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MeBeJedi

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Join date
10-Mar-2003
Last activity
10-Feb-2025
Posts
4,879

Post History

Post
#288841
Topic
Article in the LA times about movie theaters
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/288841/action/topic#288841
Time
Honestly, every time I go to the theater some people have ringing cellphones, another group of jackasses keeps talking throughout the movie, etc. Fucking obnoxious. I only go to the theater these days when it's a movie I really "need" to see on the big screen, otherwise I wait for the DVD and enjoy it in my home theater.


I'm with Dinkins (Stinky?). The only movies I've seen in the theater since TPM were ROTS, Finding Nemo, Charlette's Web and Night in the Museum - all of which were mainly to take my children. I always, always, ALWAYS get the dude talking or the kid kicking my seat right behind me (this even at a recent baseball game. They were also blowing whistles for every fucking play.). One time I had kids throwing skittles from the back of the crowded theater.

It's just not fucking worth it. All that money and time wasted on gas, tickets and food? Not for me. Netflix has made my life so much easier.
Post
#288537
Topic
Blu-ray (or HD-DVD) questions
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/288537/action/topic#288537
Time
"Right, but only if the player is updated (correct?)."

No. Only newer releases are affected. The discs, themselves, don't change the player - future discs are encoded with a code that older players can't play.

As I said, the player isn't completely disabled, it's simply not allowed to play newer releases.

"What possible reason would someone have for hooking up their player to an internet connection?"

It could be a phone connection, like Satellite TV and DIVX. I've not heard the specifics on this part yet.

"Even if it's updated (which we have to pay for), the hacker will still just find a way to compromise those keys. It's a never ending cycle. "

I agree. I never said it was a good system....I'm merely explaining the system as is.
Post
#288440
Topic
Blu-ray (or HD-DVD) questions
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/288440/action/topic#288440
Time
Well, then let me clarify the copy protection scheme, because I think I gave you the wrong idea.

If a BD player is deemed "compromised", then future BDs will have codes that are unplayable on that particular model. All the BDs you have at that point will still play, but newer ones will not. The playable isn't completely disabled, it just won't play future releases until you plug into the internet and download new keys (which you will have to pay for.)
Post
#288429
Topic
Blu-ray (or HD-DVD) questions
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/288429/action/topic#288429
Time
"Of course, the advantage to that happening would be that it would put DRM front and center to Joe Public. Right now, most people don't "get it". Disable their hi-def player and force them to buy a new one"

Joe Public wouldn't have to buy a new player...they would have to connect it to Sony (via a network connection) and get new keys. That being said, the initial result would be enough to piss off a customer. Regardless, that's how the technology is supposed to work.

"So far, Sony has tried to introduce new copy protection mechanisms that have only really affected people that want to make copies of their movies. They have yet to seriously cripple any hardware."

Incorrect. The root kit automatically installed itself onto any computer the CD was played on, whether or not someone was trying to make a copy. Not only were many computer OSes damaged, but when Sony sent a "fix" designed to remove the rootkit, it only made things worse. There was a lawsuit for folks whose computers were disabled, but it only came out to about $70 a person.

[EDIT]

Here's a good description:
A good analogy is with a physical lock and key. With DVDs, someone figured out how to make a universal key that opened every lock. With AACS, keys have been stolen, but the AACS lock can effectively be ‘re-keyed’ so that new keys are needed, making the older keys useless.

While the AACS keys had originally been stolen from HD DVD discs, it didn’t take too long before similar keys on Blu-ray discs had also been stolen, resulting in the release of two software programs – BackupHDDVD and BackupBluray.

The AACS copy protection body is supposed to be able to issue new keys on future HD DVD and Blu-ray movies that invalidate the stolen ones, but questions remain as to how successful this will actually be. Could it not work as intended on early generation HD DVD and Blu-ray players, causing playability problems with movies in the future?


I know, for example, that the latest Pirates of the Carribean BD had a newer key, because an older key had been made public. Ironically, the new key for the POTC BD had been made public before the DB had been released, rendering the new protection moot.
Post
#288414
Topic
Blu-ray (or HD-DVD) questions
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/288414/action/topic#288414
Time
"Installing root-kits on peoples machines is one thing. Completely disabling grandma's hi-def DVD player is quite another. They don't dare disable a hardware based player. There would be so much backlash that it would be suicide. "

What you don't understand is that it's not just Sony's call....it's up to the movie studios. Did you think Gates wanted so much video copy-protection in Windows Vista? MS pretty much had to put it all in, otherwise the studios wouldn't give him the rights for hi-def video playback on computers. Imagine not having HD-DVD and Blu-Ray playback on the newest OS. Talk about a killer-app.

If the studios find out a player is compromised, and they tell Sony to pull the plug on that model, Sony has to comply. (I know Sony is one of the "Studios", but they aren't the only one.) Future player updates will be mandatory for new keys, and it is the consumer that will have to pay for them. There are echoes of DIVX here.

This is a prime component of Blu-Ray's copy-protection. They touted this as a major advantage. If they don't enforce it, then it's no better than HD-DVD's.
Post
#287937
Topic
separation of dialogue/sound effects in center channel of surround sound?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/287937/action/topic#287937
Time
"I was a bit disheartened to hear that it appears most of the key sound effects and dialogue are contained within the same channel--that being the center channel. Is this unusual? "

While each channel can be a discretely different soundtrack, that doesn't mean it will necessarily be mixed as such. There can be intentional "bleed" from one channel to another to make a more seamless transition from one speaker to another, or for a wider soundstage. As such, whether or not one can isolate music from audio really depends on how a particular soundtrack was mixed.
Post
#287651
Topic
Heroes
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/287651/action/topic#287651
Time
I agree that the end battle was anti-climactic. From reading some other forums, the finale was originally suppose to be two hours. Maybe the executives, in their almighty wisdom, changed their minds and decided to make it only one hour, so the writers had to change it up to make it work in the time given. That would certainly explain a lot.


They didn't even have enough material for one hour!
Post
#287584
Topic
Heroes
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/287584/action/topic#287584
Time
Ha, just looked at the boards at the Heroes site, and ran across this:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w217/mxyzptlk1290/Collision.gifhttp://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w217/mxyzptlk1290/Homecoming.gif

Claire, fleeing up the bleacher steps, trips and falls as someone menacing approaches.
* In Isaac's original vision, just before Future-Hiro visits Peter on the subway train, Isaac sees the fleeing Claire stumble, rise and then turn to face the approaching Sylar alone.
* Empowered by Hiro's speech with the courage to 'save the world,' Peter defies certain death by coming to Claire's rescue. This time when she stumbles on the steps, Peter is there beside Claire to help her to her feet; together they turn to see Sylar approaching them. Peter helps Claire to escape, absorbing her regeneration ability, thus they both survive.

These moving images, contributed 3/20/07 by NBC forum member kakkarot1290, clearly demonstrate how f-Hiro's message to Peter on the subway in Episode 4 altered the future in Isaac's vision. In the original vision, we never see Peter (or Peter's shadow, clearly visible right behind Claire at Homecoming).


I guess I was right after all.
Post
#287576
Topic
Blu-ray (or HD-DVD) questions
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/287576/action/topic#287576
Time
"For some bizarre reason I thought you had to have your player hooked up to the internet"

Actually, this is true for Blu-ray. The BD+ allows BR manufacturers to render a player key unusable, and it can apply this copy-protection to specific models and even whole manufacturers (if, for example, a hardware hack was created for a specific player.) Future discs would not play on your player until you connected it to the internet to get new keys. Oh, and you will have to pay for these future updates as well.