Originally Posted by Arpeggi

The Onkyo is the best. It's an improved XA2.

Originally Posted by jeffrey r

Just to be clear, there are differing opinions on how best to use the "picture" settings on the XA2. I purchased one of the $240 refurbs from Overstock a few weeks ago, and have given it some use on SD-DVD and HD DVD.

I read a ton of posts on AVS and other forums about the XA2, and if I might paraphrase those posts, I gleaned the following conventional wisdom:

SD-DVD - use mosquito and random NR (these only apply to SD-DVD anyway if left on), and Edge Enhancement settings will vary based on the DVD, but either a setting of 1 or 2 will likely work well with most SD-DVDs.

HD DVD - NR settings don't affect HD. Edge Enhancement use either 1 or 2.

Bear in mind, Edge Enhancement on the XA2 is not the dreaded EE that people have been complaining about for years. It is just how Silicon Optix defines enhancing detail. You can see the effect on SD and HD on the fly, so as you run through 0, 1 and 2 on Edge Enhancement, you can see what it is doing. I find that running EE at 1 for HD is the bare minimum, as it brings out even more detail. And frankly, I generally leave it on 2, as everything looks so darn good at that setting.

But anyway, you can try out any of these settings, and can set up the 3 different memory settings differently for different uses.

I love the XA2 by the way. It is a fantastic player.

Originally Posted by GizmoDVD

Bleh. The player itself is very ugly and it comes with a cheap $10 Wal-Mart like remote control. The XA2 looks much better on the eye and the metal, backlit remote is just sexy. I don't think the Onkyo is different at all, besides a little bit of menu changes.

Originally Posted by jeffrey r

Just to be clear, there are differing opinions on how best to use the "picture" settings on the XA2.

Originally Posted by Josh Z

Indeed. I strongly recommend turning all that crap off. :)



"Detail enhancement" is just another sharpening filter, like edge enhancement. It cannot create additional detail. All it does is add ringing around the edges, similar to but somewhat less pronounced than e.e. Both are pretty objectionable in my book.