My impressions of HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray

[darien87]

All you need to do is connect the A3 to the internet via the ethernet connection on the back and go into the menu to update the firmware. No discs needed. I've done it three times on my A2 with no issues. It takes roughly 20 minutes.

Unfortunately, the DSL's upstairs. I have my PS 3 hooked up wireless. I guess I could buy a long *** ethernet cable and do that, but it seems like a pain in the ***.

 

[darien87]

One must remember that the PS3 is primarily a Game System. Kids will be using it. If it were slow they would probably break it, as kids are very impatient. This is probably a big reason for the higher cost. It requires more/faster computing ability to boot up and load quicker.

That's funny. "We designed our machine to be hella fast so kids wouldn't get pissed and kick the thing."

Funny thing is, that eveyone I know that has a PS 3 is an adult. $500 is pretty expensive for a child's toy.

 

[dobyblue]

The standalone Blu-Ray players are just as slow as the HD-DVD players. I have no issues with my HD-A2. It is slow to boot up and open the tray but that 30 seconds doesn't kill me..

No they absolutely are not.

Most discs on the Sharp boot up in about 15-17 seconds.

 

[dobyblue]

Huh? I thought they pretty much scrapped all combo discs...is that what you are talking about?

Warner have scrapped them all, supposedly because the yields are not good.

Universal is the only studio still breathing life into the HD DVD/DVD combo.

Blu-ray had a BD25/DVD9 hybrid (single sided) working at IFA 2005 on both a prototype Blu-ray player and regular DVD player, but the Blu-ray studios have not expressed any interest in the format, hence there are no Blu-ray combo discs.

 

[dobyblue]

well here is the deal-breaker for me, there is no BD player that can match my XA2 and it cost half as much as the most expensive BD unit. there's the flip side.

The Panny and Sharp have just as good PQ, faster load times and both cost over $100 less than the XA2.

 

[kenhoeve]

The Panny and Sharp have just as good PQ, faster load times and both cost over $100 less than the XA2.

Do they have a Reon processor?

Thank you, come again.

 

[j_garcia]

Do they NEED the Reon processor to look great? Didn't think so. Next...

 

[Alamar]

What does that have to do with it? If anything, I would assume that a stand-alone player would have an advantage over a movie/gaming system as it is designed specifically for one purpose, not 2.

Rephrased I think the issue the other people are trying to point out is that we're comparing a 400$ machine that Sony is selling for big losses to a 200$ machine that is being sold at a profit.

A more appropriate comparison would be to compare the bottom end HD players to the bottom end Blu player that's being sold for profit.

On the other hand if you sell a product that is "annoying" to use then you better expect that nobody is going to buy it ....

 

[darien87]

Rephrased I think the issue the other people are trying to point out is that we're comparing a 400$ machine that Sony is selling for big losses to a 200$ machine that is being sold at a profit.

A more appropriate comparison would be to compare the bottom end HD players to the bottom end Blu player that's being sold for profit.

On the other hand if you sell a product that is "annoying" to use then you better expect that nobody is going to buy it ....

Gotcha.

And had I known about the A3's quirks and lack of features beforehand, I might not have bought it. It was the $98 A2 that got me to jump at HD-DVD in the first place. I'd be much more willing to forgive the A3's flaws, if it had only cost me $100.

 

[kenhoeve]

Do they NEED the Reon processor to look great? Didn't think so. Next...

When it comes to upconversion, absolutely, without it these are nowhere close. I've run 3 upconverting players. None have come close to the XA2 in upconversion. HD is same obviously.

A $500 BD is not a $600 HD, end of story.

 

[tn001d]

I have a RPTV with component only. Will the Toshiba XA2 utlize the HQV Reon on the component inputs for 480p out ??

I am thinking about replacing my Denon 2900, which performs amazingly with DVD's.. Sometimes i think its HD thats how good the Denon is with Silicon Image chipset.

 

[darien87]

When it comes to upconversion, absolutely, without it these are nowhere close. I've run 3 upconverting players. None have come close to the XA2 in upconversion. HD is same obviously.

A $500 BD is not a $600 HD, end of story.

I personally couldn't give a damn about upconversion. You can upconvert until you're blue in the face, and it still won't look as good as a BD or HD-DVD. You simply can't create resolution that wasn't there in the first place. I don't even buy regular DVD's anymore, so upconversion is a big, "who cares?" to me.

 

[Alamar]

Gotcha.

And had I known about the A3's quirks and lack of features beforehand, I might not have bought it. It was the $98 A2 that got me to jump at HD-DVD in the first place. I'd be much more willing to forgive the A3's flaws, if it had only cost me $100.

Honestly it's not a "gotcha" ... I put the line in there specifically because I thought that it was reasonable to mention.

I also agree ... for 100$ I can overlook some things. For a couple of hundred dollars I'm not nearly as forgiving

 

[j_garcia]

I personally couldn't give a damn about upconversion. You can upconvert until you're blue in the face, and it still won't look as good as a BD or HD-DVD. You simply can't create resolution that wasn't there in the first place. I don't even buy regular DVD's anymore, so upconversion is a big, "who cares?" to me.

Exactly my point. Upscaling is NOT the primary focus of these machines, so I have to say it really is a moot point. Saying that your high def player has great upscaling is like saying you could drive a Porsche on 87 octane... You CAN, but why not just go with the real deal?

I hooked up my A2 last night and watched Batman Begins. As expected, it looked as good as I remember when a friend demoed it previously, and it looks pretty much the same as any decent Blu-ray title. I didn't have any problems with this unit at all, it worked fine and the boot time was more or less acceptable. It did stumble a few times losing the picture, but a quick reconnect fixed that. There was a menu to display information about what is playing using "display" on the remote, but as mentioned, it doesn't show you WHICH audio track is playing - it truncates so you don't know if it is True HD Spanish or what until someone speaks. The remote is pretty cheap and the unit doesn't feel all that solid. It doesn't strike me as a $400 piece of gear. The remote that came with my $169 Oppo is better...yes, I only paid $80 for this guy though.

 

[gus6464]

Exactly my point. Upscaling is NOT the primary focus of these machines, so I have to say it really is a moot point. Saying that your high def player has great upscaling is like saying you could drive a Porsche on 87 octane... You CAN, but why not just go with the real deal?

I hooked up my A2 last night and watched Batman Begins. As expected, it looked as good as I remember when a friend demoed it previously, and it looks pretty much the same as any decent Blu-ray title. I didn't have any problems with this unit at all, it worked fine and the boot time was more or less acceptable. It did stumble a few times losing the picture, but a quick reconnect fixed that. There was a menu to display information about what is playing using "display" on the remote, but as mentioned, it doesn't show you WHICH audio track is playing - it truncates so you don't know if it is True HD Spanish or what until someone speaks. The remote is pretty cheap and the unit doesn't feel all that solid. It doesn't strike me as a $400 piece of gear. The remote that came with my $169 Oppo is better...yes, I only paid $80 for this guy though.

Granted I paid $199 for my A3 because it was on sale and got all those free movies but it is normally a $300 player. Now does it feel and function like a $300 player? No way.... $200? Maybe and depends on what extra stuff you get with it (free movies).... $100? Absolutely.... Hell I have a Pioneer dvd player that's 4 years old (I paid $70 for it back then) that's more responsive and a whole lot faster than the A3.

 

[darien87]

3. The on-screen display of the A3 is VERY basic. It doesn't give you bit rate or show you how much time is remaining in the movie.

Edit: I discovered last night that the A3 does indeed show you how much time is remaining on the movie. It just does it on the display of the player itself and not on the display of the TV. So that's one drawback of the A3 that can be erased.

 

[j_garcia]

I do have to agree though, the PS3 is a LOT more user friendly and gives you quite a bit more feedback than the A2.

 

[Gasman]

When it comes to upconversion, absolutely, without it these are nowhere close. I've run 3 upconverting players. None have come close to the XA2 in upconversion. HD is same obviously.

A $500 BD is not a $600 HD, end of story.

Agreed.
The BD-P1200 (with all its other flaws) is the best upconverter I have.
The REON chip most assuredly does shine in that player.

But DAMN it is slow at loading BD discs, I would say just as slow as the A2 (and the slowest is the XA1).
That is on most discs, but not including Fantastic 4 RotSS (which takes the BD player about 3 minutes to load.)
Hold on, I will look for my post, when I tested the load time. http://www.3dgameman.com/forums/showpost.php?p=609413&postcount=38

 

[kenhoeve]

I personally couldn't give a damn about upconversion. You can upconvert until you're blue in the face, and it still won't look as good as a BD or HD-DVD. You simply can't create resolution that wasn't there in the first place. I don't even buy regular DVD's anymore, so upconversion is a big, "who cares?" to me.

Could you guys really be any more pretentious? How many people don't have HD or BD and use an Oppo 981 on their HD monitors for image quality? How many thousands have titles that they wish to continue watching on their HDTV sets? If you want to complain about the functional particulars of firmware interface, I'll grant you that. But IMO the two things that are most important are the HD ability and upconversion capability, the other peccadillos are secondary. I put in a disc and I watch it, my system is set up fine and I don't fiddle around trying to trip it up whilst watching, I just watch. So a player that is an outstanding SD player and also an outstanding HD player is a great choice. And as it relates to this original thread I am saying that in relation to the low end HD player mentioned, there is an XA2 that is very good and is much cheaper than the higher end BD. How bout we agree to disagree.

 

[Hi Ho]

I put in a disc and I watch it, my system is set up fine and I don't fiddle around trying to trip it up whilst watching, I just watch.

Ditto! I watch movies all the way through and I don't fiddle around with things while doing so. I don't fast forward or change audio tracks in the middle. I imagine that a majority of people are the same way.

As for upconversion, I agree as well. Many people have DVD collections in the thousands and some movies will never be available on an HD medium.