New company to assist Blu-ray studios with "quality control"

The Blu-ray Disc Association has announced that a new company, BluFocus, has been formed to help assist Blu-ray studios in "quality control checks" of their upcoming Blu-ray releases.

Many have hoped for such a group as titles on Blu-ray and its rival HD DVD are very sophisticated systems of interactivity and many make it to retail shelves with flaws that need later patches or even recalls. The new group will test all titles to ensure they operate on all players before release.

The company has an expertise in the Blu-ray authoring language BD-Java and is "able to run the discs through a variety of tests in order to ensure compatibility with the set standards."

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Jan 2008 18:37

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30 comments

mspurloc

Now that Sony has a monopoly, expect this kind of thing to be a trend.
When they're done, these discs will be DRM-ridden, unplayable on most machines and have a lifespan of about 5 years, tops.

21.1.2008 19:22 #1

camaro17

Originally posted by mspurloc: Now that Sony has a monopoly, expect this kind of thing to be a trend.
When they're done, these discs will be DRM-ridden, unplayable on most machines and have a lifespan of about 5 years, tops.
no, when they are done these discs will look great and sound great. When they say quality control they mean they are checking the quality genius.
They are checking for quality encoding and restoration procedures, thus making the movie look as good as it can get.

Peace

21.1.2008 19:42 #2

error5

As I understand, BluFocus will be used to ensure compatibility across the different BD-J profiles.

For example, a BD Live 2.0 disc will be tested to ensure that it plays properly in previous player models which are profile 1.0 and 1.1, or that a Profile 1.1 disc plays properly in a 1.0 or 2.0 player.

Quote:The company has an expertise in the Blu-ray authoring language BD-Java and is "able to run the discs through a variety of tests in order to ensure compatibility with the set standards."
I assume the Java programmers of BluFocus will be able to make changes in the software to ensure compatibility across different player brands and profiles.

This is just what's needed at this time as we see more and more releases with advanced content.

Quote:The new group will test all titles to ensure they operate on all players before release.
I guess the early adopters are not being ignored after all.

21.1.2008 20:01 #3

_H06_

this is like loading a bullet to gun and putting it right next to HD-DVD's head, the only thing thats stoping blu-ray from shooting HD-DVD would be Universal And Paramount

21.1.2008 21:58 #4

SDF_GR

^ agree with that.
Also i have read today that Porn industry have joined from december 2007 blu-ray camp.I didnt knew that.
There is not much time left to HD-dvd.
HD-DVD is bleeding to death, and Paramount and Universal they just dont say to get it out of it's misery.

The prob is that as long as they stay with HD-DVD side, they will take more and more customers down with toshiba.

22.1.2008 07:37 #5

tleewade

the price is getting right i saw hddvd at walmart for 148 dollars if you buy one you have a first class upconverter for dvd and can play hd even if hd lose you still have a good player. and dvd will be around a long time. in my family i know of only 1 that even has a hd tv but all have a dvd player. getting a hd dvd player now when it is cheap would still be a upgrade so if you get a hd tv be great for upconvert dvds . so you would not lose.

22.1.2008 09:04 #6

hughjars

Originally posted by error5: I guess the early adopters are not being ignored after all. - That assumes that the severe problems the BDA (and Denon) have spoken about can be resolved.

This does not guarantee that at all.

22.1.2008 09:18 #7

juankerr

The important thing is that the BDA has acknowledged that severe problems could arise from the different profiles.

This is precisely why BluFocus was formed.

Quote:This does not guarantee that at all. What's guaranteed is that there will be people from BluFocus, including Java programmers, that will test future 1.1 and 2.0 releases to ensure functionality and compatibility across all players and profiles.

The whole point of BluFocus' existence is to prevent the release of titles that will cause conflicts or playback problems with current and future players of all brands and profiles.

22.1.2008 10:29 #8

sk8flawzz

hopefully this works and the early adopters aren't left with actual door stoppers.

22.1.2008 11:59 #9

mspurloc

Originally posted by camaro17: Originally posted by mspurloc: Now that Sony has a monopoly, expect this kind of thing to be a trend.
When they're done, these discs will be DRM-ridden, unplayable on most machines and have a lifespan of about 5 years, tops.
no, when they are done these discs will look great and sound great. When they say quality control they mean they are checking the quality genius.
They are checking for quality encoding and restoration procedures, thus making the movie look as good as it can get.

Peace"Copy Control" began as a "quality control measure" and look where that ended up.

22.1.2008 13:20 #10

SDF_GR

Originally posted by tleewade: the price is getting right i saw hddvd at walmart for 148 dollars if you buy one you have a first class upconverter for dvd and can play hd even if hd lose you still have a good player. and dvd will be around a long time. in my family i know of only 1 that even has a hd tv but all have a dvd player. getting a hd dvd player now when it is cheap would still be a upgrade so if you get a hd tv be great for upconvert dvds . so you would not lose.Sooner or later you will buy a BD player that does upscaling, what is the point of buying an HD-dvd player just for upscaling?

22.1.2008 14:34 #11

mspurloc

Originally posted by SDF_GR: Originally posted by tleewade: the price is getting right i saw hddvd at walmart for 148 dollars if you buy one you have a first class upconverter for dvd and can play hd even if hd lose you still have a good player. and dvd will be around a long time. in my family i know of only 1 that even has a hd tv but all have a dvd player. getting a hd dvd player now when it is cheap would still be a upgrade so if you get a hd tv be great for upconvert dvds . so you would not lose.Sooner or later you will buy a BD player that does upscaling, what is the point of buying an HD-dvd player just for upscaling?Yeah, that was my first response, too, but now I'm looking at the ridiculous, out-of-touch prices on the Blu Ray machines and thinking the HD-DVD players may be obsolete, but they're still damn good SD DVD players. I could get one of these while I wait for Sony to get a pricing clue. Most players don't last more than a year, anyway.

22.1.2008 14:40 #12

SDF_GR

Quote:Originally posted by tleewade:
Yeah, that was my first response, too, but now I'm looking at the ridiculous, out-of-touch prices on the Blu Ray machines and thinking the HD-DVD players may be obsolete, but they're still damn good SD DVD players. I could get one of these while I wait for Sony to get a pricing clue. Most players don't last more than a year, anyway.If you have a HDTV already yeap, you are right, that is the less expensive way to get an upscaling player for now.

About the high prices,I think that sony keeps the price high so PS3 can benefit from it too.
If you can buy a 40gb PS3 with 60-100� more then why not buying PS3 instead of a just BD player.

22.1.2008 16:09 #13

banned2X

I got your "quality control" right here!! [pullin' up the nuts]

Just kidding.............Anyway..........Just make the frakkin' discs and let me be able to infringe upon your copyrights please. Is that too much to aaaaassk?

22.1.2008 16:57 #14

eatsushi

@dblbogey7: I know you have a Profile 1.0 Panny BDP-10 so can you do us a favor?

According to HDD, "Saw IV" is a BD Live 2.0 disc. Can you rent this title and let us know if it has any playback problems on your 1.0 player?

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1256/sawiv.html

HDD also says that "War" is a 2.0 disc although the review lists only the 1.1 features. I've read your post where you say that you found no playback problems with it on your Panny and on your friend's Sony 1.0 player.

Thanks.

22.1.2008 17:38 #15

banned2X

OOOhhhh OOOhhhhhh........just jacked Saw IV recently. Can't wait to see it YEAH!

22.1.2008 18:17 #16

Nephilim

banned2X,

You're a complete moron that can count on a permanent ban on your other account when the suspension is up on it.

My killer sig came courtesy of bb "El Jefe" mayo.
The Forum Rules You Agreed To! http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487
"And there we saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight" - Numbers 13:33

23.1.2008 00:02 #17

banned3x

Originally posted by Nephilim: banned2X,

You're a complete moron that can count on a permanent ban on your other account when the suspension is up on it.First of all, "other" account under ban is not mine. And if you're going to ban someone else for my actions when a "ban" is up then why not just cancel the ban all in all and kill the account NOW?

Second, if you're going to ban me like you just did for GOD knows what reason, please provide an explanation and reference to your statement above. At this point, I did not swear (rarely do compared to the others) and did not offend anyone and all of a sudden you call me a moron (laughable considering you guys have these laws to be followed yet your physical servers are in MY country which seems moronic) for an unknown reason. Ban me all you want but at least say what the ban is for. I made a statement about Saw IV and you offend me. I don't get it.

23.1.2008 11:13 #18

banned3x

I just check with the "rules" and went through them all Nephilim and my previous "legitimate" post of "just jacked Saw IV" does not violate ANY rules. In fact there is one specific example that PERMITS it. I can only assume that your attack against me immediately after I made that post was your reason. According to the "rules":

Case: Discussion about pirated content and piracy, such as converting (downloaded) video and/or audio files to DVD/AudioCD/whatever format. PERMITTED

Please explain your actions unless you're one of those senseless people that "don't need to explain" simply because you do just because. You're too smart to be that type of person........that I have confidence in.

23.1.2008 11:24 #19

Nephilim

Read more carefully. You missed something when you read the rules,

Quote:It is up to the moderators and administrators to determine what is appropriate and what is not.Your posts in their entirety leave little question as to why the ban took place and your claim of the other account not being yours, especially considering your brilliant choice of new nicks, is laughable.

You also apparently missed the part of the rules about off topic posts. Your last two posts were off topic and should haveve been sent in a pm.

23.1.2008 12:17 #20

banned4x

Quote:Read more carefully. You missed something when you read the rules,

Quote:It is up to the moderators and administrators to determine what is appropriate and what is not.Your posts in their entirety leave little question as to why the ban took place and your claim of the other account not being yours, especially considering your brilliant choice of new nicks, is laughable.

You also apparently missed the part of the rules about off topic posts. Your last two posts were off topic and should haveve been sent in a pm.So you just go and ban me for ONE OFF TOPIC POST. This place is supposed to be fun. Not just all work and no play. As for other post that supposedly "leave little question", other than the ONE TIME I came down hard on someone for making a stupid comment, what are you referring to? Last TWO (2) posts? My first post was in response to the post before THAT when someone mentioned the movie. If you are the shining example of what people are like in Finland (if you're truly there) then I hope you all violently drown in a vat of your own vodka. Intolerant, no humor, no understanding and ROBOTIC. Perhaps you can explain to be before you ban me again why you adhere to rules of Finland when your servers aren't there. Been curious for a while now. Keep banning me and I will continue to sign up again and again.............ba bye for now.

23.1.2008 12:32 #21

Nephilim

Quote:If you are the shining example of what people are like in Finland (if you're truly there) then I hope you all violently drown in a vat of your own vodka. Intolerant, no humor, no understanding and ROBOTIC.I'm not Finnish but those comments should thoroughly entertain all the admins who are.

Before we get any further I need to make a sincere apology to you and the community in general for calling you a moron. Name calling is not allowed from anyone, especially Mods and as such it was absolutely wrong and I was way out of line in doing so, so sorry for that. Seriously.

That being said you'd have to ask all Finns you just insulted about their servers and so forth. I'm just a Mod here.

23.1.2008 12:58 #22

mspurloc

Originally posted by SDF_GR: Quote:Originally posted by tleewade:
Yeah, that was my first response, too, but now I'm looking at the ridiculous, out-of-touch prices on the Blu Ray machines and thinking the HD-DVD players may be obsolete, but they're still damn good SD DVD players. I could get one of these while I wait for Sony to get a pricing clue. Most players don't last more than a year, anyway.If you have a HDTV already yeap, you are right, that is the less expensive way to get an upscaling player for now.

About the high prices,I think that sony keeps the price high so PS3 can benefit from it too.
If you can buy a 40gb PS3 with 60-100� more then why not buying PS3 instead of a just BD player.Interesting point. Though it makes me think that if Sony was ever going to drop their price on the basic players, now would be the ideal time. Given a choice between a $129 HD DVD player and a $129 Blu Ray player, which are people going to buy, and in huge numbers?

23.1.2008 13:22 #23

ZippyDSM

Good BR needs the extra scruinity till the coding gets finished.

23.1.2008 14:46 #24

dblbogey7

Field Test: BD Live 2.0 Disc On A Profile 1.0 Player

Originally posted by eatsushi: @dblbogey7: I know you have a Profile 1.0 Panny BDP-10 so can you do us a favor?

According to HDD, "Saw IV" is a BD Live 2.0 disc. Can you rent this title and let us know if it has any playback problems on your 1.0 player?@eatsushi: Per your request I rented the BluRay version of Saw IV from a local Blockbuster. It's not really my type of movie but I also wanted to see how the first 2.0 disc in the market fared with 1.0 players.

I tried the disc on my Panasonic DMP-BD10. A friend who has a Sony BDP-S1 bought the movie. Both are Profile 1.0 players and both have the latest firmware. I tried to find someone with a Samsung BDP-1400 but was unsuccessful.

Anyway, I'm pleased to report that the main movie was able to play through without a hitch on my 1.0 Panasonic. My friend on the Sony also reported no problems playing the movie.

If you go to the Special Features Section of the Menu you'll see a choice called MoLog - short for Movie Log. This is the web-enabled extra which allows you to participate in an online discussion about the movie. As expected clicking on MoLog icon does nothing on my 1.0 player - DUH.

I tried the movie again on my Profile 1.1 PS3 and also had no playback problems. This time clicking on the MoLog icon in the extras menu brought up a logon and registration screen. Of course I couldn't connect to server since 2.0 isn't enabled yet on the PS3.

In summary, we can report no main movie playback problems for the 2.0 title Saw IV on our Profile 1.0 players (Panny DMP-BD10 and Sony BDP-10) and on a Profile 1.1 PS3.

Added: I tried the non 2.0 extras and they also worked fine.

24.1.2008 23:20 #25

sk8flawzz

dblbogey7, thanks for that. Glad to hear you and your friend aren't having any problems with BD. Results like yours give me confidence to buy BD. Just waiting for price drops =P

24.1.2008 23:24 #26

eatsushi

@dblbogey7: Thanks for the report buddy.

25.1.2008 11:06 #27

HDH333

I have a Sharp BD-HP20U (1.0). After reading the post about (2.0) 'Saw 4' playing in (1.0) Blu Ray decks I ran over to Blockbuster and rented the Blu Ray 'Saw 4' . The disc played and NO problems with accessing the menus.

8.2.2008 08:44 #28

borhan9

I like this idea. this should have been done with normal DVD's as well.

17.2.2008 17:41 #29

HDH333

I agree! Those regular DVD disc look great on my Blu Ray player. Far exceeded my expectations.My LCD is 45" and I sit 13 Feet away.Have read post on some web sites of people complaining about the picture.Some have 52" & 45" displays and sit 5' away! They are expecting too much from the equipment. Guess each is own.

17.2.2008 18:10 #30

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