Engadget HD Podcast 099 - 08.27.2008

We start off by talking Blu-ray players -- Samsung, Pioneer and Yamaha all introduced new models this week. We're not ones to complain about increased choice in the market, but we sure do wish that the lower price points would open up. Rumors have been swirling around VUDU this week, and we sympathize with the small company duking it out with much bigger players. Speaking of which, Sony's PlayTV DVR accessory for the PS3 came out, but is it too little, too late? Another company we like to pull for is DISH, which has made the leap (in certain markets) to 100-percent MPEG-4 encoding, which leads us talk about how much (or little) the encoding has to do with ultimate picture quality. That's one area we think ABC needs to step up in its World News Tonight and Nightline productions, so we'll keep hoping for the day that all newscasts get treated to high-quality HD. Finishing up, it's the beginning of football season, which promises lots of joy for college and pro fans alike.


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Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh and Steve Kim

Producer: Trent Wolbe

Program
01:04 - Comments from Engadget HD Podcast 098 - 08.20.2008
16:43 - Samsung gets official with BD-Live-ready BD-P2500 Blu-ray player
18:10 - Best Buy unveils the Samsung BD-P2550
20:53 - Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player leaks out
22:45 - Audioholics sets loose Yamaha BD-S2900 Blu-ray player for less than $1,000
25:20 - Double toil and trouble, VUDU rumor pot bubbles over
34:43 - Sony's PlayTV DVR for PlayStation 3 reviewed on video
37:59 - DISH Network calls first to 100% MPEG-4
41:46 - ABC's World News Tonight and Nightline enter high definition tonight
45:00 - ESPNU HD preps for launch Thursday


LISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)
LISTEN (OGG)

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 28th 2008 12:24PM]

The HD-DVD / Blu-Ray discs that I have that are not 1080p/24.

Discovery Atlas: Australia Revealed (1080i/60) (HD-DVD)
Discovery Atlas: Brazil Revealed (1080i/60) (HD-DVD)

Oddly enough, my China Revealed Blu-Ray is 1080p/24. Go figure. Also, Australia Revealed is mastered really, really funny. All the EVO files are 1GB and under so I had to combine 12 or so EVOs to get all the program ripped. Brazil was just one 14GB EVO file for the main program.

David Gilmour: Remember That Night, Live at the Royal Albert Hall (1080i/60) (Blu-Ray)

Is that close enough to 1080p/30?!? ;->

[funkyp56 Posted Aug 28th 2008 12:56PM]

I really liked the talk about HDMI vs. Comp. While I was at work I remapped my harmony remote to use my HD Directv on Comp. I get bad lipsync on recorded shows using HDMI and toslink so I have been using 2-channel (bleh). When I get home ill hook up the Comp cables and my toslink again. Hopefully the lipsync works. Wish me luck!



$2200??? PSSSH whatever pioneer

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 28th 2008 6:24PM]

Also, I checked my rip of Planet Earth, the ripped and recompressed file was 24 fps as well. And since I don't mess with frame rates (unless the content is interlaced) the must have been the frame rate on the Blu-Ray disc.

Ben, why would you think it would be 30fps progressive?

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 28th 2008 10:17PM]

So plasma isn't good to watch 4:3 content without stretching? That would be a deal breaker. Too many shows aren't available in widescreen. Plus, aren't 16:9 movies putting a black bar on the top and bottom also?

I remember watching shows with 20K plasmas years back that had crazy burn in from the background they used.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 2nd 2008 5:13PM]

What does a $2200 Blu-Ray player buy you? If (big if, I know Ben) you are going HDMI, is there really anything video-wise that the player can do beyond a "regular" player? I guess players overlay their status (playing time, etc) so maybe there is some scaler processing going on, but I thought HDMI sends it in digital to the TV? Maybe a question for AVS Forum...but $2200?

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 3rd 2008 8:51AM]

I know very little about the advantages of HDMI over component, but I know Derek Flickinger. He is my father and they talk about his work on this podcast. I can tell you that if they want him on this show, he can clear it up. It might sound condesending, but if my dad says it's true, it is. He is the largest expert I know in the field of media center and automating homes.