http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4210551.stm
BBC NEWS
What high-definition will do to DVDs
By Jo Twist
BBC News science and technology reporter
First it was the humble home video, then it was the DVD, and now
Hollywood is preparing for the next revolution in home entertainment -
high-definition.
High-definition gives incredible, 3D-like pictures and surround sound.
The DVD disks and the gear to play them will not be out for another
year or so, and there at are still a number of issues to be sorted
out.
But when high-definition films do come out on the new format DVDs, it
will profoundly change home entertainment.
For Rick Dean, director of business development for digital content
company THX, a high-definition future is an exciting prospect.
He has worked on the Star Wars DVD trilogy, Finding Nemo, The
Incredibles and Indiana Jones.
"There was a time not so long ago when the film world and the video
world were two completely separate worlds," he told the BBC News
website.
I would love to be able to show people what projects that we
worked on really look like in the high-def world and I find it very
exciting
Rick Dean, THX
"The technology we are dealing with now means they are very much
conjoined.
"The film that we see in theatres is coming from the same digital file
that we take the home video master," he says.
But currently, putting a master feature film onto DVD requires severe
compression because current DVD technology cannot hold as much as
high-definition films demand.
"As much as you compress the picture data rate wise, you also take
qualities away from the picture that we fight so hard to keep in the
master," he explains.
"I would love to be able to show people what projects that we worked
on really look like in the high-def world and I find it very
exciting."
More to a disk
High-definition DVDs can hold up to six times more data than the DVDs
we are used to.
It will take time though to persuade people who spent money on DVD
players to buy the different players and displays required to watch
high-definition DVDs in 18 months' time.
Mr Dean is confident though: "I think if they see real HD
[high-definition], not some heavily compressed version of it, there is
such a remarkable difference.
"I have heard comments from people who say the images pop off the
screen."
High-definition will mean some changes for those working behind the
scenes too.
On the whole, producing films for high-definition DVDs will be easier
in some ways because less compression is needed.
Equally, it may mean Hollywood studios ask for more to be put onto the
average DVD.
"When we master movies right now, our data rates are running at about
1.2 gigabits per second," says Mr Dean.
"Our DVDs that we put out today have to be squashed down to about five
or six megabits per second.
"That's a huge amount of compression that has to be applied - about
98%. So if you have anything that allows more space, you don't have to
compress so hard."
Studios could fit a lot more marketing material, games, and features,
onto high-capacity DVDs.
Currently, an entire DVD project can take up to three months, says Mr
Dean.
Although the step of down-converting will be bypassed, this will
realistically only save a day's work, says Mr Dean.
One of the most time consuming elements is building DVD navigation and
menu systems.
On the fairly complex Star Wars disks, making sure the menu buttons
worked took 45 human hours alone.
If studios want to cash in on the extra space, it could mean extra
human hours, for which someone has to pay.
"If the decision on the studio side is that they are going to put a
lot more on these disks, it could be more expensive because of all the
extra navigation that is required."
And if studios do focus on delivering more "added value content",
thinks Mr Dean, ultimately it could mean that they will want more
money for it.
Those costs could filter down to the price ticket on a high-definition
DVD. But if the consumer is not willing to pay a premium price,
studios will listen, thinks Mr Dean.
Death Star filing cabinets
High-definition throws up other challenge to film makers and DVD
production alike.
More clarity on screen means film makers have to make doubly sure that
attention to detail is meticulous.
"When we did the first HD version of Star Wars Episode I, everybody
was very sun-tanned, but that was make-up.
"In the HD version of Episode I, all these make-up lines showed up,"
explains Mr Dean.
The restoration of the older Star Wars episodes revealed some
interesting items too.
"There are scans of a corridor [on the Death Star] and fairly plainly
in one of those shots, there is a file cabinet stuck behind one of the
doorways.
"You never used to be able to see it because things are just blurred
enough during the pan that you just didn't see it."
What high-definition revolution ultimately means is that the line
between home entertainment and cinema worlds will blur.
With home theatre systems turning living rooms into cinemas, this line
blurs even further.
It could also mean that how we get films, and in what format, will
widen.
"In the future we are going to look towards file delivery over IP
[internet protocol - broadband], giving a DVD-like experience from the
set-top box to the hard drive," says Mr Dean.
But that is some time off for most, and for now, people still like to
show off something physical in their bookshelves.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/h...gy/4210551.stm
Published: 2005/01/31 08:27:58 GMT
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