Official CES HD/BD News & Discussion Thread
01-11-07 | 08:24 AM
#527
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by DamingR
But you lose the analog outs which give you TrueHD without a HDMI receiver.
I have a warranty on the player at Best Buy so I should hopefully be able to take it in and get the A2. I was holding out a bit just to see if any other player options in the price range were announced.
01-11-07 | 08:44 AM
#528
Political Exile
Originally Posted by darkside
At this point I'm willing to make the sacrifice until I can get an HDMI receiver. I can no longer get through a movie without the sound dropping out or the movie doing quick skips forward or freezing all together.
I understood the quirks of the A1 when I bought it with the long initial boot up and load times when inserting the disc. But I don't remember anyone mentioning the stuttering and such until after I bought my unit. I would have gladly waited the 2 or 3 months for gen 2 unit. As you mention, I bought this model since my receiver doesn't have HDMI, but a glitch free movie experience is worth it more than slightly better sound quality of the A1 vs the A2.
Originally Posted by darkside
I have a warranty on the player at Best Buy so I should hopefully be able to take it in and get the A2. I was holding out a bit just to see if any other player options in the price range were announced.
01-11-07 | 09:06 AM
#529
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Originally Posted by darkside
At this point I'm willing to make the sacrifice until I can get an HDMI receiver. I can no longer get through a movie without the sound dropping out or the movie doing quick skips forward or freezing all together.
I have a warranty on the player at Best Buy so I should hopefully be able to take it in and get the A2. I was holding out a bit just to see if any other player options in the price range were announced.
I have a warranty on the player at Best Buy so I should hopefully be able to take it in and get the A2. I was holding out a bit just to see if any other player options in the price range were announced.
01-11-07 | 09:42 AM
#530
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Got this recap/summary from AVS. Thought it was accurate.
1. BD lose another exclusive CE support to HD DVD in the form of LG.
2. HD DVD just made 1080p hidef standalone player $400 cheaper than the existing BD players by announcing midlevel HD DVD player HD A20 with the price of $599
3. HD DVD announced their plans to flood the market with economic Chinese HD DVD players by year end.
4. Onkyo announces HD DVD support
5. HD DVD unveiled 51GB hd dvd disk beating the DL BD50GB (albeit by 1GB). There are talks that the new HD DVD disk would spin at 1.5x allowing in to have more transfer rate possibly better than the current BD disk.
6. HD DVD was the only format that feel comfortable to announce the attach rate for HD DVD movies. the announced attach rate is 28 movies per player. BD chose not to publish their obviously mediocre attach rate 9(what do we expect with millions of BD players out there )
7. MS just announced that they are in the hidef business to make sure that HD DVD doesnt "go away". When MS says so, we better belief it
8. HD DVD announced that 300 titles will be made available in 2007. Though currenty, there are still no sign of exclusive BD studios defecting to HD DVD .
9. HD DVD begins its effort to conquer Europe with the announcement of a European hidef player; Sonopress into the HD DVD promotional group.
10. Oh, HD DVD has incredibly increased the single layer capacity of HD DVD from 15GB to 17GB. making the DL capacity 34GB.
___________________________________________-
okie lets summarise BD: What happened!
1. BD just announced that they have beaten HD DVD in the format war based on PROJECTED sales figures for the year "2010 and 2011" made by FOX and the "SHIPPED" number of PS3 consoles.
2. LG, Sony, Disney announce a collective number of 200 titles to be released in 2007. (This figure does not include titles from format neutral studios, Warner and Paramount.
3. Samsung announced its second gen BD player with the price of $799.
4. Sharp too unveiling its first gen BD player.
5. BDA announced that they have more than enough studio and CE support to kill off HD DVD.
6. BDA announced that content is the king.
7. BDA imply that Warner and LG is stupid for coming out with TotalHD and combo player - because its waste of resource because, HD DVD is a dead format.
8. Lions Gate and FOX reiterate their undying and exclusive support to BD
9. Oh, support is EXTREMELY important to BD
** sorry i can only figure out 9 happenings for BDA. Sorry too, if some of it sound redundant. There are announced so many times by so many parties i thought there are different.
Sumary
so basically, the only that happened on the BDA side is the announcement of a more significant number of 2007 movie releases and the two BD players.
2. HD DVD just made 1080p hidef standalone player $400 cheaper than the existing BD players by announcing midlevel HD DVD player HD A20 with the price of $599
3. HD DVD announced their plans to flood the market with economic Chinese HD DVD players by year end.
4. Onkyo announces HD DVD support
5. HD DVD unveiled 51GB hd dvd disk beating the DL BD50GB (albeit by 1GB). There are talks that the new HD DVD disk would spin at 1.5x allowing in to have more transfer rate possibly better than the current BD disk.
6. HD DVD was the only format that feel comfortable to announce the attach rate for HD DVD movies. the announced attach rate is 28 movies per player. BD chose not to publish their obviously mediocre attach rate 9(what do we expect with millions of BD players out there )
7. MS just announced that they are in the hidef business to make sure that HD DVD doesnt "go away". When MS says so, we better belief it
8. HD DVD announced that 300 titles will be made available in 2007. Though currenty, there are still no sign of exclusive BD studios defecting to HD DVD .
9. HD DVD begins its effort to conquer Europe with the announcement of a European hidef player; Sonopress into the HD DVD promotional group.
10. Oh, HD DVD has incredibly increased the single layer capacity of HD DVD from 15GB to 17GB. making the DL capacity 34GB.
___________________________________________-
okie lets summarise BD: What happened!
1. BD just announced that they have beaten HD DVD in the format war based on PROJECTED sales figures for the year "2010 and 2011" made by FOX and the "SHIPPED" number of PS3 consoles.
2. LG, Sony, Disney announce a collective number of 200 titles to be released in 2007. (This figure does not include titles from format neutral studios, Warner and Paramount.
3. Samsung announced its second gen BD player with the price of $799.
4. Sharp too unveiling its first gen BD player.
5. BDA announced that they have more than enough studio and CE support to kill off HD DVD.
6. BDA announced that content is the king.
7. BDA imply that Warner and LG is stupid for coming out with TotalHD and combo player - because its waste of resource because, HD DVD is a dead format.
8. Lions Gate and FOX reiterate their undying and exclusive support to BD
9. Oh, support is EXTREMELY important to BD
** sorry i can only figure out 9 happenings for BDA. Sorry too, if some of it sound redundant. There are announced so many times by so many parties i thought there are different.
Sumary
so basically, the only that happened on the BDA side is the announcement of a more significant number of 2007 movie releases and the two BD players.
01-11-07 | 09:44 AM
#531
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by exm
I will keep my A1 (with its 'glitches') until next year. Hopefully I can pick up a G3 HD DVD or a G2 combi HD/BR DVD player.
01-11-07 | 09:56 AM
#532
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by darkside
This is what I am tempted to do as well. I really want something better than the A2.
01-11-07 | 10:16 AM
#533
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Originally Posted by DVD Josh
What could possibly make the A2 better?
01-11-07 | 10:34 AM
#534
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Vipper II
I'm guessing analog outputs.
DVD Planet actually decided to ship my copy of Mutiny on the Bounty after two months of waiting for it and I really would like to get through the whole movie with no issues.
Last edited by darkside; 01-11-07 at 10:37 AM.
01-11-07 | 10:39 AM
#535
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From: WV
Originally Posted by darkside
Yeah, I hate losing the TrueHD, but may have no choice. My patience is at an end on the A1.
DVD Planet actually decided to ship my copy of Mutiny on the Bounty after two months of waiting for it and I really would like to get through the whole movie with no issues.
DVD Planet actually decided to ship my copy of Mutiny on the Bounty after two months of waiting for it and I really would like to get through the whole movie with no issues.
01-11-07 | 11:13 AM
#537
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by DVD Josh
Then there's the XA2, which is in every way an improvement on the A2.
I was goign to get that as my first player, but impulse stuck in November and I took a chance on the A1 since $400 didn't seem like an enormous amount to spend.
I've had my player about 6 weeks and have watched about 8 movies on it. I haven't seen any glitches yet, but it sounds like I might still be in the "honeymoon" period. If it starts getting weird, I might have to try a gen 2 player. But given the current climate, I would get the A2 instead of the XA2 if that happened.
01-11-07 | 12:36 PM
#539
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Originally Posted by bunkaroo
True, but it's $1000.
I was goign to get that as my first player, but impulse stuck in November and I took a chance on the A1 since $400 didn't seem like an enormous amount to spend.
I've had my player about 6 weeks and have watched about 8 movies on it. I haven't seen any glitches yet, but it sounds like I might still be in the "honeymoon" period. If it starts getting weird, I might have to try a gen 2 player. But given the current climate, I would get the A2 instead of the XA2 if that happened.
I was goign to get that as my first player, but impulse stuck in November and I took a chance on the A1 since $400 didn't seem like an enormous amount to spend.
I've had my player about 6 weeks and have watched about 8 movies on it. I haven't seen any glitches yet, but it sounds like I might still be in the "honeymoon" period. If it starts getting weird, I might have to try a gen 2 player. But given the current climate, I would get the A2 instead of the XA2 if that happened.
In all those months, I think the player has locked up for unknown reasons twice. As with most computers, just holding the power button down for eight seconds turns the machine off and it worked fine after that; this is described in the manual. I have never had the playback or sound sync problems with discs that were not defective (perhaps I just don't have the "right" discs). And regular DVD upscaling is outstanding.
To say that I am satisfied with my $415 HD DVD player, would be putting it mildly.[/off topic]
That said, I think that Toshiba and the HD DVD group really dropped the ball at the CES. They need some better marketing flacks.
But I am willing to be patient. I am sure that more great HD DVDs will be coming in the next few months. And I remain hopeful that I can pick up a few favorite titles from the non-HD DVD studios, courtesy of overseas distributors.
01-11-07 | 12:39 PM
#540
Originally Posted by digitalfreaknyc
Got this recap/summary from AVS. Thought it was accurate.
01-11-07 | 12:40 PM
#541
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Originally Posted by matome
Oh man, why bring the AVS FUD here? Who posted that...Vurbano, midnightwatcher? The LG dual player that the HD-DVD group is gonna sue to get it removed? TL51 discs that haven't even been submitted for approval? Work in current players? BD has 100 & 200gb discs in the same situation (conveniently not mentioned). The A20 that still doesn't have analog outs and is not less than the Samsung? "300" HD-DVD titles of which he includes the neutral studios, yet he doesn't count them on the BD side? Remove Warner & Paramount from that "300" HD-DVD list as well and what happens? The "200" EXCLUSIVE BD titles that are only through the first half of the year, not the whole year?
01-11-07 | 01:32 PM
#544
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Originally Posted by matome
Oh man, why bring the AVS FUD here? Who posted that...Vurbano, midnightwatcher? The LG dual player that the HD-DVD group is gonna sue to get it removed? TL51 discs that haven't even been submitted for approval? Work in current players? BD has 100 & 200gb discs in the same situation (conveniently not mentioned). The A20 that still doesn't have analog outs and is not less than the Samsung? "300" HD-DVD titles of which he includes the neutral studios, yet he doesn't count them on the BD side? Remove Warner & Paramount from that "300" HD-DVD list as well and what happens? The "200" EXCLUSIVE BD titles that are only through the first half of the year, not the whole year?
Okay, I have to admist that the article posted by digitalfreaknyc is biased towards HD DVD. Being a HD DVD owner myself, but not hostile towards BR, it does contain some good points though.
Having said that, I don't understand (especially on AVS) the hostility between HD DVD and BR. It is only a format! Unless you have $100k in Sony or Toshiba stocks, what is the BFD? I purchased the HD DVD player because of its proven quality and low price. I would do the same thing if BR released such a player (I don't count the PS3 - since I won't use a gaming console with my high end equipment).
My biggest hope is the trend LG started (and what we've seen with DVD+ and DVD-): plenty of decent combo players until we have one standard.
01-11-07 | 01:34 PM
#545
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Originally Posted by exm
Calling digitalfreaknyc an AVS FUD? Guess the BR FUD have arrived also
01-11-07 | 01:35 PM
#546
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by fryinpan1
I do not know how widespread this problem is, but I and others have reported some out of sync audio on Mutiny on the Bounty (even when played on the A2).
Anyway I would like to say I had zero issues with my A1 for the longest time and I bought it at launch. It was only in recent months when things steadily started getting worse. I tried reflashing the firmware, but that didn't seem to help. I was tempted to pay the difference for the XA2, but just don't want to drop an extra $500 right now. Josh also posted some issues with his that are a bit weird. I want to see if that gets fixed with a firmware upgrade first.
I'm seriously considering dumping my A1 and getting an Xbox360 with the HD add-on. Then at least I would also have the option for IPTV and HD download rentals.
01-11-07 | 01:36 PM
#547
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Originally Posted by matome
The A20 that still doesn't have analog outs and is not less than the Samsung?
Im sure the A20 is gonna be a better machine. I dont need analog outs and I wish I would have known about the A20 before I got the A2.
01-11-07 | 01:41 PM
#548
Originally Posted by darkside
Oh man, why me.
Anyway I would like to say I had zero issues with my A1 for the longest time and I bought it at launch. It was only in recent months when things steadily started getting worse. I tried reflashing the firmware, but that didn't seem to help. I was tempted to pay the difference for the XA2, but just don't want to drop an extra $500 right now. Josh also posted some issues with his that are a bit weird. I want to see if that gets fixed with a firmware upgrade first.
I'm seriously considering dumping my A1 and getting an Xbox360 with the HD add-on. Then at least I would also have the option for IPTV and HD download rentals.
Anyway I would like to say I had zero issues with my A1 for the longest time and I bought it at launch. It was only in recent months when things steadily started getting worse. I tried reflashing the firmware, but that didn't seem to help. I was tempted to pay the difference for the XA2, but just don't want to drop an extra $500 right now. Josh also posted some issues with his that are a bit weird. I want to see if that gets fixed with a firmware upgrade first.
I'm seriously considering dumping my A1 and getting an Xbox360 with the HD add-on. Then at least I would also have the option for IPTV and HD download rentals.
01-11-07 | 01:54 PM
#550
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Originally Posted by darkside
I want to be patient for a 2.1 upgrade, but does anyone know when that will come?