Marshal Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Anyone know if any of the newer model DVD players and upcoming players are compatible with Windows Media Video format, particularly for playing the HD 1080P/720P DVDs? I've got the Terminator 2 Extreme Edition DVD and on my PC(P4EE, 1GB RAM, 9800XT vid card, Sony Artisan 21" FD monitor), the picture is super clear & sharp. The Coral Reef Adventure DVD, originally shot with IMAX and now in WMV HD, is even better, with similar DVDs to follow. Today's players & receivers can apparently decode practically everything, but I don't know if any of them will read WMV encoded discs. In case you don't know what I'm talking about: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/content_provider/film/ContentShowcase.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eq_shadimar Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 The Bravo D3 is supposed to include this and many other cool features however there is currently not a release date set. There are also other players based on the newly released Sigma chipset that should be able to do this but at this time they are all vaporware as well. Laters, Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Posted March 30, 2004 Author Share Posted March 30, 2004 Bad news. That Bravo DVD player you mentioned can't play the DVDs I talked about, according to an article I found on PC World's site. "PC users got their first taste of high-definition Windows Media Video in June 2003, when Artisan released special-edition DVDs of the movies Terminator 2 and Standing in the Shadows of Motown. These DVDs included bonus DVD-ROMs, which stored high-definition transfers of the two films for playback on high-end PCs. The D3 won't be able to play those DVD-ROM discs: Those PC-targeted high-definition transfers produce video bit rates that can bog down even high-powered PCs." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TauRus Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 Marshal, those WMV discs were mastered differently. White T2 Extreme was meant to be played on PCs exclusively, these new WMV-HD discs like Coral Reef Adventure, and few others coming up, are designed to be played back in both PCs and stand alone DVD players that have the WMV decoding capability. One major difference is the digital copy protection algorithm. ON T2 Extreme a license to play back that movie had to be acquired online, therefore the PC had to be connected to the internet to playback the movie. These new WMV discs do not require Internet connection, they have the DRM right there on the disc. Clearly this is a step in the right direction. Should more WMV discs appear on the shelves, and more WMV capable DVD players, then we will HD much faster than we thought. I for one do not fight the format wars (WMV vs HD-DVD vs whatever else) - let them all come and compete for our money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eq_shadimar Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 Humm over on the AVS Forum guys from Sigma said the chipset would have no issues with that material. The chipset is designed for video so they can do alot more with less horsepower. I guess we will have to wait for the D3 or another player to test it out. Laters, Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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