HD Advisor May 29th

[Attebery]

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...dvisor_XV/2860

[crazzeto]

For the homework assignment:

I can't answer on the PS3 side, but having read some online tutorials (trying to help my bro-in-law whom received a PS3 as part of a wedding gift from me) on the PC side you go into windows media player, click the arrow below library, click media sharing, and enaboe sharing. From there your computer may discover your PS3 on the network and you may need to manually autherize the device.

after that, you navigate a bunch of PS3 menus and play your media

[earthquake]

Note that the "Automatic" option for the 24 Hz setting refers to the PS3 automatically matching its video output to the display you've connected it. That option has nothing to do with the encoding of the disc being played. With "Automatic" selected, the PS3 performs an HDMI handshake to determine whether your HDTV can accept a 24 fps signal. If the handshake is rejected, the PS3 disables 24 fps output altogether, even if the disc is encoded at that rate.

Now, for this specified info how does that work when HDMi passes through a receiver? I have mine set for Automatic and would like to know if it's actually at 1080p24.

My Pioneer only tells me the signal is 1080p but not the frame rate. Is there a button on the PS3 remote that will show what's being output or should I set it for the forced 1080p24?

Or should I say screw it and just order the Oppo?

[Josh Z]

Originally Posted by earthquake

Now, for this specified info how does that work when HDMi passes through a receiver? I have mine set for Automatic and would like to know if it's actually at 1080p24.

Every piece of your equipment chain must confirm 1080p24 compatibility during the HDMI handshake. If your TV will accept 1080p24 and your receiver can pass regular 1080p60, you shouldn't have any issues with 1080p24, which actually requires less bandwidth. However, some older receivers may top out at 1080i. And many HDTVs (for whatever stupid reason) aren't designed to accept 1080p24.

My Pioneer only tells me the signal is 1080p but not the frame rate. Is there a button on the PS3 remote that will show what's being output or should I set it for the forced 1080p24?

I don't really see the point of the "Automatic" setting. If your TV is supposed to be compatible with 1080p24, just turn it "On" in the PS3. If you get a picture when you put in a Blu-ray movie, you're golden. If you don't get a picture, you'll know that there's something wrong. Eject the disc, and the PS3's main Xross menu will revert to 1080p60. Then you can turn 24 fps "Off" again.

[ajmrowland]

As much as I love my home theater gear, I'll admit that the area of "convergence" between computer and HD display is the biggest gap in my knowledge base. I'm also not much of a computer guy in general, beyond putzing around on the internet.

Lately, I've had it in mind to compile a reel of trailers for viewing before a movie. I know that there are a number of streaming media devices (like the Popcorn Hour A-110) designed for this purpose. But, and here's the key, I want to spend as little money on this as possible. This project isn't important enough to me to buy or install any new hardware. I already have a computer and I already have a PS3. I know that it's possible to stream video from the computer to the PS3. I need someone to walk me though, step-by-step, how to do that.

Once I've decided what trailers I want, what programs do I need to install on my computer to arrange them in order and edit them into the reel? (I don't want to select them individually. I want this to flow smoothly.) Do I need to re-encode them to a different video format, and how? How do I connect the computer to the PS3 and transfer the content? Start from scratch and hand-hold me through the process!

You say you want to be able to watch movie trailers on your PS3 at a minimal cost. My best advice is to download a video converter software to your computer. However,these programs are never free, and most cost about $40. Any free trial is likely to get you only half the video, so you should purchase one(I personally use Daniusoft Media Converter). From there on, all you have to do is download the HD Windows Media or Quicktime file, and open it with the program, select the file type you want, and you'll soon have a 1080p Movie trailer that you can transfer to your PS3 with a USB drive. Please note that all the flaws of the original video, such as color banding and low bitrate, will still show up on your tv, making these lower in quality than native Playstation Store downloads.

[damonous]

Originally Posted by ajmrowland

You say you want to be able to watch movie trailers on your PS3 at a minimal cost. My best advice is to download a video converter software to your computer. However,these programs are never free, and most cost about $40. Any free trial is likely to get you only half the video, so you should purchase one(I personally use Daniusoft Media Converter). From there on, all you have to do is download the HD Windows Media or Quicktime file, and open it with the program, select the file type you want, and you'll soon have a 1080p Movie trailer that you can transfer to your PS3 with a USB drive. Please note that all the flaws of the original video, such as color banding and low bitrate, will still show up on your tv, making these lower in quality than native Playstation Store downloads.

Even better, if the person with the question really just wants to run a few trailers before a Blu-ray, why not just download them direct to the PS3 hard-drive (or copy via a flash media stick) and run locally via a PS3 video Playlist? A whole lot simpler, I think.

Also, Reader: if you're not a computer geek, then I hope you're running Vista. Vista PC's are pretty-nearly instantly recognized by the PS3 as an available Media Server (at that point, you really just need to free-share your media folders on the PS3: right-click, properties, sharing). I think you'd still be able to do a PS3 Playlist from there. I used to have a couple of XP machines, and for the life of me (whatever freeware media server I tried) the PS3 could never play anything (if it was able to discover them).

But, bottom-line, you'll still indeed run into possible playback/conversion issues. Better-off just using the PS3 itself, which IS a computer, and gives you a pretty well-featured browser these days (with which to download files direct, etc.).

[mictrmbl]

Originally Posted by Josh Z

First, let me say that I love your reviews. Not the "Movie Itself" reviews, being subjective as they are, but the "Sizing Up the Picture" and "Rating the Sound." I often base my Blu-ray purchases on those two segments.

Yes, yes, and yes!

Originally Posted by Josh Z

This is High-Def Digest, and frankly most of us here feel that High Definition is the new minimum acceptable quality standard for watching movies on home video.

I've been dying to read those illustrious words of wisdom. Long Live High Definition!

Originally Posted by Josh Z

And one last thing: I can assure you that every reviewer on this site puts just as much hard work into the "Movie Itself" portion of our articles as we do the technical portions. Taste in movies is of course subjective, but I hope that wouldn't prevent you from listening to another person's perspective and insight into a movie, regardless of whether you ultimately agree with his opinions or not.

Here is where I have to agree with the person who asked this question. I come here to read about the quality of the video, audio, and supplemental features. Your critiques and/or praises of these departments is factual, objective, and informative. However your reviews of the movies themselves are highly subjective and opinionated. Not to be rude, but I really don't care for that section. Many of the movies you've given 1 star to (for the movie itself) I'd given 5 stars, if not more. The truth of the matter is my likes are not your likes, and my dislikes are not your dislikes, and vice versa. Since the movie itself score affects the overall score, I believe that section should either be removed or remain but be given no score, because sometimes it is useful in so far as giving a brief synopsis of the movie.

As always though, many thanks for your hard work and tireless dedication in bringing us the best analytical information about these s.

[Josh Z]

Originally Posted by mictrmbl

Here is where I have to agree with the person who asked this question. I come here to read about the quality of the video, audio, and supplemental features. Your critiques and/or praises of these departments is factual, objective, and informative. However your reviews of the movies themselves are highly subjective and opinionated. Not to be rude, but I really don't care for that section. Many of the movies you've given 1 star to (for the movie itself) I'd given 5 stars, if not more. The truth of the matter is my likes are not your likes, and my dislikes are not your dislikes, and vice versa. Since the movie itself score affects the overall score, I believe that section should either be removed or remain but be given no score, because sometimes it is useful in so far as giving a brief synopsis of the movie.

Why is it so important to you that the movie reviewer have the same opinion as you do? Are you afraid of reading another person's thoughts on a movie, if you don't share his opinion? Have you considered that you might actually learn something or gain some measure of insight by listening to another perspective that you never thought of?

Taste is an evolving process. We develop taste by listening to other people's opinions, thinking about them, and deciding which opinions we agree with and which we don't.

This past weekend, I had to take a 12 year-old to see Night at the Museum 2. He thought it was the greatest movie ever made. He thinks that about pretty much every new movie he sees. I can only hope that, some day, he'll learn to distinguish between good movies and bad movies. He'll do that by learning about movies, by listening to what other people think about movies, and by thinking about what those people said.

[damonous]

Originally Posted by Josh Z

Why is it so important to you that the movie reviewer have the same opinion as you do? Are you afraid of reading another person's thoughts on a movie, if you don't share his opinion? Have you considered that you might actually learn something or gain some measure of insight by listening to another perspective that you never thought of?

Taste is an evolving process. We develop taste by listening to other people's opinions, thinking about them, and deciding which opinions we agree with and which we don't. ...

Keep the faith, Josh! I may not agree with you, or with Peter, or Tom, or whomever, on every movie. But, I absolutely do appreciate the reviews. You guys generally do an intelligent & absorbing job (as a team) with reviewing the actual content of the movie. Ever since Siskel & Ebert were no longer a pair, I've never found a worthy or consistent, trustworthy voice in movie reviews.

I'm used to reading especially yours & Peter's reviews. Enough that (whether you like a movie or not) it gives me the ability to gauge if *I* will like it. It's about getting to know the style of a reviewer, and what they like.

There have been movies someone on HDD has reviewed badly, that I bought because of that, and there have been some that have been reviewed well (and I've refrained, since I know the type of movie that critic likes doesn't mesh with my tastes). And, of course, there have been recommendations or cautions that I have taken or followed.

But, in the end, if you gave some people what they were asking for (not what they actually need, but don't realize it), the reviews on this site would become nothing more than something 'lifeless' (like, for example, Widescreen Review magazine's cookie-cutter, dime-a-dozen "good delineation" & "holosonic" reviews).

[Josh Z]

Originally Posted by damonous

I'm used to reading especially yours & Peter's reviews. Enough that (whether you like a movie or not) it gives me the ability to gauge if *I* will like it. It's about getting to know the style of a reviewer, and what they like.

And that's exactly the right way to use movie reviews.

I use this example a lot, but a few years ago Ebert gave a rave review to the John Travolta firefighter movie 'Ladder 49'. What he wrote about why he liked the movie made it abundantly clear to me that I wouldn't like it at all. And I was exactly right about that. Likewise, he's trashed movies that I could tell from his reviews that I'd like. Therefore, Ebert's reviews are useful to me whether I agree with his opinions or not.

A proper review won't just tell you whether the critic thinks the movie is good or bad, but why he thinks the movie is good or bad. You should take that information, and consider the argument that the critic makes in favor of his own opinion, to decide whether you're likely to agree with that opinion or not.

[Azrial_Igor]

There are a number of streaming programs out there. (PlayOn being my fav it streams HULU, NETFLIX, and many others) but The simplest and best looking solution to what you want to do would be to by a usb flash/jump drive.

steps

1. load or capture the various trailers into video editing software (imovie, final cut)

2. cut together your pre show reel and export it in an PS3 supported format onto your usb drive.

3. put usb drive into ps3, ( you can copy the files onto the ps3 hard drive if you like or not) and play.

enjoy

[mictrmbl]

Originally Posted by Josh Z

Why is it so important to you that the movie reviewer have the same opinion as you do? Are you afraid of reading another person's thoughts on a movie, if you don't share his opinion? Have you considered that you might actually learn something or gain some measure of insight by listening to another perspective that you never thought of?

Taste is an evolving process. We develop taste by listening to other people's opinions, thinking about them, and deciding which opinions we agree with and which we don't.

This past weekend, I had to take a 12 year-old to see Night at the Museum 2. He thought it was the greatest movie ever made. He thinks that about pretty much every new movie he sees. I can only hope that, some day, he'll learn to distinguish between good movies and bad movies. He'll do that by learning about movies, by listening to what other people think about movies, and by thinking about what those people said.

You completely misread my comments and took them totally out of context. First of all, it is of little significance to me that a movie reviewer share my opinion or thought on any given movie. I don't know why everyone here (read my posts) believes that I'm terrified to expose myself to new ideas or differing points of view. I am not; in fact I welcome it, and it is from that I have learned to appreciate and even like foreign movies. 6 years ago no one could have convinced me to see a movie with subtitles. That all changed with "The Passion of the Christ" (this is in no way an endorsement and/or approval of the antisemitism so prevalent throughout) which I enjoyed very much and now own on . I decided to listen to my boyfriend and found out he was right. Reading subtitles while watching a movie can indeed be done. Now I have no problems with foreign movies. So I do expose myself to other peoples' suggestions.
As far as your 12 year old goes, let him think that the movie was great. There's nothing wrong with it. And if he still thinks it's the greatest movie ever made at 21, then don't knock him for it. I still to this day love the animations of the 90's: Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Pocohontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 101 Dalmations, and I'm sure I'm forgetting others. They will always be special to me. And that's my point. I get criticized and made fun of all the time for my love of these movies, but I could care less what they think. So, please, let your 12 year old come into his own.

[raman]

Originally Posted by damonous

Ever since Siskel & Ebert were no longer a pair, I've never found a worthy or consistent, trustworthy voice in movie reviews.

I'm used to reading especially yours & Peter's reviews. Enough that (whether you like a movie or not) it gives me the ability to gauge if *I* will like it. It's about getting to know the style of a reviewer, and what they like.

I can see it now: Bracke & Zyber, the movie review show. Although now that I look at the title it also looks like an animated buddy movie about funky robots. Either way is good.

[raman]

Josh, where are you planning on sourcing these trailers? Ripped from Blu Ray special features or HD downloads like the ones on Apple.com? If your point here is to show theatrical "Coming Attractions" then I assume the latter. Apple trailers can be edited into a single file just with Quicktime Pro and will stream through a PS3 with a program like PS3 Media Server.

Having said that, even the HD Apple trailers are too compressed to look particularly good on a large screen.

A bit of more general advice I'd give because most people have their PCs and PS3s in different rooms. It probably depends on your particular situation, but I live in an old house with thick walls and while my local wireless network works fine for internet usage on various devices throughout the house, Wii and PS3 online gaming, and even fast downloading, I found it unreliable for streaming high bitrate content smoothly between the PC and the PS3. I've gone back to nice old fashioned ethernet cables for those two devices for that reason.

[EatingPie]

The PS3 is a great streaming device. It has only gotten better with every firmware update.

In terms of hardware, if you're streaming HD you need an ethernet connection. Wireless isn't going to do it. I run the ethernet cable directly from my PS3 into my Mac, but any ethernet solution will work. With the Mac connected to the Internet via wireless, I then turn on "Internet Sharing," and the Mac will feed the PS3 an IP address via DHCP. Then the PS3 can go out to the Internet via the Mac's built-in wireless. But when you stream from the Mac to the PS3, you have full ethernet bandwidth (which you'll need for HD!)

On the software side, you need a DLNA server for your Computer. PS3 Media Server (PMS) is a platform-independent solution that has tons of features, like transcoding on the fly. This is the easiest solution because it will take just about any format, including Quicktime Movies downloaded from Apple's site, or VC-1 videos -- neither of which the PS3 will take natively -- and convert them as they play.

Turn on the PS3 first. Then fire up PMS. You should see a big gigantic PS3 picture in the main window when PMS detects the PS3. Back on the PS3, you should see PMS (with your computer name) appear in the XMB above Movies. You select that with your PS3 remote, and navigate down your Computer's folders to your video. Once you select your desired video, it should start playing within a few seconds.

If you already have a DLNA server, your video will need to be a PS3 "native" format. I also recommend you give every file a ".mpg" or ".m2ts" extension so the PS3 detects it (even if your video is not MPEG, the PS3 will still play it fine).

The PS3 takes a couple of different formats for native streaming (without needing to transcode). Video needs to be in a TS or M2TS container. Video must be MPEG2 or MPEG4, with AC3 or PCM audio. The real kicker is that the PS3 can handle 24fps, 30fps, and 25fps... that's right, you can actually stream European caps to the PS3 without transcoding! (Of course, if it's film sourced, you have to put up with the helium voices!)

If you have questions or need clarification, feel free to ask.

-Pie