Just got my A2 questions
 

Hopefully none of this is too stupid. I'm still new to this and appreciate any help.

I traded in my 360 Add-on for the A2 and I just can't notice a difference in quality like I thought I would. I downloaded all the firmware updates and have it hooked up using HDMI to my Westinghouse 42" lcd.

Now for maybe a really stupid question...

How do I know if my monitor is upscaling to 1080p? When I bring up the signal info, it says 1080i. When I had my Add-on hooked up through VGA, it said 1080p.

Just wanting to make sure there isn't something else I can do to increase my pq.

If you already had 1080p, where did you expect an increase in quality to occur?

I believe the best thing you can do to increase your PQ will be to calibrate your monitor properly with something like Video Essentials. The importance of this is often underestimated.

Also, if your signal is outputting 1080i, I'm not sure there is such a thing as upscaling it to 1080p. You would need a 1080p source to take advantage of any benefit. I could be wrong on that though. My set only displays 1080i so I haven't read up on everything regarding 1080p. I know some people say there is no difference based on the source.

Well I thought the increase in quality would come from a dedicated Hd player. I guess I thought the A2 alone would produce a better image.

And I understood that my monitor would take the 1080i signal and deinterlace it to 1080p. Is this wrong?

That probably depends on your monitor. If you are looking at signal info, it is probably telling you the source that is coming in.

As far as picture quality, you will probably notice an increase in quality upconverting SD DVD's (depending on how well your monitor handled the upconversion previously), but I would think that HD content would be about the same. From what I've heard the 360 add-on is already a good unit.

There are still other benefits to having a standalone unit though. I personally opted for standalone rather than the add-on for reasons other than picture quality. The A2 is a great machine and I think you will realy enjoy it once you get things set up the way you want. Have you calibrated the screen (other than by eye?)

The only calibration I've done is using the THX calibration tool that came with "The Incredibles" dvd.

Just very basic sharpness and contrast adjustment. Couldn't do the color adjustment because I don't have those glasses.

Not to hijack but instead of opening a new thread, I have some questions. I just got my A2 as well and put on 300 & TMNT. They have a choice of a DD+ track or a DDTrueHD. Both say 5.1. So what makes them different?

I have a Denon AVR-1803 and it is set up for 7.1. It really only decodes 6.1 tracks but it matrixes' in the two back speakers together. I have the A2 hooked up optically.

Anyway, it decodes the tracks as 5.1 as it should and does a DD Matrix to make it 7.1. I noticed that the surround use on the two back speakers is mild as usual using the DD+ track but it is heavily pronounced using the TrueHD track. I am just mainly curious what makes the two tracks different and if I have to hook my system up any different acheive the best sound short of getting a new receiver at this time.

I have read that the Lossless tracks have to be done by HDMI and not optical, correct? Granted I don't have a disc with that feature yet but I wanted to make sure I was using the TrueHD track as it should?

Some other quick questions/clarifications:

Enhanced Black Level: On/Off - anyone use it and do I need it?

Picture Mode - why is this choice even needed? Why would you manually have to choose between Video or Film? Just curious.

Dynamic Range Control: Auto/On/Off. I have mine set to Auto but reading the description in the manual I was wondering if I need this on at all?

Dialogue Enhancement: On/Off. I have this set to off but was wondering if any of you use it and why is it necessary.

Maintenance - Update (Firmware). In the manual it states that "if no update is available a message will note this and the process will terminate." I did a firmware update via ethernet and after it was done it states in that box "2.2/T22T." (before the update it stated 1.3 or something) Now is that 2.2 message stating the firmware I currently have or is that a new update I need? When I tried to update again it said the machine was already updated with that info. Kinda clear on screen but not really clear in the manual. Just wanted to double-check.

Oh...and something the manual does not tell you that I went thru several times before I found this posted on the net somewhere...after setting up your ethernet connection you have to power down the system and then power it back up to do the update. It mentions this no where in the manual that the player has to "reboot" before it will accept the update. It just keep giving me a message stating "Cannot find server" or something like that until I powered it off & on. May save a few new guys a minor headache.

Thanks.

ps. So far I am loving the HD player. Very easy to hook up & the picture looks fantastic even through component at 1080i. TMNT is probably one of the best looking pictures I have ever seen. 300 appears grainy in areas but I figured that was on purpose. The Fountain doesn't appear to have a perfect picture (especially in normal settings such as the hospital scenes) but the futuristic scenes look near perfect.

Video wise the 360 add-on looks just as good as the A2. The difference would be with the audio, as the add-on can't output dolby digital plus or TrueHD, but you would need a compatible receiver with either hdmi or 5.1 analog inputs.

Another huge difference is that the A2 is miles better than the add on in upscaling regular dvds. Plus, there have been a lot of compatibility issues with some discs with the add-on as well.

Hmmm...okay. Thanks everyone. I just assumed that the A2 would be better. Not complaining, it's still great.

Does anyone else think it stupid that they bother including composite cables with a HD DVD player. Who in the hell would need or use those?? Charge an extra dollar and throw in some component cables at least...