Sony confirm their first 3 50GB Blu-ray Disc Releases
07-10-2006 02:21 | 6446 views | Dave Foster | Show Backlinks
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have today confirmed the imminent arrival of their first there 50GB Dual-Layer Blu-ray Disc releases. All three titles have been previously announced, but are only now confirmed to benefit from the extra capacity offered by the first dual-layer discs on the market. Up first and due in just a few days on the 10th October 2006 is the Adam Sandler comedy Click. Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down follows on 14th November with the Will Ferrell staring comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby arriving next on 12th December 2006.
“As consumers make the leap to Blu-ray’s incredible high-definition picture and theatre quality audio, they want access to a diverse selection of content packed with added-value features and reference titles like Ridley Scott’s powerful war epic Black Hawk Down, that will add to their growing Blu-ray Disc libraries,” said David Bishop, President, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. “We're proud to be the first studio to deliver a 50GB Blu-ray Disc title to the marketplace with Click on October 10, along with two other highly entertaining titles this year that offer the expanded capacity and special features only a 50GB disc can provide.”
Individual disc specs follow, outlining what benefits the 50GB discs bring to the table. Our individual announcements for each title have also been updated…
Click - Shot entirely in high-def, the Blu-ray format captures Click’s many humorous remote-controlled moments with pristine picture quality and superior sound. Click is the first SPHE Blu-ray Disc title to include all bonus features from the DVD release in high-definition and also features uncompressed PCM audio.
High-definition added value features include:
Black Hawk Down - “With a richly detailed master and long running time, Black Hawk Down is an ideal title to demonstrate Blu-ray’s 50GB capability, without any compromise in features or quality,” said Don Eklund, Executive Vice President, Advanced Technologies, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Black Hawk Down is also the first Blu-ray Disc title to feature SPHE’s new Blu-Wizard™, a unique playlist technology which lets consumers customize the way they watch special features.
Special features consumers may customize on the Black Hawk Down Blu-ray Disc include:
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - The Blu-ray Disc features the Unrated Edition of the film along with added-value features in high-definition including:
Additional added-value features not in high-definition:
“As consumers make the leap to Blu-ray’s incredible high-definition picture and theatre quality audio, they want access to a diverse selection of content packed with added-value features and reference titles like Ridley Scott’s powerful war epic Black Hawk Down, that will add to their growing Blu-ray Disc libraries,” said David Bishop, President, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. “We're proud to be the first studio to deliver a 50GB Blu-ray Disc title to the marketplace with Click on October 10, along with two other highly entertaining titles this year that offer the expanded capacity and special features only a 50GB disc can provide.”
Individual disc specs follow, outlining what benefits the 50GB discs bring to the table. Our individual announcements for each title have also been updated…
Click - Shot entirely in high-def, the Blu-ray format captures Click’s many humorous remote-controlled moments with pristine picture quality and superior sound. Click is the first SPHE Blu-ray Disc title to include all bonus features from the DVD release in high-definition and also features uncompressed PCM audio.
High-definition added value features include:
- Audio Commentary with Adam Sandler, Director Frank Coraci, Executive Producer Tim Herlihy and Writer Steve Koren
- Four Deleted Scenes:
- “Habeeboo Can Do It”
- “Loser Guy Returns”
- “Fatty Sandwich”
- “Sp-Sp-Spit It Out”
- Seven Featurettes
- “Make Me Old and Fat”
- “FX of Click”
- “Design My Universe”
- “Cars of the Future”
- “Humping Dogs”
- “Director’s Take”
- “Fine Cooking”
Black Hawk Down - “With a richly detailed master and long running time, Black Hawk Down is an ideal title to demonstrate Blu-ray’s 50GB capability, without any compromise in features or quality,” said Don Eklund, Executive Vice President, Advanced Technologies, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Black Hawk Down is also the first Blu-ray Disc title to feature SPHE’s new Blu-Wizard™, a unique playlist technology which lets consumers customize the way they watch special features.
Special features consumers may customize on the Black Hawk Down Blu-ray Disc include:
- Audio Commentary with Author Mark Bowden, Screenwriter Ken Nolan, Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Director Ridley Scott and U.S. Special Forces Veterans ’93
- “The Essence of Combat – Making Black Hawk Down” Featurettes
- “Getting It Right”
- “Crash Course”
- “Battlefield Morocco”
- “Hymn to the Fallen”
- “Digital Warriors”
- “After Action Report”
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - The Blu-ray Disc features the Unrated Edition of the film along with added-value features in high-definition including:
- Audio commentary with Director Adam McKay and Friends (Ian Roberts, Chris Henchy)
- Nine Deleted & Extended Scenes
- “Going for the Win”
- “I’m Hot”
- “Little Sticker on Windshield”
- “Ricky in Hospital”
- “Gas Money”
- “Jenga Scene (Extended)”
- “What’d You Do Today?”
- “Cal Calls Ricky (TV Room version 1)”
- “Return to the Garage”
- Three Interviews
- “Ricky & Cal Interview”
- “Jean & Gregory Interview”
- “Cal & Carley Interview”
- Gag Reel
- Line-O-Rama (Part 1)
- Bonus Race Footage
- Ricky & Cal’s Commercials
- Ricky & Cal’s PSAs
- Walker & Texas Ranger
- Will Ferrell Returns to Talladega
- Theatrical Trailer
Additional added-value features not in high-definition:
- Daytona 500 Spot
- Nascar Chase for the Nextel Cup Spot
- Sirius and NASCAR Spot
Comments
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I read this other news about BluRay starting region coding this fall, but it said nothing about what titles and when:
It looks like the days of region-free Blu-ray disc playback are coming to an end. The Blu-ray Disc Association has decided to begin burning regional codes onto discs sold in the format beginning this fall. --- Variety is reporting this morning that the decision to institute the coding system emerged from talks between Advanced Access Content System members who belong to the Blu-ray Disc Association. Warner Bros. reportedly opposed the system, citing the ineffectiveness of the current coding setup for conventional DVDs, but was outvoted.
Read the whole article at: http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Region_Coding/Blu-ray_to_Begin_Region-Coding_This_Fall___/277
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I didn't expect this many 50GB titles at this stage and it seems that the competition is making them expedite their timetable.
It is also rumored that one of these titles may ship with the PS3. Now that would mean that they have got quite a few 50GB discs in production.
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Or maybe it's because a lot of high def owners in the US are sports fans who appreciate the kind of comedy flicks on offer ;)
(Black Hawk excepted of course but then that's no masterpiece either).
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It'll be interesting.
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Originally Posted by Michael Mackenzie:
but do Click and Talladega Nights really need 50 GB discs? Odd.
I was thinking the same, especially with Click. The extras aren't exactly stacked.
Surely extras even HD ones don't take up 25Gbs?
Originally Posted by Zombi:
If the extras are in HD then they'll probably need 50GB discs given they previously missed off the SD extras equivalent HD DVD releases have had.
Fine if they're the same price but if they charge more I won't be happy. I don't give a stuff if extras are in HD. They're extras!
Many deleted scenes today aren't even remastered, imagine those with all the counters still there in HD.
Originally Posted by David Mackenzie:
Good news, question is though will it make a big difference to the picture quality of the film itself while Sony are still pushing out MPEG-2 transfers to save them royalty money?
Surely this wouldn't be an imagine with twice as much space to play with?
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Originally Posted by bradavon:
Surely this wouldn't be an imagine with twice as much space to play with?
Well, if you look at the maths of the issue, a 9 GB DVD9 is generally considered to be sufficient for a movie, a 448 Kbps DD5.1 track (plus perhaps additional language tracks) and extras. A 50 GB Blu-ray disc has slightly more than 5 times the available space. However, they need to fit in video with 6 times the resolution, plus considerably larger space requirements for uncompressed PCM, higher bit rate Dolby Digital, and now HD extras. The bottom line is that, even on a 50 GB disc, without a more efficient codec it's still going to be a squeeze. And that still doesn't resolve MPEG2's colour space issues, often manifested in animated material in the form of banded gradients. The bottom line is that MPEG2 is an outdated format and shouldn't still be in use. Sony doesn't give a stuff about image quality, only about making as much money as possible. Which is fair enough, their business is to make money, but the likes of Universal and Warner seemed to have found a way to do it that allows them to provide a good product and make money.
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Some people at sony need their behinds kicked. And I can forsee the public doing it to them.
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Originally Posted by Michael Mackenzie:
If these are genuinely in production
I'm not sure why they wouldn't be genuinely in production. It'd be very strange to announce something and then 4 days later look stupid. I'd imagine that Click is already with most retailers.
do Click and Talladega Nights really need 50 GB discs? Odd.
I don't know about "need", they'd probably look fine with 25GB but 50GB should ensure that the picture quality is flawless. Click is the one title I was really hoping would get 50GB treatment, I'm sure I read how good it looks having been shot in HD.
Blu-Ray uses MPEG-2?
Blu-Ray uses the same codecs as HD DVD, namely MPEG2, H.264 and VC-1
Sony are still pushing out MPEG-2 transfers to save them royalty money
Sony are using MPEG2 because the encoders are far mature and it takes longer to get a good encoding from VC-1. I doubt they're saving money on royalties, I imagine it costs them the same. If that were the case why would Warner start using VC-1? Were they greedy and then had a change of heart?
Sony doesn't give a stuff about image quality, only about making as much money as possible.
Is that a fact?
No company "cares" about image quality, they'll usually do just enough satisfy the consumer
the kind of films being released on HD formats are those that have little appeal to those who are really serious about movies and appreciate high def.
Don't people who'd buy Click appreciate high definition video? There's no corrolation there. People like the films they like, most want the highest quality they can get for the films they watch. There will always be people with bad taste in film no matter how good the quality of the video.
The reason Click was selected for BD release was because it's day and date with DVD
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Originally Posted by camaj:
I'm not sure why they wouldn't be genuinely in production. It'd be very strange to announce something and then 4 days later look stupid. I'd imagine that Click is already with most retailers.
You mean like when they first announced Black Hawk Down (and Resident Evil Apocalypse, and Sense and Sensibility, and...) for a June release date? Like when they claimed that dual-layer discs would be available for July? Like when they said the Playstation 3 would be released internationally in November? Sorry, but as far as Sony is concerned, I no longer believe a word they say. They lie out of their backsides and continually make themselves look stupid, but it doesn't seem to bother them. In the case of Click, yes, I'd be surprised if it didn't come out, but I'd err on the side of caution for the other two releases.
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Originally Posted by Michael Mackenzie:
Like when they claimed that dual-layer discs would be available for July?
I don't ever remember BHD being given a release date other than "Summer"
Like when they said the Playstation 3 would be released internationally in November?
I believe that it will be released internationally in November.
They lie out of their backsides and continually make themselves look stupid, but it doesn't seem to bother them.
A lot of companies have products that slip, that doesn't mean they were "lying". Does it bother them, probably but they're hardly going to sack the entire board and give the product away for free just because they were a bit over abmitious.
Toshiba originally announced their HD DVD player for Q4 2005, some people forget that.
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Originally Posted by camaj:
I believe that it will be released internationally in November.
If "internationally" means "North America and Japan only". I believe the exact phrase used was "worldwide launch".
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They want all their main future releases to have Picture-In Picture commentary (as well as other Java interactivity)/Blu-Ray wizard/HD Extras as well as lossless soundtracks.
I believe Fox/Disney is doing the same as well. Look for them in 2007.
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Originally Posted by napalm68:
Blu-Ray uses MPEG-2? OMG, that is just... senseless.
Some people at sony need their behinds kicked. And I can forsee the public doing it to them.
What's wrong with MPEG-2?
It's less lossy than the formats that cram more onto a disc and potentially has fewer artefacts as I understand it. Would make sense to use MPEG-2 on a higher capacity disc than say MPEG-4 on a lower capacity.
It's better than some proprietary Sony licenced format that costs a fortune.
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Originally Posted by DeadKenny:
What's wrong with MPEG-2?
It takes up far too much space (as I showed with my little equation in the post above) and has colour reproduction problems (as I already mentioned). It's one of the key reasons for the current crop of Blu-ray discs from Sony looking so shit.
Sony has no reason to continue using this aged, outdated format, other than the fact that they own patents in it and therefore stand to make considerable money if they can convince studios to use it. As it happens, MPEG2 was actually the only codec in the Blu-ray spec until very late in the game.
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Originally Posted by Michael Mackenzie:
Originally Posted by DeadKenny:
What's wrong with MPEG-2?
It takes up far too much space (as I showed with my little equation in the post above) and has colour reproduction problems (as I already mentioned). It's one of the key reasons for the current crop of Blu-ray discs from Sony looking so shit.
You haven't seen Tears of the Sun then: which is on MPEG-2/BD25?
It's absolutely stunning and on par with anything on HD-DVD.
Yes, MPEG-2 takes up space but if it's encoded correctly it still can take your breathe away.
Anyway, to get more HD extras/java/Picture-in picture commentary/Blu Wizard and interactivity Sony are having to move to the AVC codec.
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Originally Posted by RisingSun:
You haven't seen Tears of the Sun then: which is on MPEG-2/BD25?
It's absolutely stunning and on par with anything on HD-DVD.
Yes, MPEG-2 takes up space but if it's encoded correctly it still can take your breathe away.
Anyway, to get more HD extras/java/Picture-in picture commentary/Blu Wizard and interactivity Sony are having to move to the AVC codec.
Just because they have one decent-looking title (albeit one that a number of reviewers have still found fault with in terms of compression) doesn't suddenly make MPEG2 a viable option. Yes, I'm sure the possibility exists to get good results from it provided you get not only a really good compressionist but also material that will compress easily, but that doesn't excuse the pile of crap-looking discs that came out at the start (and are, according to reports, still coming out). If Sony are indeed moving to AVC then that can only be a good thing, but if they have any decency, they should go back to their MPEG2 titles, re-encode every single one of them and offer to replace them free of charge.
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I wonder if the problem is moer Sony's bad handling rather than using an old codec?
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Originally Posted by Michael Mackenzie:
Originally Posted by RisingSun:
You haven't seen Tears of the Sun then: which is on MPEG-2/BD25?
It's absolutely stunning and on par with anything on HD-DVD.
Yes, MPEG-2 takes up space but if it's encoded correctly it still can take your breathe away.
Anyway, to get more HD extras/java/Picture-in picture commentary/Blu Wizard and interactivity Sony are having to move to the AVC codec.
Just because they have one decent-looking title (albeit one that a number of reviewers have still found fault with in terms of compression) doesn't suddenly make MPEG2 a viable option.
You talk about if every HD-DVD disc is lookin so fine. I can tell you that whatever codec it was encoded in, if Tears of the Sun was on HD-DVD as the state it is on BD: fans would be singing its praises.
Originally Posted by Michael Mackenzie:
Yes, I'm sure the possibility exists to get good results from it provided you get not only a really good compressionist but also material that will compress easily, but that doesn't excuse the pile of crap-looking discs that came out at the start (and are, according to reports, still coming out).
Lately there have being a lots Warner titles encoded in VC-1 if anything. Which are identical their HD-DVD counterpart releases.
Yes, Sony (and lionsgate) did get things wrong from the start, but to completely talk about the past titles to the future upcoming one is unfair.
I am sure Sony will re-release and re-code their past titles in a special edition, but so will the HD-DVD camp. I don’t think Sony has to refund anything for their past titles. They are Blu-Ray exclusives (and they were in HD; albeit not up to standard).
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Originally Posted by RisingSun:
You talk about if every HD-DVD disc is lookin so fine. I can tell you that whatever codec it was encoded in, if Tears of the Sun was on HD-DVD as the state it is on BD: fans would be singing its praises.
With respect, that's irrelevant. The point I'm making is that MPEG2 is not a viable option if you want quality on a consistent basis. I'd saying the same if MPEG2 titles were released on HD DVD. Thankfully, Warner, Universal and Paramount haven't been that stupid.
Lately there have being a lots Warner titles encoded in VC-1 if anything. Which are identical their HD-DVD counterpart releases.
Yes, Sony (and lionsgate) did get things wrong from the start, but to completely talk about the past titles to the future upcoming one is unfair.
I am sure Sony will re-release and re-code their past titles in a special edition, but so will the HD-DVD camp. I don’t think Sony has to refund anything for their past titles. They are Blu-Ray exclusives (and they were in HD; albeit not up to standard).
The HD DVD camp have no reason at the moment to re-release and re-code their past titles, because, as far as I am aware, none of them are even remotely comparable to the worst Sony has put out. Sony are, in some cases, offering discs that are barely distinguishable from their standard definition counterparts (e.g. The Fifth Element, House of Flying Daggers). In these cases they damn well ought to be offering to replace discs that have already been sold, because as far as I'm concerned they are defective. You say "They are Blu-Ray exclusives" as if that gives them the right to sell any old garbage.
My point is that they should not have used MPEG2. It is an outdated, inefficient, bloated codec that has no place in a next generation format. You point to a single title (Tears of the Sun) as proof that it is viable, when in fact the numbers, both in terms of the number of poor quality releases and the sheer mathematics, are stacked against it. I have no idea what they will come up with in the future, but I'm talking about the present state of things, which is not particularly rosy. Everything else is pure conjecture. Then again, virtually every argument in Blu-ray's favour so far has been "Oh, it'll get better eventually"... I'm not interested in eventually. There is another format out right now that has been fulfilling all of its promises from the word go. Blu-ray won't ever be better than HD DVD, only as good, and I see no point in waiting around for Sony to get into gear and deliver something that can only ever be as good, for twice the price.
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Originally Posted by Michael Mackenzie:
Originally Posted by RisingSun:
You talk about if every HD-DVD disc is lookin so fine. I can tell you that whatever codec it was encoded in, if Tears of the Sun was on HD-DVD as the state it is on BD: fans would be singing its praises.
With respect, that's irrelevant. The point I'm making is that MPEG2 is not a viable option if you want quality on a consistent basis. I'd saying the same if MPEG2 titles were released on HD DVD. Thankfully, Warner, Universal and Paramount haven't been that stupid.
Not that it matters because every studio will switch to either AVC/VC-1; but that one title proves that MPEG-2 still has life in it.
You may not like it but maybe on BD50 discs it will shine on a more consistent basis. It seemed like you were prejudging these above titles on Sony past effort. This is so wrong.
Of course I am gonna look stupid if Sony's BD50 titles show no improvement but it's still a wrong frame of mind to set yourself in.
Then again, virtually every argument in Blu-ray's favour so far has been "Oh, it'll get better eventually"... I'm not interested in eventually. There is another format out right now that has been fulfilling all of its promises from the word go. Blu-ray won't ever be better than HD DVD, only as good, and I see no point in waiting around for Sony to get into gear and deliver something that can only ever be as good, for twice the price.
Now you’re predicting the future? :confused:
The price is only a short term thing. (BTW: Toshiba are making a loss on every player they sell. BDA does not have that policy on standalone players)
I say one thing that's almost certain: Blu-Ray has is the advantage of being better than HD-DVD by conveniently putting all the extras and interactivity on 1 disc.
HD-DVD is maxing out already.
I don't know how Peter Jackson can do his long Lord of the Ring movies with Picture in Picture; let alone other extras on 1 disc
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Originally Posted by RisingSun:
The price is only a short term thing. (BTW: Toshiba are making a loss on every player they sell. BDA does not have that policy on standalone players)
You mean in much the same way that Sony is subsidising the cost of dual-layer discs?
As it happens, the notion that Toshiba is losing money on every player they sell is mere speculation. Toshiba have never publicly stated how much each player costs them, and those who say they are making a loss tend to assume that Toshiba is paying retail prices for their components, which is highly unlikely.
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