More WMV-HD Titles Beginning to Appear

[Soopafresh]

Gangs of New York - HD-DVD (WMV-HD)

http://esd.e-sonopress.com/product.html?productid=600333&sessionid=187033330&random=89...08ad851a84ab49

(Yuck ! DiCaprio should be arrested for that accent he used)
----------

The Italian Job - HD-DVD (WMV-HD)

http://esd.e-sonopress.com/product.html?productid=600336&sessionid=187033330&random=89...08ad851a84ab49


More titles on that site, including Underworld, Tomb Raider, et al

Also, HD Clips of "Italian Job" and "Tomb Raider" be found at:

http://www.media-markt.de/av/tsp/hdtv/ Click on "So Ist HDTV"


Apologies if this has been posted before.

[BJ_M]

interisting ..

[Nilfennasion]

Platform-specific... no sale.

[aanaravs]

Too many requirements. MOST consumers don't even own such a powerful PC

[satviewer2000]

Too bad these are not playable on a standalone HD-DVD player like Avel IO Linkplayer.

[waheed]

I went on the microsoft website and downloaded some of these High Definition trailers just to check out the quality compared to DVD.

I got to say, i was amazed (mainly because HD has not taken off yet here in the UK)

The picture and sound quality was far more superior than DVD (in my opinion).

the audio sounded much better than even DTS.

i also found a short 2-3 min clip would consume like 120MB-200MB (@1080p)

But i wouldn't but HD yet, until a standard has been met, like HD-DVD if it becomes the standard. Cost would also be another factor.

[waheed]

Just had a look at the trailer properties (for 1080p). the audio is encoded in 5.1 surround at 48kHz and 24Bit. No wonder it sounded better, i have a 24Bit/192kHz sound card to take advantage.

Though DVD spec is also 24Bit/96kHz, most of the dvds are only 16bit/48kHz. In fact, i dont think ive come across a dvd that is 24bit.

[akrako1]

These 2 movies have bitrates under 8000 Kbps. What's the deal? Shouldn't HD need lots of storage space (ala blue ray and hd-dvd media) and thus use a high bitrate? Judging by the bitrate, I would assume that WMV 9 HD should be similar to mpeg4 - at least as far as file size/compression ratio. So why the need for media with 10X the capacity? Couldn't they have used existing DVD media and released firmware/new readers that will play the current format? Is there something I'm reading wrong here? Of course this is a MS codec, so I would understand if it's crap... Thanks.

From the above links:

Gangs Of New York:
HD-Norm: Progressive
HD-Resolution: 1280 x 720p
Video-Format: WMV 9 HD
Bitrate: 6100 Kbps
Audio-Format: 5.1 WMA 9 Pro
Language: English | German
Screen-Resolution: 16:9 | 2.35:1

The Italian Job:
HD-Norm: Progressive
HD-Resolution: 1280 x 720p
Video-Format: WMV 9 HD
Bitrate: 7253 Kbps
Audio-Format: 5.1 WMA 9 Pro
Language: English | German
Screen-Resolution: 16:9 | 2.35:1

[edDV]

DVD-Audio uses 24Bit/96kHz
You can buy those.

[waheed]

These 2 movies have bitrates under 8000 Kbps. What's the deal? Shouldn't HD need lots of storage space (ala blue ray and hd-dvd media) and thus use a high bitrate? Judging by the bitrate, I would assume that WMV 9 HD should be similar to mpeg4 - at least as far as file size/compression ratio. So why the need for media with 10X the capacity? Couldn't they have used existing DVD media and released firmware/new readers that will play the current format? Is there something I'm reading wrong here? Of course this is a MS codec, so I would understand if it's crap... Thanks.

Im not particularly fond of microsoft (i do really hate windows media player), but i have to admit, WMV HD is in a league of its own compared to mpeg 4.

I would have also assumed HD needs lots of storage space, the reason for the upcoming HD-DVD, using a higher bitrate. I guess the limited bit rate of just over 8mbps is due to the storage limitations of dual layer dvd discs. nevertheless, i would suggest seeing one of these WMV HD trailers for yourself.

I dont think you can compare bit rate/compression ratios for different formats, and they tend to differ.

For example, a DVD at 700MB will look terrible compared to a Divx/Xvid at 700MB. DivX/Xvid uses a much lower bit rate compared to DVD but looks great, like the original DVD.

And DVD-Audio is a AUDIO FORMAT ONLY.

[edDV]

These 2 movies have bitrates under 8000 Kbps. What's the deal? Shouldn't HD need lots of storage space (ala blue ray and hd-dvd media) and thus use a high bitrate? Judging by the bitrate, I would assume that WMV 9 HD should be similar to mpeg4 - at least as far as file size/compression ratio. So why the need for media with 10X the capacity? Couldn't they have used existing DVD media and released firmware/new readers that will play the current format? Is there something I'm reading wrong here? Of course this is a MS codec, so I would understand if it's crap... Thanks.

The primary standard for HD-DVD & BluRay is still MPeg2 (MP@HL) but Microsoft's RC1 (the core technology of WMV-HD) and h.264 (MPeg4 Pt10) are also approved standards. Future HD players must work with all 3 standards.

Current WMV-HD DVDs require fast computers for software decoding, but new player chipsets are out that take the decoding load into hardware.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/content_provider/film/AboutHDVideo.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/content_provider/film/ContentShowcase.aspx

the chip
http://www.sigmadesigns.com/products/em8620Lseries.htm

h.264
http://www.apple.com/mpeg4/h264faq.html
http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/the_h264_report_mpeg_industry_forum_the_...deo_ecosystem/

[akrako1]

OK, let me rephrase my question... If, with MWV-HD, you can get a high quality HD picture at approx 7000 Kbps, then why do we need new, larger media? At 7000 Kbps you can fit a good size movie on a DL DVD-R with room to spare. Why isn't someone making a HD DVD player that plays MPV-HD off regular DVD9's?

[leebo]

Let me know when they release a HD porno.

[edDV]

That was Microsoft's position early last year, as an alternative to Blu-Ray. Microsoft offered solid DRM with wmv-HD using standard red laser technology similar to the current wmv-HD DVDs.

What happened was Hollywood and the DVD manufacturers didn't buy into the Microsoft scheme, but did include Microsoft's RC1 and H.264 in the larger HD-DVD + BluRay specs and in the player basic spec.

You can make your own WMV-HD DVD using Microsoft's Media encoder 9
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/encoder/default.aspx

I've authored some experimental WMV-HD DVDs for business presentation use. It's a good way to get HDTV up on a large screen projector for large conferences from a simple PC. HDTV VCR's are expensive to rent.

[BJ_M]

there are lots of HD porno ... many of the studios been shooting (switching over to) HD for the last year to 6 months ..

a lot of its converted to SD , and just waiting for players before releasing the HD version , but lots HD already released also ..

[edDV]

Here are the steps for making a WMV-HD DVD from a HDTV ts stream or MPeg2 source.

1. convert TS or TP file to MPeg2 with HDTVtoMPEG2
2. in Media Encoder 9, select "convert a file"
3. select the MPeg2 input file (wait for analysis)
4. select computer or hardware destination
5. select audio and video compression
(1280x720p-5.2Mbps is good for software decoding on most PCs, 1920x1080p needs >3GHz CPU and optimization)
6. select "start encoding" on the menu bar. Let it calculate. It may appear to have crashed but is just busy, monitor with CPU performance meter.
7. play the wmv-hd file in wmp.

[Soopafresh]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't H.264 the "agreed upon" HD standard? I'm guessing the HDTV DVD players that are supposed to be the hot item next X-mas will be H264.

WMV-HD does look awesome, but the DRM stuff kills it for me.

I think the DivX HD stuff looks great as well. If you haven't seen it, take a look at http://www.divx.com/movies/trailer_ingoodcompany.php or http://www.divx.com/hd/

[BJ_M]

one of the HD standards - it also depends what standards you are talking about and commercial or pro ..

[edDV]

Current momentum is for MPeg2 MP@HL (similar to DTV) to remain the main HD DVD delivery format. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD maintain the right to change their spec and Hollywood or any author can choose among the 3 formats.

From Blu-Ray FAQ http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/

"1.8 What video codecs will Blu-ray support?

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is still in the process of finalizing the BD-ROM specification, but they have stated that MPEG-4 AVC High Profile (previously called FRExt) and Microsoft's VC-1 video codec (the proposed SMPTE standard based on WMV9) will be mandatory. They will also include MPEG-2 support for playback of HDTV recordings and DVDs. Please note that this simply means that all Blu-ray players and recorders will have to support playback of these video codecs, it will still be up to the movie studios to decide which video codec(s) they use for their releases. The BDA expects the BD-ROM specification to be finished some time in the beginning of 2005.

1.9 What audio codecs will Blu-ray support?

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) still hasn't made a final decision about what audio codecs will be included in the BD-ROM specification, but according to the BDF technical spokesman Richard Doherty, the included audio codecs should offer a significant improvement over the audio formats supported by the current DVD spec. They are currently looking into advanced audio codecs, including lossless codecs."


HD-DVD will support the same three standards

http://www.hddvd.org/hddvd/
http://www.hddvd.org/hddvd/difformatsblueray.php?PHPSESSID=43c0fd13d047cb71ec4267c0aa9024d3
http://www.dvdsite.org/

[edDV]

...

WMV-HD does look awesome, but the DRM stuff kills it for me.

I think the DivX HD stuff looks great as well. If you haven't seen it, take a look at http://www.divx.com/movies/trailer_ingoodcompany.php or http://www.divx.com/hd/

DRM is optional for WMV-HD. Home made ones don't need it.

Divx looks good too but has some cons vs WMV-HD initially.

#1 WMP will automatically download needed codecs for WMV-HD so you can be assured the end viewer can play it so long as they have sufficient CPU hardware. You can't count on viewers having or wanting to download the DiVX player or codecs.

#2 The WMV-HD encoder is a free and fairly easy to use. The Divx encoder technically must be purchased but free demos exist. This is a barrier to business use.

#3 WMV-HD is easily scalable to to other delivery targets from the same encoder. WMV will be supported over a wide range of consumer products.

Both Divx HD and WMV-HD should play on the HD DVD players excluding DRM issues. Once h.264 gets going, it will likely be the main computer to computer delivery format. WMV will be built into many consumer products.

[Soopafresh]

Well, that's the nice thing about standards - There's so many to choose from