Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

icruise · Mar 23, 2007, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by goMac

The AppleTV does 1080i Eug. I don't know whether it outputs 1080i at 60 fps or 30 fps. If it did 60, as you said, it would be able to do 1080p quality.

Really? I thought it was only 720p. The tech specs do mention that you can use it with a 1080i-compatible TV though, so I'm not sure what that means.

analogue SPRINKLES · Mar 23, 2007, 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by icruise

Really? The tech specs don't mention 1080i.

I heard it does 1080i also.

goMac · Mar 23, 2007, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by icruise

Really? I thought it was only 720p. The tech specs do mention that you can use it with a 1080i-compatible TV though, so I'm not sure what that means.

On the setup screen you can tell it to run at 1080i.

Eug · Mar 23, 2007, 02:55 PM

Yes, you can do 1080i, but that's a scaled resolution. The max AVC settings are:

H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps)

That's pretty disappointing. It doesn't even support 1080i60 or even 720p30.

HD DVD/Blu-ray is 12-20 Mbps AVC/VC-1 or even higher bitrate MPEG2.

Cadaver · Mar 23, 2007, 10:47 PM

Bummer... a blow for Blu-Ray and a win for HD-DVD -

The Matrix box sets have been announced for HD-DVD. Coming in May. Blu-Ray versions are delayed at least several months due to apparent BD-Java problems or something like that.
Sorry, don't have a link handy, but I read it today on one of the HD video forums.

I'd consider buying an HD-DVD player for this.

exca1ibur · Mar 23, 2007, 11:10 PM

Originally Posted by Cadaver

Bummer... a blow for Blu-Ray and a win for HD-DVD -

The Matrix box sets have been announced for HD-DVD. Coming in May. Blu-Ray versions are delayed at least several months due to apparent BD-Java problems or something like that.
Sorry, don't have a link handy, but I read it today on one of the HD video forums.

I'd consider buying an HD-DVD player for this.

Its here

If it wasn't coming out at ALL... it MIGHT, be a blow to Blu ray. It's a delay basically, not a major killer. I'll wait. Plenty coming out until then for me.

mrtew · Mar 24, 2007, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by Cadaver

Bummer... a blow for Blu-Ray and a win for HD-DVD - The Matrix box sets have been announced for HD-DVD. I'd consider buying an HD-DVD player for this.

Wow I can't believe there's people who still haven't got enought of the Matrix. Sorry but you couldn't pay me to sit thru another 10 minutes of that.

Cadaver · Mar 24, 2007, 10:02 AM

I wasn't one of the people who watched it 75 times or more when it came out on DVD, so it still has some thrill for me. And now that I've got a 103" projection screen, I'd like to see it in high-def!

Adam Betts · Mar 24, 2007, 11:09 AM

Only first Matrix is worth purchasing. Not gonna bother renting/purchasing it unless they release Matrix 1 standalone HD.

Children of Men is coming out very soon and it's only for HD-DVD. I haven't watched the movie yet but I think it would be a worthy purchase for many.

hmurchison2001 · Mar 24, 2007, 02:00 PM

I like the whole Trilogy. It would have been very difficult to outdo the first Matrix. It was almost the perfect Sci Fi film.

Children of Men is a good film as well but it hits you emotionally in ways you won't expect. The cinematography was excellent with the long shots and in car pans.

Rumors are a second "big" title is due for announcement on HD DVD soon.

Eug · 04:02 PM

Children of Men is one I'm strongly considering buying. I saw it in the theatres, and while not a perfect movie, it was one of my favourites last year. Certainly the long one-shot war scenes were astounding. In any case, I liked it a heluvalot more than Casino Royale (although I liked Casino Royale), and though Pirates of the Caribbean was just kinda stupid. YMMV.

As for the Matrix, I may buy it, or I may not. It kinda depends on pricing. I haven't seen it in years so it may be time to see again, and I've only ever seen II and III once.

I'm just glad Matrix isn't gonna be TotalHD on HD DVD. They say the prices for TotalHD are going to be reasonable, but I suspect that they will be a few bux more.

EDIT:

No relief for BD-J issues until fall 2007... but you'll probably need a new Blu-ray player.

Blu-ray Disc players released after Oct. 31 will feature markedly improved functionality over models currently available for sale.

The Blu-ray Disc Assn. has mandated that all hardware streeting after that date must be able to play back picture-in-picture video, as driven by BD Java interactive technology. Many players on shelves now can handle BD Java, but to varying degrees. Few Blu-ray players include picture-in-picture capability, for instance, not even the PlayStation 3.

Sony’s current and summer 2007 stand-alone models and available Pioneer and Philips units are among those lacking the picture-in-picture feature.

With two different pools of players at retail in the near future, studios will have to navigate how to best create titles that play universally. A title with a highly touted picture-in-picture feature, for example, might not play properly on all players.

“For studios, it’s always a good idea at this stage to test” titles on all available players, said Andy Parsons, senior VP of advanced product development at Pioneer Electronics. Pioneer has upgraded its own BD Java playback with a firmware update, as posted on its site earlier this week. Prior to the upgrade, Pioneer owners could not see Lionsgate’s intended flashlight graphic within the menu portion of its Blu-ray version of The Descent.

Yet Parsons doubts that firmware alone would facilitate picture-in-picture, a relatively complicated part of the BD Java specification.

exca1ibur · Mar 24, 2007, 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by Eug

As for the Matrix, I may buy it, or I may not. It kinda depends on pricing. I haven't seen it in years so it may be time to see again, and I've only ever seen II and III once.

I'm just glad Matrix isn't gonna be TotalHD on HD DVD. They say the prices for TotalHD are going to be reasonable, but I suspect that they will be a few bux more.

There ya go... from the article I posted about it.

Suggested list price will be $99.99 for 'The Complete Matrix Trilogy' and, for only $20 more, you can grab 'The Ultimate Matrix Collection' for $119.99.

Eug · Mar 24, 2007, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by exca1ibur

There ya go... from the article I posted about it.

Yes I know, but there's no way I'm paying MSRP for that. I'd consider paying up to CAD$99.99 (US$86) for The Ultimate Matrix collection, but even that's pushing it. There's no chance in hell I'm paying US$119.99.

Brien · Mar 24, 2007, 06:26 PM

Yeah, $120 is a bit steep and at that price proabably not going to do a whole lot.

olePigeon · Mar 25, 2007, 12:37 AM

I only liked the first movie. The other two were pretty lame.

Eug · Mar 25, 2007, 12:58 AM

For US$69.99 I'd buy the Ultimate Collection for sure. For US$99.99 I would not buy it. For US$79.99 I'd probably buy it.

Eug · 11:27 AM

Hmmm... Not bad. The Matrix Ultimate HD DVD Collection is US$83.95 at Amazon.com.

There should be another 10% discount on top of that for many of us, bringing it to US$75.56, but for some reason I'm not getting that additional discount.

P.S. It seems that The Fifth Element is coming to HD DVD, despite the fact it's a Sony Pictures title. It turns out it's being released on HD DVD in Europe, with a new VC-1 encode, which is supposed to be better image quality than the MPEG2 encode on the Blu-ray version. (For those buying HD DVDs, the European version will be fine, since there's no region coding. The problem though is that this title will be expensive by North American standards, especially if you add in shipping.)

analogue SPRINKLES · Mar 26, 2007, 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by Eug

P.S. It seems that The Fifth Element is coming to HD DVD, despite the fact it's a Sony Pictures title. It turns out it's being released on HD DVD in Europe, with a new VC-1 encode, which is supposed to be better image quality than the MPEG2 encode on the Blu-ray version.

They are re-releasing the BR version with the better encode also.