Blahg

6 January 2008

The PRM officially endorses Blu-ray.

The move came about primarily via a lark. With the latest PS3 bundle, numerous Amazon BOGO deals, and freebies left and right, it seemed like a good time to check out the technology Sony's been touting so highly. That would also include the PS3's advanced gaming capabilities. If Blu-ray were to fail, the PS3 would still be, theoretically, a viable gaming system.

Well, now Warner's announced they're dumping HD DVD and that simplifies everything. It was the right move. The capacity of Blu-ray's discs and its potential for future growth and functionality makes it a phenomenal piece of technology. Plus, Sony's announced today that PS3 will be BD Live compatible in the coming months. As with the Profile 1.1, all I'll need to do is download the latest update.

Sweet.

Now, time to yip about all the nonsensical vitriol and uninformed chatter out there on the Web.

The FUD from the HD DVD folks - and its hot-headed early adopters - is stunning. Sure, both sides have had their share of FUD. But this stuff is astounding.

My own personal theory is that a lot of the vociferous language comes from Microsoft pinheads. Don't get me wrong. I think Excel and Word are terrific pieces of software, but when it comes to other technology, particularly the Web, Microsoft sucks. (IE7? It's a step backward. Vista, anyone? How about a Zune?) Microsoft goonies seem to have absolutely no sense of humor. Back a couple years ago, when I reviewed Batman Begins, I made a snarky comment about how refreshing it would be if a real-life billionaire - such as Bill Gates - would put his money where his mouth is and do what Bruce Wayne does. Some Microsoft freak took the time to comment on my review and point out that Gates donates huge sums of money to various philanthropic endeavors around the world.

Fine. Good for him. On occasion, he even hangs out with Bono, my main "mentor." But Gates doesn't dress up like a bat and kick ass on the seedy streets of Redmond. Get my point? It was a comment made with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. And it was lost on that geek.

It's interesting that even director Michael Bay has a theory that Microsoft wanted to confuse the HD format war in order to buy time for its own nefarious movie download plans. That firmly jibes with comments I've read on various Web sites. It was interesting to read one jackass's claim that HD DVD was outselling BD 5-1 at "his store." The dumb bunny had an "msn.com" e-mail address attached to his posts, which makes one wonder how much of an effort was made in supporting BD at "his store."

Oh boy, it's so amusing to read people's comments on various discussion threads. Apparently the most recent couple generations, the ones with parents who have brought them up believing they ARE God's gift to the planet and they ARE totally infallible, are the same goombahs who think their opinion is the ONLY one that matters, no matter how uninformed it is. The same people who grew up thinking everybody gets to win an award, no matter how poorly they perform, apparently also think competition is bad - especially when their flavor of choice is taking some heat.

There's some true idiocy out there and one need look no further than Amazon for some astonishing revelations. For example, I was curious why one movie on Blu-ray received a one-star "rating" amid a throng of raves. Well, it turns out the moron bought the wrong disc. Yes. This idiot bought the disc, realized - and admitted as much in their "comments" - that they did not have a Blu-ray player and should have gotten the standard DVD, and therefore they gave it one star.

Pure idiocy.

This whole hi-def revolution is also breeding a flotilla of people with high-end equipment who now think they're in a position to provide film criticism.

One such nitwit took it upon himself to add a list to Amazon of Blu-ray's discs and comment on their quality. For Rocky Balboa, this "genius" complained about a lot of "hi-def noise." Another "critic" on a full-blown hi-def site yipped about the use of filters. Bull shit on both counts. The picture is pristine. And it replicates the cinematic experience.

That "hi-def noise"? Yeah. It's called film grain, pinhead. (And please note, the vitriol I'm using here is so very, very tame compared to the anonymous mudslinging of those "professional" discussion board posters.)

You see, film offers a tremendous number of options and possibilities. When real, actual film is used, not every frame is going to be "pristine" like a Pixar movie. And that's a good thing.

Film grain lends a very human element to the experience. It's funny to read about Spielberg and Lucas in their early planning for Indy IV. Lucas wanted to shoot it digitally. Spielberg wanted to use film - because he likes the grainy aspect of film. Lucas said they could shoot it digitally and then add the graininess. To which Spielberg asked somethign to the effect of "Why bother?"

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was shot on film! Yes!

All of this reminds me of the king of imbecilic critics, Peter Travers. The man knows no shame. Years ago, I was shocked when he gave Minority Report a good review. Typically, he hates Spielberg. Alas, when the DVD was released, he took it as an opportunity to rip on the disc's washed-out picture quality. Another dumb bunny, he shouldn't have put his fingers to the keyboard. That disc - once again - was simply reflecting the same image presented on the big screen. That was Spielberg's intent, to create a drab, washed-out world to further heighten the visual impact of the movie. The next time it's showing at some midnight screening somewhere, check it out. You'll see what I mean.

Granted, some disc transfers do suck. Don't get me wrong. But the BD Rocky Balboa and the SD Minority Report are not among them.

Let's see. What else should I get off my mind right now? A lot of people were trumpeting HD DVD's online interactivity. I have to call bullshit on that one. It's in large part a cop out for the disc's lack of space and I would find it highly annoying to have to go online simply to access bonus content that should be on the disc itself. Besides, how long would that bonus content be available online? It's really annoying when a (standard) disc promotes as a "bonus feature" access to the movie's online site. Big whoop! Read the fine print and there will be a disclaimer about the feature being available for a limited time only.

As for others who actually look forward to downloading entire movies, enjoy. But it's not for me. I'm not a big fan of downloading music, either. As with LPs, and now CDs, I much prefer having the album and being able to hold it and look at the cover art and read the lyrics and thank yous - on paper. I also like extravagant movie disc sets with loads of commentaries and other supplemental features. (Check out those pristine Blu-ray discs of Pixar's Ratatouille and Cars for a couple stellar examples.)

Apparently the logic is, "Well, download it then burn your own backup."

Ah. Kinda like shoot it digitally then add the film grain in post production. Brilliant.

So then I'll have to contend with maintaining my own hard drives and backup discs of all those large files? Anybody else ever have a hard drive crash on them? I have. It sucked big time. Well, at least a single Blu-ray disc has 50 GB of capacity.

While on the topic of downloading, fans of iTunes should do a little Googling and read about how the format is shortchanging the full audio experience. It's not hi-fi, it's lo-fi. And I'm not interested in lo-fi music any more than I'm interested in lo-fi movies. If anything, the whole download concept is degrading the overall quality, with studios putting less sonic muscle into their CDs as well.

Besides, the infrastructure is nowhere near in place for millions of people to concurrently download 50 GB of data in any reasonable amount of time. Even with broadband. Hmmm... I shudder at the efforts required to log on for a hot ticket through TicketBastard. Now I'm supposed to queue online for a movie download? That's not very sexy. And how long will any given title be available online? Sure, discs go out of print the same way books do (books... hold in hand... feel...), but also like books, they can be found via used outlets. From there, a whole wad of DRM crap takes hold on downloads.

The attraction of iTunes was - and is - the portability and use with those cute little iBuds. But downloading movies is going to take much, much more work to duplicate the visual and aural majesty of Blu-ray and its supplemental possibilities.

Well, I guess that's enough ranting to get the Blahg started for the new year. That's the beauty of having my own site. It's my own spot to spout. But, even with my own Web site, my own home on the Internet, I still realize the Internet is not the end-all experience. Those who have been weened on the Web from Day One apparently think it is. For me, it is merely a portal to a bigger world. A starting point. A place to share. But not a place to live and certainly not a delivery vehicle for almost everything under the sun. Being outside, around people, is still where it's at.

CES is happening right now in Vegas. Surely there will be more fodder in the days and months to come. But, please, Microsoft people, get a grip. And a sense of humor.

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