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Originally Posted by Josh Z
The Onkyo is a rebadged HD-XA2 with some changes to the analog audio section.
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I'm sure this is answered elsewhere and often, but a Google search suggests that I don't know how to ask the question. I'll try here.
Does the Toshiba HD-A3 display 4x3 SD properly on a 16x9 display? For example, my PS3 will display 4x3 material pillarboxed via HDMI. I have an Oppo DVD player that has a Wide/SQZ mode that will pillarbox 4x3 content when my projector is in 16x9 mode. I have a cheap Samsung DVD recorder that supposedly upscales, and apparently will not pillarbox 4x3 movies. (It is connected via HDMI to the LCD HDTV that it came with.) I can obviously change the picture mode on the TV, but I'm incredibly lazy. And there are often supplements on DVDs where I'm not sure of the proper AR until I've been watching them for a few minutes. It causes me minor frustration when I realize that the AR is wrong. I don't even know what this feature is called, but does the HD-A3 have it? |
My A1 does, so I have to believe that the A3 will also pillarbox 4:3 over HDMI automatically. I suppose that it could depend on the display though.
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IMHO, upscaling players should just pillarbox 4:3 automatically without it being a "feature." The "feature" should be stretching it. Sorry to hear about that other player that doesn't do it at all.
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Thanks for the info about pillarboxing 4x3 stuff. I was wavering between getting another OPPO (because I have dozens of non-R1 DVDs, SACDs and DVD-As and no HD-DVDs) and getting an HD-DVD deck, but the Amazon deal on the HD-A3 was just too good to pass up. And I'll finally get around to upgrading my non-16x9 DVD of Carpenter's 'The Thing' (since that title is included in the five free mail-in offer that I'll eventually receive some time in 2008.)
Originally Posted by Drexl
IMHO, upscaling players should just pillarbox 4:3 automatically without it being a "feature."
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Just finished reading the AVS thread on the Onkyo, that is a damn shame.... so much for all the 'tweaks'. Guess I'll hold on to my A1 & keep waiting... to their credit, at least Toshiba is still providing firmware upgrades 18 months later. :thumbsup:
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Originally Posted by Hammer99
Just finished reading the AVS thread on the Onkyo, that is a damn shame.... so much for all the 'tweaks'. Guess I'll hold on to my A1 & keep waiting... to their credit, at least Toshiba is still providing firmware upgrades 18 months later. :thumbsup:
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Originally Posted by tonymontana313
Are you talking about Onkyo cancelling their player? I wonder what would cause them to cancel something this close to the release date.
Small review of the Onkyo HD DVD player... http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...&postcount=618 I will be 100% up front and honest here. I expected to open it and return it tomorrow! I really did. After spending a few hours though it has officially replaced my XA2 and A35 as the starter in my set up. It's true. It really has. I was stunned at how fast it loads. Its like Toshiba decided to wait and put the fastest load time on the HD805. Most HD DVDs that I put in loaded in about 10 to 12 seconds. Some even less! It is right up there with the Panasonic DMP BD30K. It may not equal it in load times but it is right there. That was a HUGE surprise. Moving on to the HD DVD comparisons. Yes, it is the exact same menu as the XA2 and A35. Nothing different. It was a breeze to get going. I did forget about the button in the push open door on the front that requires you to select SD or HD output. So I compared them at 1080i/1080p60/1080p24... Now the interesting stuff. They should all have the exact same picture. Well, for some reason the HD805 has a sharper menu. I know that is no big deal but I found that odd. And all my displays were set the same exact way. It was not a huge difference but enough for me to take a second look. It was more noticeable with SD dvds which I will get to in a minute or two. Now playing the movies they all were pretty much the same. I did like the 1080i and 1080p pic Q slightly better on the HD805. For some reason there was less noise in the picture. My build date is October so it makes me wonder if they did a slight modification or two to the REON chip? I played the same exact scenes a few times just to make sure. It was ever so slight though so not enough to get crazy over. My 1080p/24 pic Q was great as well. Very sharp with hardly any noise. This unit was given some good parts because I tried like heck to get it to mess up. By mess up I mean show an error code or freeze or shut down. It wouldn't. It refused to disappoint me. I would have been very happy living with the XA2 or A35 but I am excited to put in the HD805 in my theater set up! Now to SD dvds. Here is where it actually showed me something. SD dvds look clearer and are rendered with a little more detail. I think there is a XA3 in the works and I am willing to bet it will get the same modifications as the HD805. They obviously did something different with this unit. It is faster at responding, faster at loading and I am seeing a sharper image. Not to mention with all settings at minimum, less noise. And again not enough to throw your XA2 or A35 away but it does clearly show that a new player with these modifications will make a difference in the near future. I think if anything this is a positive for HD DVD. I truly expected the same exact performance of the XA2. I did get the same exact menu interface, cheaper remote and same back as the XA2. But from there I got much faster load times, faster responding, sharper images, less noise, and in my opinion the best looking HD DVD player to date. And of course this units biggest enemy is its pricing. If it were the same price as the XA2 I would choose it hands down over it. Heck, I would even pay a little more (which I just did)... |
Originally Posted by tonymontana313
Are you talking about Onkyo cancelling their player? I wonder what would cause them to cancel something this close to the release date.
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Originally Posted by Hammer99
Not cancelled, just pretty much identical to the XA2. I was kinda hoping for some significant audio improvements.
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Sorry if I missed it, but I can't find how much the new Onkyo lists for, any ideas?
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Originally Posted by bravesmg
Sorry if I missed it, but I can't find how much the new Onkyo lists for, any ideas?
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Originally Posted by GizmoDVD
IIRC, $799 if you can find it.
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Originally Posted by Hammer99
Not cancelled, just pretty much identical to the XA2. I was kinda hoping for some significant audio improvements.
Or are you referring to the analog audio outputs? Oh BTW, my comment about pillarboxing was meant to be philosophical, in that I think pillarboxing by default would be the best setting. I'm aware that some players aren't like this. |
Originally Posted by Drexl
Maybe I'm overlooking something, but what audio improvements could there be? If it decodes the audio to PCM or outputs it as a bitstream, either way sending the audio exactly as it is on the disc, how do you improve on that?
Or are you referring to the analog audio outputs? Oh BTW, my comment about pillarboxing was meant to be philosophical, in that I think pillarboxing by default would be the best setting. I'm aware that some players aren't like this. |
How could you, at this point, possibly know what mods Onkyo has made? WRT video, it's tough to distinguish between top and bottom of the line HDM players. In the murky waters of audio, it should be nigh impossible to do so.
What exactly distinguishes HD DVD AQ from BD AQ? |
Originally Posted by wewantflair
How could you, at this point, possibly know what mods Onkyo has made? WRT video, it's tough to distinguish between top and bottom of the line HDM players. In the murky waters of audio, it should be nigh impossible to do so.
What exactly distinguishes HD DVD AQ from BD AQ? |
Not to nitpick, but this is not a matter of opinion - it's a matter of fact. We don't have any knowledge of what physical mods Onkyo made to this system. Do you know what DACs the Toshiba units use? In what way could they be changed?
Instead of engaging in what is tantamount to brand bashing, why not try to articulate the basis for some of these opinions? |
Originally Posted by wewantflair
Not to nitpick, but this is not a matter of opinion - it's a matter of fact. We don't have any knowledge of what physical mods Onkyo made to this system. Do you know what DACs the Toshiba units use? In what way could they be changed?
Instead of engaging in what is tantamount to brand bashing, why not try to articulate the basis for some of these opinions? |
Originally Posted by Hammer99
No, I don't know the technical aspects. I just read a while ago (probably in this thread) that the Onkyo was to feature audio 'tweaks' (no real details, just "tweaks")... that led me to hope that the player when released would feature superior AQ to the Toshiba models.
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Originally Posted by tonymontana313
I also remember reading that it was supposed to bitstream DTS-MA. I knew I wasn't going crazy!
http://www.shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?...il=1&ext_war=0 |
Originally Posted by tonymontana313
I also remember reading that it was supposed to bitstream DTS-MA. I knew I wasn't going crazy!
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Originally Posted by wewantflair
Not to nitpick, but this is not a matter of opinion - it's a matter of fact. We don't have any knowledge of what physical mods Onkyo made to this system. Do you know what DACs the Toshiba units use? In what way could they be changed?
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HD DVD Promo Group: HD DVD Player Sales Top 750,000
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...p_750,000/1208 this includes the 360 HD DVD drive. |
Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema
HD DVD Promo Group: HD DVD Player Sales Top 750,000
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...p_750,000/1208 this includes the 360 HD DVD drive. |
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