1946 replies to this topic

[dazbug]

Just thought we should start a new Thread as the other one i started (power-buy) isn't really applicable anymore, and now has over 394 posts.

So I thought it would be a good place to start HD DVD talk in here from owners or those wanting to buy soon.  Mine comes tommorrow or wed so hopefully ill have something to add in the next few days and how it compares to dvd upscaled, hd tv and xbox360 HD Trailers.

*No Blu-ray trolling please. If your into that format or want to argue which is better, start another topic. Lets try and keep this informative, and about the topic description. (see how long that lasts !)  

[:)]

I'm very happy for you guys   ! you lucky buggers   !

[Trigg]

So what is the difference between the A1 and the XA1? I'm seriously considering buying one now!

[mav]

Well according to the tracking status I should receive my XA1 tomorrow, I am just so impressed with the efficiency of the USPS Global Express service. Below is my tracking info:

At Foreign Delivery Unit, October 23, 2006, 2:32 pm, AUSTRALIA
Out of Foreign Customs, October 23, 2006, 12:39 am, AUSTRALIA
Out of Foreign Customs, October 21, 2006, 12:31 pm, AUSTRALIA
Into Foreign Customs, October 21, 2006, 10:25 am, AUSTRALIA
Arrived Abroad, October 21, 2006, 10:25 am, AUSTRALIA
Enroute, October 19, 2006, 2:40 am, JAMAICA, NY 11499
International Dispatch, October 19, 2006, 2:40 am, KENNEDY AMC


I ask the dealer to do a system check on the XA1 in order not to receive a DOA unit and he agreed to do this for me. I have nothing but praise for the seller but sadly he has asked me not to identify where I bought it from.

Now if only Amazon could get their act together with shipping in stock titles! Still things are looking pretty sweet for the immediate future.

This is starting off to be a cracker of a week, my XA1 should be here tomorrow, our new HT lounge suite arrived today and boy is it ever comfy I have already had my first snooze on it.   My replacement laptop screen will arrive from USA either tomorrow or Wednesday and I just bought a new HP DVD burner for my laptop off an ebay seller in USA for a third of the price it sells for here and that is delivered to my door.

Oh and I just received a call from a company wanting to employ me on my days off, sweet.

[MarkH]

Good to see a thread start! I was only thinking the same thing and BAM, daz does the business!

[norpus]

MarkH, on Oct 24 2006, 12:46 AM, said:

Good to see a thread start! I was only thinking the same thing and BAM, daz does the business!

Mmm a new thread to hang out in

Mine has now been upgraded to 2.0 firmware so can do the lossless audio - an extra $15 - painless. will ship soon I am told. The ebay dude is very communicative.

[dazbug]

Still waiting for mine. hopefully wed now, as still sitting at customs.

Those that have the player, what are the exact measurements for height (incl the feet) and width. ?  might have to change some things around as dont think it will fit in the top shelf.

[mav]

dazbug, on Oct 24 2006, 01:10 PM, said:

Still waiting for mine. hopefully wed now, as still sitting at customs.

Those that have the player, what are the exact measurements for height (incl the feet) and width. ?  might have to change some things around as dont think it will fit in the top shelf.

I will probably be the same as now I am at the mercy of the Alice Springs PO. They deliver only when they feel like it and as the Masters Games are on this week I bet everything is on hold. Even when they do deliver they never bring the package they just slip a note in the letter box to say come and get it.

[dJOS]

Trigg, on Oct 23 2006, 11:17 PM, said:

So what is the difference between the A1 and the XA1? I'm seriously considering buying one now!

The case and a back-lit remote control for the XA1 are the only differences - functionally & component-wise they are identical.

dazbug, on Oct 24 2006, 01:10 PM, said:

Those that have the player, what are the exact measurements for height (incl the feet) and width. ?  might have to change some things around as dont think it will fit in the top shelf.

It is 35d x 10h x 43w (cm) and it is about 7 kilos so it is pretty standard for a full size component (it's only a couple of cm longer than my 2910).

[:)]

looks liek you guys soon to have another club member ! hehehe

http://www.eastwoodh...au/THE_SHOP.HTM

Quote

What about my new toy then? Well, thanks to the power of the internet, we've found a mob in the US which will ship a Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD (I don't give a bugger about the format - I just need a toy) for A$750 delivered, allow $120 for GST and customs and it's still a bargain. Considering all I need then is a 240V/120V converter ($50) and there are over 80 titles available already from Amazon.com it sure looks attractive. If anyone sees a downside, let me know.

hehehe you could send him that batman disc Will ! hehehe I'm sure HJ will be bombarding him iwht emails now of all the "downsides" hehehe

[AndrewW]

Just waiting to hear back from Stuart (ssingleton), but it looks like I'll be very shortly joining the ranks of the early adopters, after Stuary kindly offered his second unit for a very decent price.

Damn you dtvforums, how am I going to hide this one from the wife  :ph34r:  :ph34r:

Where do you guys source your HD-DVDs from ?  

I've looked at the extensive collection on amazon, but was wondering if there was anywhere else that was cheap and reliable.

Cheers,

Andrew.

[dJOS]

AndrewWilcockson, on Oct 25 2006, 08:25 AM, said:

Just waiting to hear back from Stuart (ssingleton), but it looks like I'll be very shortly joining the ranks of the early adopters, after Stuary kindly offered his second unit for a very decent price.

Damn you dtvforums, how am I going to hide this one from the wife  :ph34r:  :ph34r:

Where do you guys source your HD-DVDs from ?  

I've looked at the extensive collection on amazon, but was wondering if there was anywhere else that was cheap and reliable.

Cheers,

Andrew.

LOL, DVDBoxOffice in canada isn't bad but overall Amazon is the best source.  

[unclewhimsy]

...or dvdtalk.com

[dazbug]

Just got mine

Part 1 of 2 (unpacking/quality)

Well it finally happened.  Went down to Australia Air Express today in Keilor and picked up my HD-A1 HD DVD player.

Was sent sat 5pm, from USA and was sent to my house on Tues but I wasn’t home, all for $720AUS delivered.

So I signed for my item, resting on is side !!  Wow, huge box. About same size as normal dvd player but double the height.

Drove home (within the speed limit) then unpackacked it carefully. I was dreading, what if I power it up and doesn’t work? Lucky that didn’t happen.

I must say I was impressed with the look and build of this machine. When everyone is saying it’s built like a tank, I know what they mean. It’s similar in size to the upmarket denon dvd players and the piano black faceplate with brushed aluminium looks gorgeous. A real quality player. Last time I saw quality like this was when I opened up my Sherwood Newcastle R-965 receiver. Now these two machines working together should be bliss.

You get a hdmi cable (see PS3, not that hard !), yellow video cable, red and white audio cable which are all put in a box as I don’t need them, and the power cable along with instructions, warranty and the usual additional papers.  One thing I was surprised with is that the packaging in the box isn’t foam but cardboard, but mine arrived safely, so does the job I guess.

Once I connected the power to my 120W transformer, I connected the player to my 68 cm TV, so I could change all the settings in the menu and mainly to make sure it worked before I hooked it to my HT.  It does load like a computer. Didn’t take too long, 30 sec at most I reckon. Maybe I was still excited to notice the time, but was pretty quick.  First thing I did was pop in my firmware 2.0 disc I downloaded and updated it for TrueHD.  Worked beautifully.  Took about 5 minutes all up. It stopped at 50% for about a minute, but in all was easy as pie.

The remote on the player is awesome. Don’t know what all the yanks are whingeing about. Mine is SO responsive, just like any other remote. Its pretty long (25cm) and weighs a tone for a remote. Again the quality is outstanding. Brushed aluminium with piano black face. Couldn’t be happier.  Theres not a huge amount of stuff to change in the menus which is good as i hate all these internal picture modes and stuff with dvd players.  The menue is clear and simple to use.  I couldnt find the setup button until i slide donw the bottom of the remote door to find more buttons hiding. But all in all, good menus and buttons on remote.

After the firmware was updated, I disconnected it all and left it for 5 minutes for a hard wire reset, just in case there are any problems/bugs, as a few on avsforum have recommended.

Now I’m ready to hook it up to my HT, via a Panasonic AE700 720P projector and a Sherwood Newcastle R965 receiver via 5.1 analogue.

Back later tonight with my first impressions and how I think it compares to Xbox360 HD trailers/HD TV/ Hdmi upscaled SD dvd.

Part 2 coming later tonight (first impressions)

[:)]

now why did you have to post that daz !

oh man ! I am so tempted !  

[MarkH]

alebonau, on Oct 25 2006, 03:35 PM, said:

now why did you have to post that daz !

oh man ! I am so tempted !  

Have I not been nudging you for weeks Al?

[mav]

dazbug, on Oct 25 2006, 03:19 PM, said:

Just got mine

Part 1 of 2 (unpacking/quality)

Well it finally happened.  Went down to Australia Air Express today in Keilor and picked up my HD-A1 HD DVD player.

Good work Daz, I am still waiting for Australia Post to pull their finger out. It is quite literally taking longer for the parcel to move through Aust Post than when it was in the hands of the USPS. My tracking on Aust post has not been updated for 2 days now it still says it is at some network parcel Hub.   It would not surprise me in the least to find out the parcel is lost and some Aus Post worker is enjoying it in their lounge room right now.

[MeWhoElse]

Shhh... Don't tell anyone what I just found at EzyDVD

http://www.ezydvd.co...item.zml/790768

20th of November?

7 days after Europe starts.

[AndrewW]

mav, on Oct 25 2006, 04:47 PM, said:

Good work Daz, I am still waiting for Australia Post to pull their finger out. It is quite literally taking longer for the parcel to move through Aust Post than when it was in the hands of the USPS. My tracking on Aust post has not been updated for 2 days now it still says it is at some network parcel Hub.   It would not surprise me in the least to find out the parcel is lost and some Aus Post worker is enjoying it in their lounge room right now.

I know how you feel, I only paid for mine a couple of hours ago and the wait is already killing me

MeWhoElse, on Oct 25 2006, 05:21 PM, said:

Shhh... Don't tell anyone what I just found at EzyDVD

http://www.ezydvd.co...item.zml/790768

20th of November?

7 days after Europe starts.

very interesting.

Bring it on! I say

All we need is kmart to start stocking them and we'll be laughing

[:)]

MeWhoElse, on Oct 25 2006, 05:21 PM, said:

Shhh... Don't tell anyone what I just found at EzyDVD

http://www.ezydvd.co...item.zml/790768

20th of November?

7 days after Europe starts.

holy crap ! is that the first HD-DVD up for sale in Oz ?

bloody hell..already I didnt think that woudl happen for quite a while

I tell you guys of ezydvd is selling them this is goign to be mainstream in no time

and look at the price $29.99 ! thats pretty fair ! I was expecting a much higher sticker price for HD-DVD

this is sensational news !

[dazbug]

Update 1.5 of 2.

I havent watched a whole movie, just skipped chapters and did some comparison but,
WOW.... I can't believe i didn't buy one sooner. After playing with resolutions for awhile, 1080i definitely looks best from my Panasonic AE720p projector.  

An example is The start-up menu with the HD DVD logo in the bottom right corner. Next to it is the 'TM'. Setting the player to 720p, you can't read it and its blurred. Setting the player to 1080i and its clear as day. the menu's are just also more smoother and alive.  I initially had it set to 720p and watched some clips but wasnt gobsmacked.  Changing it to 1080i just looked amazing.  So im leaving mine set to 1080i.  Guess it really does depend on the projector being used.  

One thing with my projector is i can definitely see its pushed to its limits. The picture is gorgeous and is the clearest ive ever seen. I couldnt imagine what it would look like with a newer projector or 1080p projector. Smoothscreen on the projector softens the pic a tad but this is the best picture i have seen on a projector.  

Chronicles of Riddick is a sight to behold. The blacks are so black, and everything looks photo realistic. Shiny metals etc.  This is my demo HD DVD until my new ones come. Enough said

Then i popped in Aeon Flux.  Dont know what the big deal is with this pic quality. It's excellent, but Riddick wowed me more.  Ill have to watch it all and my opinion might change, but will see in the next few days.

Next i popped in Training Day. What a crisp picture. clean, detailed.  Crisp is the best word to describe what i have demoed in the last 2 hrs. This might even beat Riddick, but there 2 totally different pics. this is mostly day lit while Riddick as all darker shiny scenes.
Sound was awsome in TrueHD, birds chirping behind me. The centre chanel is the centre channel and sounds more direct. the surrounds are like they have just opened up, thinking where have they been hiding all this time !

The biggest surprise for me was the sound on the HD DVD. OMG !!!! It blows away dts/dd on sd dvd.  Again, its just so crisp, loud and detailed.  I was always happy with sd dvd sound, but now when i think back they sound so 'compressed' and no where near as alive.  Closest thing i can describe it to is like listening to dvd-a or sacd. It really is that good.!!! The surrounds really come alive and are as active and detailed as the front 3 speakers. Bass is steped up to a whole new level now. Tight bass that moves you. This is why i got into HT !!!

Comparing HD DVD on my set up to HD TV, its no contest. HD TV does look good sometimes, but nowhere near this.  In comparison to HD trailers from xbox360, i thought they were good, but hd dvd is definitely another step up. xbox360 trailers give you a taste, but cant compare in clarity and smoothness of hd dvd.

Comapring upscaled hdmi dvd i was shoocked. I was more than happy with sd dvd, as to me being upscaled looked almost HD. now when i switch between them, the upscaled looked like vhs in comparison. It was that bad.  
If i had to rate them in comaprison, HD DVD being a 10, i would rate the others as follows.
HD TV - 6
Xbox 360 - 6.5
Sddvd (upscaled) - 3  (its that obvious !!)

For those that dont have one yet, do yourself a favour. if you want to know where to get one for $720 AU delivered, just go to ebay and buy one of electronics_store.  For the whole experience it cost me $810 (player and stepdown)plus movies.

For those who are patiently waiting (mav) providing you have a good set up, you won't be disappointed. You will wonder why you waited so long.. I will never buy another sd dvd again, and will be replacing my favourites in HD.  Only thing i havent tried is sd upscaling on it and 2ch stereo, but will over the next few days. Glad ive got this week off

Can't wait for the next few days when i watch the movies all the way through.  Although the 3 movies ive got havent got the best story or im not a huge fan of them, watching them now is more enjoyable.  

Just cant wait for my other 5 in the post to come. Been 14 days! last time i use the cheap shipping from amazon

[:)]

MarkH, on Oct 25 2006, 04:13 PM, said:

Have I not been nudging you for weeks Al?

I know ...I know and its been wearing me down..been perving on the HD-AX1 that the guys got up for sale. Man I so wish the things woudl play region 4 dvds* !

* I know gone through all that already !

dazbug, on Oct 25 2006, 05:35 PM, said:

Update 1.5 of 2.

~

this is really not helping Daz grumble ! grumble !

[MarkH]

dazbug, on Oct 25 2006, 05:35 PM, said:

Update 1.5 of 2.

I havent watched a whle movie, jsut skipped chapters and did some comparison but,
WOW.... I can't believe i didnt buy one sooner. After playing with resolutions for awhile, 1080i definitely looks best from my Panasonic AE720p projctor.  

An example is The start-up menu with the HD DVD logo in the bottom right corner. Next to it is the 'TM'. Setting the player to 720p, you can't read it and its blurred. Setting the player to 1080i and its clear as day. the menues are just also more smoother and alive.  I initlaly had it to 720p and watched some clips but wasnt gobsmacked.  Changing it to 1080i just looked amazing.  So im leaving mine set to 1080i.  Guess it really does depend on the projector being used.  

One thing with my projector is i can definitely see its pushed to its limits. The picture is gorgeous and is the clearest ive ever seen. I couldnt imagine what it would look like with a newer projector or 1080p projector. Smoothscreen on the projector softens the pic a tad.  This is the best picture i have seen on a projector.  

Chronicles of Riddick is a sight to behold. The blacks are so black, and everything looks photo realistic. Shiny metals etc.  This is my demo HD DVD until my new ones come. Enough said

Then i popped in Aeon Flux.  Dont know what the big deal is with this pic quality. It's excellent, but Riddick wowed me more.  Ill have to watch it all and my opinion my change, but will see in the next few days.

Next i popped in Training Day. What a crisp picture. clean, detailed.  Crisp is the best word to describe what i have demoed in the last 2 hrs. This might even beat Riddick, but there 2 totally different pics. thsi is mostly day lit while Riddick as all darker shiny scenes. Sound was awsome in TrueHD, birds chirping. The centre chanel is the centre channel and sounds more direct. the surrounds are like they have just opened up, thinking where have they been hiding all this time !

The biggest supprise for me was the sound on the HD DVD. OMG !!!! It blows away dts/dd on sd dvd.  Again, its just so crisp, loud and detailed.  I was always happy with sd dvd sound, but now when i think back they sound so 'compressed' and no where near as alive.  Closest thing i can describe it to is like listening to dvd-a or sacd. It really is that good.!!! The surrounds really come alive and are as active and details as the front 3 speakers. Bass is steped up to a whole new level now. Tight bass that moves you. This is why i got into HT !!!

Comparing HD DVD on my set up to HD TV, its no contest. HD TV does look good sometimes, but nowhere near this.  In comparison to HD trailers from xbox360, i thought they were good, but hd dvd is definitely another step up. xbox360 trailers give you a taste but cant compare in clarity and smoothness of hd dvd.

Comapring upscaled hdmi dvd i was shoocked. I was more than happy with sd dvd, as to me being upscaled looked almost HD. now when i swithced between then, the upscaled looked liek vhs in comparison. It was that bad.  
If i had to rate them in comaprison, HD DVD being a 10, i woul rate the others as follows.
HD TV - 6
Xbox 360 - 6.5
Sddvd (upscaled) - 3  (its that obvious !!)

For those that dont have one yet, do yourself a favour. if you want to know where to get one for $720 AU delivered, just go to ebay and buy one of electronics_store.  For the whole experience it cost me $810 (player and stepdown)plus movies.

For those who are patiently waiting (mav) providing you have a good set up, you wont be dissapointed. You will wonder why you waited so long.. I will never buy another sd dvd again. And will be replacing my favourites in HD.  Only thing i havent tried is sd upscaling on it and 2ch stereo, but will over the next few days. Glad ive got this week off

Can't wait for the next few days when i watch the movies all the way through.  Although the 3 movies ive got havent got the best story or im not a huge fan of them, watching them now is more enjoyable.  

Just cant wait for my other 5 in the post to come. Been 14 days! last time i use the cheap shipping from amazon

Ditto!!!
I concur!!!

[Rider007]

I really like the dual upscaling feature of the Toshiba but from what i understand the upscaling  is only applicable to R1 NTSC discs ?. It can't upscale PAL R4 ?. If so is it not worth waiting for the second gen Toshibas being released here in Oz soon .

[MarkH]

Rider007, on Oct 25 2006, 05:41 PM, said:

I really like the dual upscaling feature of the Toshiba but from what i understand the upscaling  is only applicable to R1 NTSC discs ?. It can't upscale PAL R4 ?. If so is it not worth waiting for the second gen Toshibas being released here in Oz soon .

It will NOT play R4 discs and therefore cant upscale them. Buy a US machine now or wait, either way you'll love HD-DVD!!!