OMG, The Two Towers HDTV Samples

[amr.ramadan]

Not only we had an HDTV trailer of The Matrix Revolutions (BitTorrent) today, but also we still have to be blown away once again!!

BitTorrent Links
LOTR - The Two Towers - 720P AC3 - Sample 1 [117 MB]
LOTR - The Two Towers - 720P AC3 - Sample 2 [66.9 MB]

EDIT:
The Matrix Revolutions - 720P AC3 - HTTP Mirror

It's as simple as this, DVD sucks .

[ZUBi]

HOLY MOSES!
THIS IS WHAT I CALLED QUALITY!
GO TO HELL DVD's ! :big grin:

---

from "Autor's Explination - HDTV.txt" included in DL file.

This is a quick psuedo-FAQ about my HDTV posts: trueHDTV(tm)

Q: Why the heck/**** are you posting this ****/crap/stuff?

A: Because currently, there are no groups or releasers who
create true HDTV content. With the advent of HTPC's and more
powerful CPU's, HDTV is becoming more mainstream if not still
a minority, I must admit.

--

Q: That's cool, but why not stick to standards like VCDs, SVCDs,
and DVDs?

A: There are other groups which already do those. I wanted
to bring something new to people who are interested in seeing
what true HDTV content looks like. Although, I do question
some of the groups out there in their ability to maximize
quality of their releases whether it's VCDs, SVCDs, or DVDs.

--

Q: Well, on the subject of standards, why are you using
M$ Windows Media 9 codec? We hate Micro$oft and prefer codecs
such as DivX or XviD if you're going to do it.

A: Quite frankly, this is open to debate. But the end result
is still that Windows Media 9 is the best codec for HDTV
type content. While MPEG-4, DivX, XviD are all great codecs,
their faults start to appear at HDTV resolutions, (e.g.
1280x720, 1920x1080). It has been proven time and time again
that the final locked down code for the WMV9 codec is
superior to XviD or DivX at the same bitrates when dealing with
HDTV resolutions. If you still have questions, refer to
threads at AVSForum.

--

Q: Are you an open-source/open-standard hater?

A: No. Quite the opposite. I'm an avid Linux and BSD user
for the better part of a decade. I do believe heavily in open
source and open standards. One of the main reasons why I've
decided to go ahead and use Microsoft relatively closed
standard is that they just opened up WMV9 to be accepted by
the SMPTE group several weeks ago.

--

Q: Okay. Okay. Okay. Fine. I still don't understand
why I should care.

A: Nor is it my job to make you care. I'm basically doing
this as a hobby. Nothing more nothing less. The content
I create is for the enjoyment of myself in learning about
everything HDTV. There are many HTPC enthusiasts which
would also like to see more HDTV content for their systems.
For the people who are lucky enough to have a powerful
enough HTPC hooked up to an HDTV set or better yet, a
DLP projector... that's who I'm aiming for.

--

Q: Great. So what do I need to view these files?

A: First of all, hardware-wise, I highly recommend that
you have an Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz machine or faster.
Either of the 533 or 800 MHz FSB variety. AMD Athlon XP
users should be fine too at around the 2000+ and higher.
Second, you need a DECENT video-card which supports
DXVA and AGP 4x/8X. The latest nVidia and ATI cards are
perfect examples. Heck, even my ATI AIW 8500 plays back
my 1280x720p clips perfectly fine. 512MB of RAM is
highly recommended.

Software-wise, you need the Windows Media 9 codecs.
The codecs are available from Microsoft's website.
Which inevitable means you need Windows Media Player,
which means you need a Windows machine (e.g. Windows
XP, 2000, 2003 Server, etc). I standardized on AC3
for the audio. You need an AC3 DirectShow filter.
Do a Google search for 'ac3filter' and you will find
it. It's hosted at sourceforge.net.

WMP9 works fine, Windows 6.4 with the WM9 codecs,
and ZoomPlayer (highly recommended) all work fine
for playback. You're going to have to play around a
bit to see what you like best.

--

Q: Okay. I'm playing these on my computer and it seems
to be fine. How come I have black-bars on the top
and bottom of my screen? I think it's stupid it doesn't
fill my entire screen.

A: If I have to answer this question, you shouldn't
be downloading my files.

--

Q: What is HDTV? Does it really look THAT much better
than regular TV/DVD/other releases?

A: Refer to the previous answer.

--

Q: Okay, I can't get these files to play back smoothly.
They stutter and the sound isn't coming out or sound
isn't smooth.

A: Don't download my files until you've upgraded to a
decent system.

--

Q: Wow! This stuff is cool! I've never seen HDTV before
and it looks great on my computer!

A: Congratulations. You're on your first step to seeing
what HDTV looks like. Next is to build out an HTPC and
purchase a decent HDTV set.

--

Q: How long are you going to do this for?

A: Who knows. I may lose interest even before I finish
this psuedo-FAQ. But I must tell you creating and mastering
this stuff is extremely time consuming. Both my time, and CPU
time. It takes on average on a high-end workstation of mine
30 hours of video-encoding to do 1 hour of HDTV. And
you thought CCE 6-pass or 9-pass was bad. But for now, my
plan is to release a bit at a time. I do work and have
job.

--

Q: I'm sold. Where can I learn more about HDTV and HTPC's?

A: AVSForum - http://www.avsforum.com/
Specifically, the 'Home Theater Computers', 'HDTV Hardware',
and 'HDTV Programming' forums.

--

Q: How do you pick your bitrates for your files?

A: I pick between 4 Mbit/sec and 6.5 Mbit/sec. It all depends
on the type of content it is. If it's an action movie where
I know WMV9 will have a tough time retaining optimal quality,
I will head towards the 6.5 Mbit/sec mark. If it's an
'easier' movie, I will head towards the 4 Mbit/sec mark.

Resolution of the release makes a huge difference also.
I've primarily stuck to 1280x720p, but will be testing some
1920x916P for content which has an OAR of 2.35:1.

Good example was T2: Extreme Edition which contained a WM9
HDTV High-Definition copy. It's average bitrate was just a
hair below 7 Mbps.

--

Q: How do you create your content?

A: I could write a book on it at this point. It's been 12
weeks so far and I'm still learning new tricks. This is all
bleeding edge stuff. I won't go into details.


-TGF

P.S. A note to all the groups who claim 'HDTV' in their
releases; While your SOURCE, may of been from an HDTV source,
I have yet to see any content/releases which looks even
remotely to the quality of what HDTV provides. How I
differentiate myself from those releases is the:

trueHDTV(tm) mark.

Cheers and enjoy.

[editman]

Originally posted by ZUBi
GO TO HELL DVD's ! :big grin:

Heh heh... True but what good is High-definition if a movie sucks a**?...

(Nothing personal. Just have to jump on with a different op.)

[aS!Dz]

THAT WAS SUM GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD STUFF!

[redbear]

i liked it. the quality is great..but i have one problem...
what do you use to watch it? i have media player9 but i had to install the ac3 codec and it made the audio out of sync. what is the recommended player ??

and where can i find more...??

[carl]

Originally posted by red bear
i liked it. the quality is great..but i have one problem...
what do you use to watch it? i have media player9 but i had to install the ac3 codec and it made the audio out of sync. what is the recommended player ??

and where can i find more...??

I get serious sync problems with ac3 on my low computer. That's probably what you're getting, it eats up memory like nobodies buisness. The best player for it though seems to be Kazzar player.

[ZUBi]

Originally posted by red bear
what is the recommended player ?

khhh khhh, go to 'my' thread MEDIA PLAYER CLASSIC (MPC).
I have no problems running that files on MPC & P4 2.0/512MB RAM.

[aS!Dz]

yup i used media player classic aswell (ZUBi big influence on me now ) lolz

it works fine wid that...didnt come across ne out of sync audio

[amr.ramadan]

My poor "1.4Ghz, 384 MB RD-Ram, ATI Radeon 8500 128MB" couldn't help to sync the audio as well.

My next upgrade has to be dual-processor

[ZUBi]

Originally posted by aS!Dz
ZUBi big influence on me now

hehehe (thanks dude), I REALLY RECOMMEND JUST QUALITY STUFF...

MPC RULZZZ !!! :big grin:

[Bunti]

How do i download these? Clicking links don't work.

[st39.6]

its damn old, doesnt work anymore, read the date newie

[Jake]

give it some time I'm sure someone here will dig the old sources up, I had them saved on my old HD, god knows where that is now.