Dolbycast with spotlight on Vudu

[RobD20]

I just listened to the latest Dolbycast (available on iTunes). The majority of this week's episode covers the Vudu Box. Very, very good presentation of the Vudu's features and benefits.

I love my Vudu Box... This webcast made me love it even more!

[HeadHodge]

Re: Dolbycast with spotlight on Vudu

I just listened to the latest Dolbycast (available on iTunes). The majority of this week's episode covers the Vudu Box. Very, very good presentation of the Vudu's features and benefits.

I love my Vudu Box... This webcast made me love it even more!

Sounds neat, but what the heck is a DolbyCast?? Are they the band that wrote "She Blinded Me with Science" ??

[RonV]

Re: Dolbycast with spotlight on Vudu

You can check it out here:

http://www.dolby.com/dolbycast/

Its the April 24th edition.

[NA9D]

Re: Dolbycast with spotlight on Vudu

Sounds neat, but what the heck is a DolbyCast?? Are they the band that wrote "She Blinded Me with Science" ??

No. That was Thomas Dolby!

[HeadHodge]

Re: Dolbycast with spotlight on Vudu

You can check it out here:

http://www.dolby.com/dolbycast/

Its the April 24th edition.

Thanks RonV for the link!!

I read the Dolby "lossless" version of the interview. It was interesting and positive, but came across more like an infomercial to me.

Example:

Roderick: It slices. It dices. It's amazing.

I think the following is true statement, but for me I prefer to also be able to understand how things work. So sometimes it's a little too transparent for my liking:

Roderick: Yeah. So that's one of the amazing things about VUDU. There's so much technology in the product, but it's so transparent to the user.

This is what I've been begging for, but it's simply not true:

Roderick: Yeah. So HD content, which is usually video-on-demand, is usually a dollar more

The following is a very true statement, too bad it's not true. But I do have high hopes that it someday will be. The vision is there, the reality isn't:

Craig: And I should also mention that VUDU was one of our first partners with Dolby Digital Plus.

Jack: Absolutely. So, Roderick, why did you guys choose Dolby Digital Plus?

Roderick: Well, we're delivering a really high-quality experience to our customers, and service. And if we're going to provide an HD signal in 1080p, we should do something that also reflects the actual sound.

Jack: That's right.
Roderick: I mean, who would want to watch something in HD if it came out in stereo?

Jack: [laughs] That's right.

Roderick: It's like buying a Porsche and putting regular gas in it.

Jack: [laughs] That's right. That's right. So you guys chose Dolby Digital Plus.

Roderick: Correct.

I'm not sure what to say about this:

Jack: And one of the cool things about the VUDU is that all the movies are in Dolby Digital Plus, but when they get down to your box, your box is actually turning that Dolby Digital Plus signal into a Dolby Digital signal, so that it's compatible with any receiver out there with Dolby Digital.

Roderick: Yep. That's correct.

[RonV]

Re: Dolbycast with spotlight on Vudu

Yea those guys are definitely the Ron Popeil of Dolby. Now where did I put my pocket fisherman....I think its next to the food dehydrator.

[NA9D]

Re: Dolbycast with spotlight on Vudu

Example:

Roderick: It slices. It dices. It's amazing.

I think the following is true statement, but for me I prefer to also be able to understand how things work. So sometimes it's a little too transparent for my liking:

Roderick: Yeah. So that's one of the amazing things about VUDU. There's so much technology in the product, but it's so transparent to the user.

Sometimes it is best NOT to know. I used to be and in a way still am like that. However, having to know about how everything works burned me once. In college, I learned about OpAmps. There was a rather simple formula they gave us for calculating the function of an OpAmp. I could not grasp it because I got hung up on "How does it work? Why and how does the voltage at both inputs have to be the same?" I couldn't just take the formula, accept it and run with it. I had a terrible time in that class. A few years later, I started using OpAmps in my work. Guess what I did - plugged in the formulas. I realized I was stupid for getting hung up about how the damn things worked. It hurt me more than it helped me.

This is what I've been begging for, but it's simply not true:

Roderick: Yeah. So HD content, which is usually video-on-demand, is usually a dollar more

Most HD content is at $4.99 with only new releases being $5.99. New release SD content is $3.99 on Vudu. So I see how they can make the stretch. It's a typical oversight for people not truly familiar with the product.

The following is a very true statement, too bad it's not true. But I do have high hopes that it someday will be. The vision is there, the reality isn't:

Craig: And I should also mention that VUDU was one of our first partners with Dolby Digital Plus.

Uh, this is absolutely 100% true. The audio stream on the Vudu is DD+. DD+ is an encoding and compression algorithm. It has nothing to do with the channels. I'm not sure if this subject was covered here or with the beta group. If it was with the beta group, I'll see what I can extract and post in here.

I'm not sure what to say about this:

Jack: And one of the cool things about the VUDU is that all the movies are in Dolby Digital Plus, but when they get down to your box, your box is actually turning that Dolby Digital Plus signal into a Dolby Digital signal, so that it's compatible with any receiver out there with Dolby Digital.

Roderick: Yep. That's correct.

Again, that is correct. Technically, all of the audio is in DD+ in the stream. Even the stereo output may be in DD2.0 - I'm not sure. Maybe it isn't, but again, the stream to your box is in DD+.

[HeadHodge]

Re: Dolbycast with spotlight on Vudu

Sometimes it is best NOT to know. I used to be and in a way still am like that. However, having to know about how everything works burned me once. In college, I learned about OpAmps. There was a rather simple formula they gave us for calculating the function of an OpAmp. I could not grasp it because I got hung up on "How does it work? Why and how does the voltage at both inputs have to be the same?" I couldn't just take the formula, accept it and run with it. I had a terrible time in that class. A few years later, I started using OpAmps in my work. Guess what I did - plugged in the formulas. I realized I was stupid for getting hung up about how the damn things worked. It hurt me more than it helped me.

I understand what you're saying and agree to a degree.

But, for example, I've had a very frustrating experience trying to find a new HDTV because now days most specs for them are given in very "untransparent" terms making them sound great but making it very difficult to determine which is the best product. They use to give specs in terms of response times, brightness ratings, output formats, etc. Now most specs are in terms of how many HDMI inputs they support and if they support 1080p. Just for fun go to Samsungs official site and see if you can figure out if their 650a model is 120Hz that supports 24 fps with 5:5 pulldowns. If you can find it, let me know.

So in VUDU's case see if you can go to their site and determine if you can get DD+ to your stereo from the box or not. And to say that DD+ is just an encoding format is like saying the VUDU box outputs audio sound. The term in itself represents a certain quality factor (wheter it's technically ture or not). So although it may be "true" that everything sent to the box is 1080p and DD+ it might be a good sales feature but doesn't really represent of what you get. I don't know if I'm making sense or not, but that's the kind of detail of "how things work" that I'm interested in. Not necessisarily the model number of the Broadcom chipset that is used. I'm actually interested in that too, but only out of curiosity.

Uh, this is absolutely 100% true. The audio stream on the Vudu is DD+. DD+ is an encoding and compression algorithm. It has nothing to do with the channels. I'm not sure if this subject was covered here or with the beta group. If it was with the beta group, I'll see what I can extract and post in here.

I was more referring to the following quote. I'm pretty sure I can find an HD movie from VUDU that is in stereo. I can't remember the movie but I believe I even posted an example of that in a previous post.

Jack: That's right.
Roderick: I mean, who would want to watch something in HD if it came out in stereo?

[NA9D]

Re: Dolbycast with spotlight on Vudu

So in VUDU's case see if you can go to their site and determine if you can get DD+ to your stereo from the box or not.

No. 5.1 only.

I was more referring to the following quote. I'm pretty sure I can find an HD movie from VUDU that is in stereo. I can't remember the movie but I believe I even posted an example of that in a previous post.

Jack: That's right.
Roderick: I mean, who would want to watch something in HD if it came out in stereo?

Good point. You got me there. Yes, the stream is indeed in DD+, but there are some HD movies (Undiscovered Country ) that are in HD but stereo only.