik-Sang, who were charged with the apparent crime of allowing Europeans to buy the machine. In reality, it seems that S.C.E.E. had to use every trick in the book to see Lik-Sang off the scene, down to the level of claiming copyright infringement on Instruction Booklets, as the store's site allowed customers to read these before putting money down. Lik-Sang were forced into ceasing business soon afterwards, apparently as a direct result of Sony's lawsuits (Sony, unsurprisingly, refuted this claim).

As a result of such behaviour, Sony's name in the gaming community has been tainted to the extent that they appear to have inherited the role of the large, anti-consumer corporation to be wary of – shoes that Microsoft wore at the start of the decade. To further this situation, much has been made of the fact that Sony are effectively forcing the Blu-ray Disc format on gamers who only want to buy a video games machine. It's a huge gamble for the company, which is more than likely a result of much note-taking during the Playstation 2 launch back at the beginning of the decade. Early PS2 sales were fuelled by Japanese buyers who cared little about video games and only wanted a cheap DVD player. I don't for a minute doubt that Sony hope to emulate this behaviour with the PS3 and Blu-ray.

Although I've talked about the machine's background as it's seen by the gaming community, I need to point out that I'm only going to review the media playback functionality of the PS3 – that is, how it handles DVD, Blu-ray, Photo Viewing, Music, and Video File playback. Ironically, I'm not going to talk much about its gaming capabilities (although as a video gamer myself, I can say that the situation for games on the format is fairly grim right now).


First Looks and Build Quality
There are many phrases to describe the appearance of the PS3 system. "Large and unattractive" is probably the least insulting. Unusually for a Sony product, the system's designers appear to have settled on the truly baffling decision of applying a gloss-black coat to the machine. This means that the Playstation 3 is a scratch and fingerprint magnet – it is literally impossible to keep spotless. The curved top also means that it must be stacked on top of any existing AV equipment (unless you use a rack).

On the plus side, the PS3 can, like all of today's games machines, stand either horizontally or vertically. Neither of these make it a looker, in this reviewer's opinion, so as such, I look forward to the efforts of the case-modding community to see if anybody can fit the machine's internals to a better-looking exterior.


Remote Control
Neither version of the Playstation 3 comes packaged with a remote control, relying instead on the wireless game pad to control movie playback. The "BD Remote" accessory (which can be had for around £22) adds the much-needed AV feel to the machine, and is a well-constructed and fairly well laid out piece of hardware. Its shape is very similar to the newer Sony BRAVIA TV remotes, but in glittery black, it's much, much more attractive. All of the buttons on the remote have a great feel to them, and move inwards nicely – unlike the cheaper, clickier feel of buttons on the Toshiba HD-A1 remote.

My main complaint with the BD remote is that it lacks a Power Off button. Fortunately, holding the "Playstation" button in the middle of the controller for about 4-5 seconds allows you to power off the system via a menu option. Also, some of the buttons seem strangely placed. The number buttons, for example, are squashed up at the very top of the remote, despite there being what looks like available space at the bottom. Additionally, the Stop button is located between the Play and Pause ones. For some reason, this meant that I kept pressing it by accident, stopping playback instead of pausing it (this could be a personal thing, I'd be interested to hear if anyone else keeps doing this).

In addition, the remote uses Bluetooth wireless technology to communicate with the console, rather than the infra-red that we're used to. Many American home theater owners have complained about this, because it means that it's not possible to copy the commands from the remote to an all-in-one Universal remote control (such as the Logitech Harmony). I personally feel that the BD Remote is well designed enough for me to actually enjoy using it, but I can understand why this would be a problem for people who use universal remotes to automate their home cinema systems.

In order for the console to recognise the remote, we needed to perform an upgrade, to bring the PS3's system software up to v1.50 (although remote control support has been present since v1.30). This was a completely painless process – we simply connected our router to the machine via the Ethernet port on the back and selected the "Update" function. The PS3 instantly downloaded and installed the update with no network configuration needed. For those who can't connect their console easily to a broadband source, the PS3 also allows you to upgrade its System Software by downloading update files and burning them to disc, using a computer. It can also read firmware updates from a USB device, such as an iPod or other MP3 player, or a USB memory stick. 60gb models of the machine (like the kind that will be launched in Europe) also include Memory Card inputs under a flap on the front.


Set-up and Picture Tweaks
We connected the imported PS3 directly to the UK wall socket using our own power cable (of the "kettle" type), because the system operates on 110-240v, 50/60hz, meaning it can be used anywhere in the world without an additional power transformer.

Before the machine would output a video signal, we first had to connect the supplied Composite video cable, and enable the digital HDMI AV output in the System Menu. Doing so disabled the Composite output, so we then switched over to the HDMI input on our HDTV, which presented us with a crisp 1080p rendition of the system interface.

On the subject of output resolution, one of the many criticisms of the PS3 is that its scaling functionalities are limited. This means that if you inform the machine that your TV does not support 1080i or 1080p resolution, Blu-ray movies will in fact be downscaled to 480p – not 720p as you'd expect. Therefore, owners of 720p displays will need to ensure that their hardware can correctly accept a 1080i signal and down-scale it properly. Fortunately, most recent displays do this optimally, but some cheaper/older screens use cheaper processing that downgrades 1080-line signals to Standard Definition quality. If you own such a display, you will need to wait until Sony release a new version of the system software that allows the PS3 to do the downscaling job properly. Sony are rumoured to be working on this as we speak.

During the setup process, the system asked us to select what resolutions our HDTV could accept, from a possible list of 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. If you're lucky enough to own a 1080p TV set, you can check every one of these boxes. The "Display Settings" menu also features an option called "Cross Color Reduction Filter", which would only be applicable to Composite video output. We're not even sure why it appears when using HDMI. All this does is simply horizontally blur the picture in an attempt to stop rainbow effects appearing on fine details (by removing the fine details entirely). That said, anyone spending this amount of money on a PS3 and connecting it through Composite video would need to have their head checked!

The "BD/DVD Settings" menu also contains options for "Cinema Conversion", which allows you to change the Deinterlacing mode for SD DVD playback between "Automatic" (recommended) or "Video". Selecting "Video" will force Video deinterlacing, even on Film titles, which will result in a loss of resolution. The menu also lets you change the HDMI video output colour space between Y/Cb/Cr (Digital Component video) and R/G/B (which should be selected if you're connecting to a device that has a DVI input instead of an HDMI one).

Standard Definition DVD playback on the PS3 allows the user to open a window called "Image Quality Adjustment", which features "Frame Noise Reduction" and "Block Noise Reduction" features, both enabled by default. These effects are very subtle and on first appearance appeared to do nothing at all, leaving us wondering if they had even been implemented yet, but we later saw their effects and can therefore give the unsurprising recommendation that they should be turned off.

One improvement we'd like to see added here is an adjustment to actually reduce the Sharpness of the picture. This sounds counter-productive, but while reviewing the Panasonic DMP-BD10 standalone Blu-ray player, we appreciated this function to help soften the harsh look of DVDs that have edge enhancement applied. Done correctly, it can remedy this irritating look without significantly blurring details.

Whilst setting the system up, we were pleased to see just how sleek and smooth the system's menu screens are. It uses Sony's "XMB" (Cross Media Bar) interface, which organises categories and options horizontally and vertically, allowing you to easily keep track of where things are. The Playstation Portable system also uses this interface, as did the Japanese versions of some of the high-end Sony HDTVs. This interface is one of the rare examples of minimalism done right - there are no clunky, pixellated fonts and simple graphics that are standard fare on typical set-top disc players, no intrusive animated effects, no giant enemy crabs, and no over-the-top transitions, either. Everything is glossed just enough to look and feel great, and no more. The interface is flawless both in terms of visual presentation and usability.


In-depth Quality Analysis: Blu-ray Disc
As I own a 1080p native HDTV monitor that displays the video output 1:1 mapped, I was able to begin the Quality Analysis safe in the knowledge that no details were being lost or obscured.

Blu-ray FILM: 1080p/24 output as 1080p/60
The first disc we tested the PS3 with was the incredibly impressive "Silent Hill" (USA release from Sony). Reviews on this title have been mixed due to the fact that there are sometimes compression artefacts visible, but nevertheless, it is an appropriate test disc thanks to the incredibly high level of detail present, as well as its inclusion of a hidden resolution test card (gained by typing the numerical equivalent of "SONY" – 7669 – on the menu screen).

Prior to testing the PS3, we had had experience of playing this same disc in a considerably more expensive standalone Blu-ray Player. On the standalone, some fine details during the film and the test card twittered up and down lightly due to the internal 1080i-to-1080p conversion. This fault was not present on the Playstation 3, which keeps the signal as 1080p from start to finish, allowing much less room for error.

Using the red Warning screen at the beginning of a Twentieth Century Fox Blu-ray Disc, we also confirmed that the BD playback does not suffer from the Chroma Upsampling Error as some standalone players do. Although the error – which results in the edges of colours appearing jagged – is hard to spot at HD resolutions, the fact that it is not here is still excellent.

The test card allowed us to confirm that the PS3 was not adding any additional edge enhancement, or other intrusive video processing, during playback. The fact that it doesn't, and that we could detect no other problems with the playback, means that we are confident that the PS3 is the best Blu-ray Disc player available today.

Unfortunately, the Sony test card does have one flaw, and that is that the darkest shades of black are crushed into one shade, due to an error in the video encoding process (what a blunder!). This means that we were unable to check whether or not the PS3 passes Blacker Than Black video during Blu-ray playback. The fact that it does not for Standard Def NTSC DVD playback means that we can *ASSUME* the same holds true of the BD playback.

Blu-ray VIDEO: 1080i/60 output as 1080i/60
When we played the Panasonic Blu-ray Test Disc in the Playstation 3, the video was output exactly as it was stored on the disc – as 1080i/60. Some standalone players, such as the Panasonic DMP-BD10, use their own internal deinterlacing circuitry to convert the signal to 1080p/60 before it reaches the TV. The PS3 outputs exactly what it plays from the disc, meaning that there is nothing more to add in this area – the quality of the rare 1080i/60 content will depend entirely on how your TV set Deinterlaces it.


In-depth Quality Analysis: Standard Definition DVD
The PS3 features Region Locked DVD playback, which is even more limiting than Blu-ray Region Locking (as it carves the free world into six zones instead of Blu-ray's three). On top of this, the current NTSC territory models won't play any PAL discs – which is almost certainly an intentional limitation to try and deter imports rather than a lack of capability. As such, this will be a fairly short analysis.

In addition, it does not at present upscale SD DVDs. It does, however, deinterlace, so outputs them at 480p. Apparently, Sony are to add Upscaling functionality later, meaning that this review will be updated. Certainly, the PS3 can take video files of any resolution - including 720x480, the resolution of an NTSC DVD - and happily scale, and even deinterlace them, if they're played from a USB hard drive or memory stick. I'd therefore assume that DVD upscaling has been held back for fine-tuning and we should see it sooner rather than later.

Using an NTSC version of the THX Optimizer test, we confirmed that the Playstation 3 does not pass the darkest shades of Black (Blacker than Black), as the shadow behind the THX logo did not appear. We tried changing the colour output mode from Y/Cb/Cr (digital Component video sent via HDMI) to RGB, but this didn't make any difference. This is a shame, as it means that the system is not displaying maximum detail in dark areas. Hopefully, Sony will rectify it with their next System Software update.

NTSC Films with Progressive Flag
Although the Playstation 3 doesn't upscale DVDs, we could detect no problems – other than the aforementioned lack of Blacker-than-black video – with its 480p output connected to a 40" 1080p HDTV. Next, we connected the system to a PC monitor using an HDMI-to-DVI cable and used the Sharpness pattern on the AVIA Guide to Home Theater DVD to confirm that no additional edge enhancement was being added to the output. The monitor also allowed us to confirm that there is absolutely no Pixel Cropping going on at all, so with the exception of the Blacker than Black problem, the PS3 is doing a fantastic job of reproducing exactly what is fed to it.

Lastly, like the BD playback, the PS3's standard def DVD output is free of the Chroma Upsampling Error (CUE), meaning that edges of colours are smooth and pleasing to the eye - great news for anyone who enjoys animated films.

NTSC Film without Progressive Flag
Using an animated disc with a near-flawless transfer, "Ren & Stimpy: The Lost Episodes!" – a TV show that conforms to the 3-2 Pulldown pattern - we confirmed that the PS3 properly detects and reverses the pattern without discarding any detail or breaking into jagged lines. It is also free of the Chroma Upsampling Error, which was the expected result, as the other SD DVD functions of this player are as well.

NTSC Video (60i)
Using a DVD of a documentary shot on NTSC Video Camera, we were extremely pleased with the PS3's video deinterlacing abilities. The scene in question featured a lot of shaky camera movement, as well as fast driving cars, so was challenging material. Although it's impossible to achieve perfection in this area, the footage was largely free of excess combing defects that result from poorer deinterlacing, which left us very impressed.

We also tried an American animated TV show that originated on NTSC video, and were again happy with the results. We compared the same sequence on a DVD Player using the renowned Faroudja deinterlacing chipset, which features Faroudja's proprietary DCDi™ technology, designed to smooth jagged lines. The PS3 was almost but not quite as good as the Faroudja chipset's efforts to smooth the lines, but did feature a little more twitter.

PAL Film
Not tested – Unsupported on model used for review

PAL Video (50i)
Not tested – Unsupported on model used for review


Usability and Responsiveness

The PS3 responds to remote control commands literally instantaneously, and Rewinding and Fast Forwarding are by far quicker than on any other disc player we've recently used.

Boot-up times are also quicker than most standalones we've tested, coming in at 30 seconds from power on to images appearing on screen (for both SD DVD and Blu-ray Disc). Once again, the waiting is eased by the slickness of the interface, as users are at least treated to a "Sony Computer Entertainment" screen and brief glimpse of the System Menu, rather than a black screen. (When turned on with a disc loaded, the PS3 will automatically play it rather than requiring the user to start BD or DVD playback manually).

When stopping a Blu-ray Disc (or DVD) playing, the PS3 did allow us to resume playback from where we stopped it, which was a most welcome feature. Perhaps a future firmware version could make use of the system's hard drive and allow for placing Bookmarks at any point during the film to supplement this?

After using several High-def video disc players that were slower to boot and took their time responding to user commands, the Playstation 3 is just a joy to use.


Sound
We connected the PS3 to a home cinema system via the Optical output, and found no problems with the quality of the audio output from Blu-ray Disc or DVD movies. One usability annoyance we found with the PS3 is that it can't simultaneously output sound via the HDMI connection and the Optical audio output. This means that if you have a home cinema system and connect the sound via Optical, but occasionally use your TV speakers for more casual viewing (or if you're in a Power-Saving mood), then you'll need to take a trip back into the Audio Output menu and manually flip between the two methods.

Secondly, to allow for playback of Uncompressed 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 surround sound (as is found on many Blu-ray Disc titles), you'll need an up-to-date AV receiver that features support for HDMI 1.3. This is because the PS3 does not feature any method for outputting Analogue Surround sound, a limitation perhaps imposed by its intended use as a games machine.

At present, the PS3 system supports the next generation Dolby TrueHD audio codec, but only one Blu-ray Disc title actually carries this audio format (it's currently found mainly on the HD DVD platform). Currently, it doesn't fully support DTS Master Audio, but supposedly support for this codec will be added in a March firmware System Software update. Currently, the PS3 accesses the "Legacy" portion of the DTS Master Audio track, so you can still hear sound from these titles – just not in full quality.

If you have an older HDTV (or video processor) with DVI connections (which only send video, not sound), and want to hear sound through the TV speakers without the use of an additional sound system, you can connect the Composite video and Stereo Audio proprietary Playstation-style AV connector cable that comes with the PS3 to the TV.


Conclusion
All in all, the Playstation 3's media playback capabilities impressed me very much. Almost everything about it is completely refined and works exactly as it should – in terms of functionality, it's exactly what a Media Player should be.

Although the types of games that eventually become available on the PS3 will probably never greatly appeal to me – the same way the titles for the PS1 and PS2 didn't – I simply can't deny how impressive its other functionality is. The fact that this one piece of hardware, admittedly an ugly and expensive one, can achieve so many things, and do them so well, is incredibly impressive. In addition, it's price and almost complete superiority compared to standalone Blu-ray players is remarkable.

Not only this, but as a games system that should be around for another 4-5 years, the PS3 is not about to be abandoned at any time soon. Sony seem committed to delivering firmware updates for the unit to improve its functionality, and we may even see 1080p/24 output added in the future. As a result of this and its already high quality and ease of use, anybody looking for a Blu-ray player should look no further than this unit.
ИСТОЧНИК

 

Продажи Blu-ray видео втрое опережают HD DVD

Согласно данным исследовательской группы Nielsen VideoScan, опубликованным на днях в Home Media Magazine, популярность Blu-ray дисков (BR) в качестве носителей для видеофильмов высокого качества в три раза опережает таковую у их основных конкурентов – дисков формата HD DVD (HD).

На протяжении первой недели 2007 года, объем продаж BR-носителей практически в два раза превосходил таковые HD, продажи которых составляли 46,14% от количества проданных Blu-ray аналогов. В течение следующих недель ситуация еще более усугубилась, количество проданных дисков с HD-видео снизилась до 38,36% от количества проданных Blu-ray носителей. Выражаясь простым русским языком: за период с 1 января 2007 года по 14 января 2007 года на каждые 100 проданных BR-диска приходилось всего 38,36 диска HD.

Основной причиной указанного роста популярности формата BR-видео исследователи видят в резком, почти на 690 тысяч, увеличении количества обладателей проигрывателей данного формата за счет армии поклонников PlayStation 3. Со своей стороны, несмотря на явное лидерство по количеству выпущенных на своих дисках видеофильмов, производители HD DVD, на данный момент, смогли ответить не более 175 тысячами проигрывателей.
Источник

 

Радует что большинство хитов теперь выходит на 50гб дисках

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/departed.html
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/casinoroyale.html

Но еще приятнее что почти любой br фильм, стоит ~24$
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000L212HC/panandscathed-20

Т.е. ~700р.! Думаю скоро будут выходить русские лицензии рублей по 500, и тогда можно будет забыть про пиратку и стать цивилизованными людьми

Да и списки релизов отличные
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/releasedates.html
Хоть коллекцию создавай

 

Как же это красиво звучит для человека который в этом ничего не понимает.
Во-первых 50Гб дисков не так много, и вообще ничего сверхестественного в этих двухслойных дисках нет (особенно учитывая дурдом с кодеками).

Во-вторых на amazon много чего дешевле, в рознице это продаётся по рекомендованной и amazon тут не показатель.

В-третьих никаких русских Блю-Реев в ближайший год не будет - ни в нормальном ассортименте, ни по нормальным ценам. Меньше чем за штуку можешь и не мечтать - как минимум потому что они поставляются по принципу игр для PS2. То есть завода в России нет и даже в планах нет. Везти будут снова из Австрии, и по закупочной Европейской, то есть около 20 евро они будут стоить только нашим дистрибьютором (в Европе Блю-рей чуть ли не вдвое дороже америки). А авторинг будет делаться общеевропейский по желанию Sony, то есть как с UMD. Так что друзья моя - Блю-Рея на русском вам ещё долго не видать, и не мечтайте.

В-четвёртых ассортимент обычный. А издание у той-же Sony, и некоторых других, по контенту даже хуже DVD. Я не к тому что у Блю-Рея всё плохо, нет, всё заканомерно кисло как и на любом старте формата. У DVD были те-же проблемы.

P.S. VaaN - кидаешься на фанатов Microsoft, а сам пишешь не менее мифичные и пиарозаряженные посты.

 

Просто я думал что BR видео вообще пока мало где найти можно, а если и можно то пару устаревших фильмов.

А оказывается такие диски уже вытесняют DVD и все новинки выходят на них, по двадцатке в любом магазине. Короче формат почти в народе.

В России естественно пока его не будет, ну хотябы за Запад порадовался

 

http://mvideo.ru/pricelist/?p=card&id=267505

 

Ты смотрел продаже Blu-Ray и DVD?

 

Классная штука, интересно какой зоны.

DeaD,
А что?

 

Ну новинки вообще-то и должны идти первыми, так в любом формате. А вот с каталогом очень странная подборка, но самое главное что куча фильмов выходит в устаревшем виде. Много фильмов вышли в театральном виде с небольшой кучкой допов на Блю-Рей, когда два года назад тот-же фильм вышел в режиссёрской версии с кучей допов на два диска. Понятно что Sony хочет переиздать их потом, позже - но мне от этого не легче. Какой смысл в Блю-Рей дисках, когда они по контенту даже хуже DVD.

Прикол в том, что Samsung поставляет этот плеер на Российский рынок сугубо в рекламных целях. Плеер не официальной зоны C, а Европейской B. Притом диски в Сюзах и некоторых других местах преимущественно зоны A

Я уже приводил пример - когда на DVD MI3 продалась за первую неделю в 3 миллиона, HD форматы !на пару! только жалкие 30000. Сейчас это соотношение чуточко меньше и в будущем будет сокращаться, но реально между продажами DVD и Блю-Рей разница примерно в 30 раз в пользу DVD. То есть теоретически на каждый проданный в Америке Блю-Рей диск, продаётся 30-40 DVD - и это в лучшем случае пока.