Here's a fascinating find via Scott Simmons: David Bordwell admits to being a frame counter, and his calculative observations of edited sequences reveals the differences between film and video formats. Bordwell counts exact frames in tightly edited sequences from 35mm/16mm film prints and reveals the arithmetical precision used by directors and editors to create a specific rhythm. Watching the same film on different video formats (VHS, DVD, and Laserdisc) Bordwell then observes the differences in precise sequence lengths in frames due to differing video frame rates and 3:2 pulldown. It's an excellent read highlighting the differences between film and video frame rates, NTSC vs. PAL, and interlaced versus progressive formats, and how all of these different factors affect the actual rhythm of film editing.

(via editblog)

You might remember reading about Doom9 member Muslix64's successful attempt at bypassing the AACS encryption system of HD DVD, resulting in his BackupHDDVD software that enables users to extract files from the discs. Slyck News has interviewed Muslix64 to gather his thoughts on fair use, and clearing the misconceptions about "hacking". Muslix64 also explains the differences between content and copy protection, and decryption differences between HD DVD and Blu-Ray. All in all, it's a fascinating and enlightening read.

(via FresHDV)

Just discovered this on HDforIndies: Jarred Land of DVXUser.com will be launching a new website devoted to enabling independents to self-distribute their films on DVD. RocketIndie does the dirty work of producing the actual DVDs, processing orders, and shipping them out to customers, and this comes at no startup or monthly cost to the original creator. The service handles all the labor of organizing orders and getting the goods out to customers. They do not market the product, but instead act as an invisible store. Although you can send them your own mastered DVDs, they also offer the option of designing your disc from the ground up, but it is unclear at what cost. Nevertheless, if you want to get your film on DVD out there without having to worry about processing orders, and running to the post office, this could be a very convenient solution. Read the FAQ for the full scoop. RocketIndie launches on February 1st.

A mere month after the release of programmer Muslix64's BackupHDDVD, which allows users to bypass the copy protection of both HD DVD and Blu-Ray discs, the first pirated movie has hit BitTorrent. Serenity is now floating around on BitTorrent channels as a .EVO file, playable on most DVD playback software, weighing in at 19.6GB with MPEG-4 VC-1 encoding. BackupHDDVD is not a complete package as far as ripping discs, because users must obtain and insert a volume or title key to extract the files. However, is this first HD DVD torrent the beginning of a new influx of illegal movie downloads via hackers and pirates? Do big studios already have to worry about an ensuing copy protection battle, with the format wars not even settled?

Ok, so we're a little late on this news, but nevertheless: AACS (Advanced Access Content System), HD DVD and Blu-Ray's copy protection scheme has been cracked by Doom9 forum member muslix64. His BackupHDDVD tool decrypts AACS on a PC after you insert a crypto key into the utility. After that, you can freely copy the video content straight off the disc. It's no surprise, though: seems like there is just no such thing as guaranteed un-crackability. (No, I don't think that's a word either.) Check out Engadget's post for confirmation of the cracking process. And if you want to learn more about the intricacies of AACS check out this post.

Hoping to bridge the barely-shrinking HD DVD and Blu-Ray gap, Warner has announced yet another new format merging the two competing formats, dubbed the Total Hi Def disc. Warner claims that the discs can contain dual layers of both HD DVD and Blu-ray content on a single disc, at no increased cost. The first releases are expected to hit shelves during the second half of this year, but no specifics were released. Will this format actually stick, and should we expect companies to support it? Who knows... but this whole format battle seems to just be dragging on and on... blergh.

Blu-ray was out in full force today at CES with numerous announcements.
First up, HP announced it's first Blu-ray burner, the BD135. All we know about it is it will ship sometime in the first half of the year.
Second,all of the top Blu-rayers gathered together for their press event held today with representatives from Warner and Disney among others. Their big announcement, victory over HD DVD. How can they make this bold claim?

1. Only 4 of the top 20 next gen DVDs were HD DVD.
2. Blu-ray holds 96% of Japan market.
3. The PS3 seems to be the pillar of confidence for Blu-ray with numerous surveys indicating many plan to use the PS3 as their primary DVD player.

These "facts" sound a bit dubious to me, but it is good to see the association is kicking with confidence. Too bad no one else seems to be enjoying the format war as much as these guys. Check out the full transcript from the event.

As most of you are aware, both the PS3, and the Xbox 360 have a means of providing consumers with HD movie playback. I harped on this issue for a while, ultimately deciding neither was ready for the big leagues. Now the holidays have come and gone, and our friends over at Joystiq have me rethinking things.

They link to a Wall Street Journal article talks about the current state of affairs in the HD format war. Their main focus is on the potential future of universal players(both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD) from LG and HP. I do think these catch-all devices could be the solution consumers are looking for, but there was some additional info in the article I found even more interesting.

According to the article, there is a combined total of about 695,000 Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players in the wild. Of those, a mere 25,000 are stand-alone players. The rest are comprised of either the PS3, or the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player.

I have to admit, this number surprised me. As I think more about it though, it really makes sense. The video game system/movie players represent both the low price end of the spectrum, and a value-added product. (I minored in sales.) In short, you pay less and get more. Consumers are savvy enough these days to know a good deal when they see one, and PS3 and Xbox 360 provide a descent stopgap until these dual format players reach the market.

READ via Joystiq

LG's first hybrid Blu-Ray and HD DVD player, the BH100 is closer to reality with a recent introduction of the hardware. Consumers should no longer have to settle exclusively on either format when the player launches for $1,199 sometime during the first quarter of this year. The player features 1080p HDMI and component video output, 5.1 analog audio outputs, coaxial and digital optical outputs and an Ethernet connection. Expect more details soon.

(via EngadgetHD)

If you need a way to make your movie available for purchase, CustomFlix is doing what they can to make it easy for you. Darren Giles, Co-Founder of CustomFlix Labs, Inc., has written an article on the process of creating a CustomFlix account, getting your movie package created and getting it listed on CustomFlix and Amazon.com. Once your movie is listed, you may have people find your work accidentally with searches, but if you hope to make any money you'll have to get the word out and drive some traffic to the sites. You can never get away from marketing.

It looks like more problems for Blu-Ray, and Sony this week, as several people are complaining about horror film 'The Descent' not working in their machines. The disk is one of Sony's new 50GB mega discs, and features a boatload of extras, including one of the first ever picture-in-picture directors commentaries, and a bunch of BD-Java encoded content.

It seems both the Sony BDP-S1 and Pioneer Elite Blu-ray players are choking on the disk. Problems range from not being able to use the interactive special features, to just getting a black screen. Each of the player's respective manufacturers says an update will fix the problem, and is on the way soon. Hopefully they'll have everything ironed out before LG's combo player hits the shelves.

In a move the studios are apparently really excited about, the Associated Press is reporting the MPAA has signed off on a technology from Sonic Solutions that allows legally downloaded movies to be burned to DVD. These average, everyday burned DVDs allow consumers to play them in their average, everyday players. The twist? The burned DVDs have CSS, the copy protection scheme behind "real" DVDs, embedded on them. As most people know, however, CSS is easily overcome, but as long as it makes the movie industry happy, I'm happy.

I originally titled this post "Oh, snap!" because LG's on again off again combo HD-DVD + Blu-Ray player, if released, could save next-gen optical from an untimely demise. Many consumers (including me) have been sitting on the sidelines of the format war waiting for a clear winner, but obviously a combo player would not only be a winner for LG, but retailers might start moving some Blu-Ray and HD-DVD titles off the shelves.

Finally we could see some sort of unification. Please, oh please, LG, don't dash our hopes! And Samsung, we know you're all cozy with Blu-Ray and e'rythang, but throw us a bone and release a dual format player too.

[Via Engadget]

I don't think I have the patience to be an animator. In this little blurb about the animation of The Very First Noel, it talks a little about the project that required 17 minutes of animation be completed in 10 weeks. Reel FX did the production with each animator creating about 8-10 seconds per week. The part I found humorous was after they realized creating new background characters was going to take up too much time, the adopted a Mr. Potato Head approach: grab body parts from other characters to quickly create a new character. The story is narrated by Andy Griffith and is available now on DVD.

In a report released by Nielson Media Research, more households now own more DVD players than VCRs. DVD ownership rose 6.1% from a year ago translating to 81.2% of American households that own at least one DVD player. Consequently, VCR ownership dropped 4.5% since last year to 79.2%. It's official, you can now stop dubbing VHS tapes to give to people.

DVD ownership has been tracked since 1999 when only 6.7% of households owned a DVD player. That means it should be 2013 before we have a clear HD optical format winner and by then it won't even matter.