<Talmadge.Aug.07>
Jeff Talmadge: Well, we actually have two units — the DVD-3800BDCI player and the DVD-2500BTCI, which is a Blu-ray/DVD/CD transport. The transport only has HDMI output; there is no other jack on the back at all. It will come out at $1,199 SRP. It was really designed as a simple hi-def solution for customers to add to their A/V receivers, like an AVR-2808CI, for example. Connect the 2500BTCI, and now you’ve got hi-def audio and hi-def video. Of course, the DVD-3800BDCI player is the one most are focusing on. That's really more of our normal style, and I'm excited about it. The biggest news about it is that it's the world's first with Profile 1.1, the BD-ROM version, which goes into effect in October for all manufacturers. So any new DVD player introduced after October of this year must fit that profile.
LU: What exactly does that mean?
JT: The profile itself is the next step in the Blu-ray evolution. HD DVD is what I call a "baked format", meaning it's basically done. There are some copy protection things, but that's later, and they’re not going to affect performance and playback of material. For Blu-ray, on the other hand, Profile 1.1 is just the next step — there's actually a Version 2 some time next year. That's going to deal with players and the software, so it's two-sided. But back to Profile 1.1. It mandates that players must have secondary audio and video processing for picture-in-picture capabilities, be able to support external storage of some type — or internal storage, it's really an option, I believe — for downloaded Web material. Current Profile 1.0 Blu-ray players do not have to have any “connect” port. Those that do, it's really for firmware update, but that’s the only thing it's really good for. Where HD DVD, has HDI, it's an interactive version. And even that port is required to go to a movie’s web site or a dedicated space to download extra material. When our player comes out, the first thing people will notice on the front panel is that is has an SD card slot. We give you an SD card, and obviously, you can buy others. You would take that to your computer, go to the movie website on the card and download this material, toss it into the player, and then be able to access that simultaneously with the movie playback.
LU: Will that load the information to the disc's menu system?
JT: Most likely. I haven't seen it in true operation yet; once I get it, obviously, I'll know. But that's the premise. So you can have running pictures of the director, of the actors doing commentary or whatever other material the studio feels that they want to give you to make it a truly interactive experience. After that, it's standard Blu-ray. But there is a possibility — and this is maybe not so public knowledge — that when these discs come out that fit this new profile, they may not work properly with the Profile 1.0 players.
LU: Really?
JT: It’s a possibility, and that’s why we’re working very hard to make sure that our products will be okay with any previous discs and new discs. The BD portion [of the DVD-3800BDCI] is going to be the newest and latest and greatest available, but the biggest concern for us was not to forget about SD, standard definition. So in reality, for a lot of your readers and your customers and a lot of the people out there that check the site, this is like a DVD-3930CI with Blu-ray added. [But without DVD-Audio or SACD – Ed.]
Jeff Talmadge: Well, we actually have two units — the DVD-3800BDCI player and the DVD-2500BTCI, which is a Blu-ray/DVD/CD transport. The transport only has HDMI output; there is no other jack on the back at all. It will come out at $1,199 SRP. It was really designed as a simple hi-def solution for customers to add to their A/V receivers, like an AVR-2808CI, for example. Connect the 2500BTCI, and now you’ve got hi-def audio and hi-def video. Of course, the DVD-3800BDCI player is the one most are focusing on. That's really more of our normal style, and I'm excited about it. The biggest news about it is that it's the world's first with Profile 1.1, the BD-ROM version, which goes into effect in October for all manufacturers. So any new DVD player introduced after October of this year must fit that profile.
LU: What exactly does that mean?
JT: The profile itself is the next step in the Blu-ray evolution. HD DVD is what I call a "baked format", meaning it's basically done. There are some copy protection things, but that's later, and they’re not going to affect performance and playback of material. For Blu-ray, on the other hand, Profile 1.1 is just the next step — there's actually a Version 2 some time next year. That's going to deal with players and the software, so it's two-sided. But back to Profile 1.1. It mandates that players must have secondary audio and video processing for picture-in-picture capabilities, be able to support external storage of some type — or internal storage, it's really an option, I believe — for downloaded Web material. Current Profile 1.0 Blu-ray players do not have to have any “connect” port. Those that do, it's really for firmware update, but that’s the only thing it's really good for. Where HD DVD, has HDI, it's an interactive version. And even that port is required to go to a movie’s web site or a dedicated space to download extra material. When our player comes out, the first thing people will notice on the front panel is that is has an SD card slot. We give you an SD card, and obviously, you can buy others. You would take that to your computer, go to the movie website on the card and download this material, toss it into the player, and then be able to access that simultaneously with the movie playback.
LU: Will that load the information to the disc's menu system?
JT: Most likely. I haven't seen it in true operation yet; once I get it, obviously, I'll know. But that's the premise. So you can have running pictures of the director, of the actors doing commentary or whatever other material the studio feels that they want to give you to make it a truly interactive experience. After that, it's standard Blu-ray. But there is a possibility — and this is maybe not so public knowledge — that when these discs come out that fit this new profile, they may not work properly with the Profile 1.0 players.
LU: Really?
JT: It’s a possibility, and that’s why we’re working very hard to make sure that our products will be okay with any previous discs and new discs. The BD portion [of the DVD-3800BDCI] is going to be the newest and latest and greatest available, but the biggest concern for us was not to forget about SD, standard definition. So in reality, for a lot of your readers and your customers and a lot of the people out there that check the site, this is like a DVD-3930CI with Blu-ray added. [But without DVD-Audio or SACD – Ed.]
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