I too would like to know.

Some people have said that 1.4 have messed with their brightness/contrast settings, and someone on AVS theorized that 1.4 was messing with the RGB output, and on this machine the DVI will only output 1.4.

There's a member on AVS and the Blu-ray forum who has the same exact TV I do and had no problems. I wonder if this is because I'm using an HDMI->DVI adaptor versus an HDMI->DVI cable. More likely I suspect it's a bad unit.

And it was $474.99 open box.

Well, fuck me. I tried it over component, and it outputs 1080i just fine. So I'm guessing this is a handshake problem. Now I need to decide if I want to keep this and have it run over component while waiting for every update to see if it fixes my handshake problem, or just return it and wait for 2nd gen to come around. Decisions, decisions...

How's the video quality over component compared to what you saw of HDMI?

Looked about the same. Very sharp and very clear on both. I had heard the Tosh gave better PQ over component, but I'm very much willing to bet it depends on what display you have.

In a funny twist, the Amazon seller who screwed me around actually came through and I got a player from UPS today. Build date June 2006, firmware 1.3 already installed. This wasn't an open box. I switched it with the Fry's player and it worked like a charm. No problems outputting 1080i over HDMI. I can switch discs without a problem, see the setup menu in 1080i without a problem. So back to Fry's this one goes. So, I'm glad he sent it. Still, if he had sent it sooner, I wouldn't have had to deal with all this crap. But I'm just happy I got a working machine, because the PQ and SQ on this are blowing me away.

Off to finish Serenity, thanks for all the help!

Well...it doesn't matter because he won't be able to upconvert his regular discs over component.

EDIT: well...shit. Guess I was right after all. I'm glad you're happy, bud. Enjoy.

That is just crazy! Well, anyway "Welcome to the party, pal!".

Reading this thread makes me sooooo jealous. Damn, I want this format war to be settled.

The way I see it, a little hardship at the beginning of the installation makes appreciation of the unit THAT much more satisfying.

Congrats.

Come on. You know you want one. They'll make you feel great. All the kids are getting them.
There are some great deals going on right now...and I suspect they'll only get better as the year goes on.
We'll only let you in the club if you get one but I promise once you start, you'll be addicted.

I would need top upgrade my projector and build my widescreen screen first. Being too busy, I haven't bought one either. But threads like this make me very green with jealousy.

I completely agree. I just finished watching Serenity, and then I switched over to the setup menu, then I put on the commentary. No problems, no flubs, no error messages. Making me real happy.

I've got a player I can sell you real cheap!

FYI. Amazon has the RCA HD player in stock.

So, um, okay, HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS PLAYER IS AWESOME! Every title I pop in is impressing me more than the last. Riddick looked great, Serenity looked better. Blazing Saddles was highly impressive. WhoGirl's dad asked me if the HD was really an improvement over a good upconverting DVD, so I popped in the regular DVD of Blazing Saddles. No comparison. Details were lacking, the whole image was soft and looked washed out. The HD-DVD, on the other hand, looked pristine and brand new.

Then I popped in Training Day. Wow. I can see every freakin' pore in Ethan Hawke's face. The only one that hasn't completely wowed me yet has been Unforgiven, but I only gave it a quick glance.

Other than Blazing Saddles, I haven't even tried to watch a regular DVD on it yet, so I don't know how well it upscales, but who fucking cares. This thing could play no DVDs whatsoever and it's still worth $500 just for these discs. And since I can now author my own HD content on DVD (since I have an HD camcorder), this is one of the best purchases I've ever made.

Supermallet man! Stop! You're killing me! I'm trying to hold out until 2nd generation but you're not making this easy. Whoa I didn't know you had an HD camera too...what model?

If you can find a good price on this model, don't bother waiting until 2nd gen. I'm obsessively popping in disc after disc to see how they look. And by the way, Goodfellas looks picture perfect. I've seen it in theaters and this HD-DVD looks better.

I bought the Sony HVR-A1U. It's a really nice camera, and right now it comes with a $500 rebate, which I'm going to fill out ASAP.

I haven't heard anyone claim that about the Toshiba. Digital Bits has been claiming that the Samsung Blu-ray player looks better over component, but that's a load of crap. Both players look decidedly better over HDMI.

Well, to be fair, I have heard people say the Tosh gives better picture over component. For my money, I'd say they looked about the same on my TV.

I've had a hard time telling the difference between the component and HDMI input on my TV. I have just stuck with component for now, but may get a switcher at some point.

*Ahem*

Super,

Check out some of your best SD DVD's and tell us what you think of the upconversion.

Also, how you feelin' the audio?

I looked at Blazing Saddles to compare it to the HD-DVD and it hurt my eyes.

Actually, I did look at Riddick to compare it to the HD-DVD and I was highly impressed. The HD-DVD is better looking, but the Toshiba cranked out that regular DVD version. I'll have to take a look at something that I'm not directly comparing. I was thinking of my Criterion edition of Ran, or perhaps one of my Lord of the Rings discs. I'll let you know.

The audio rocks me so hard. Serenity was taking my breath away in the sound department. Cannot wait for the firmware update that enables DolbyTruHD. I kept staring at the option for it on the Training Day menu, willing it to work.

Was the audio any better for you on your SD DVD's?

You know, I wasn't paying attention to the audio on my regular DVD's. Are you asking if they were better over analog versus optical, or better on the Toshiba versus my Oppo, or both?

Ha. Both I guess.

I was blown away by the audio on my SD DVD's on the Toshie.

I will do some comprehensive testing after I eat and report back.