Anyone Else Finding SD-DVD lacking after life with HD DVD/Blu-ray? (1 Viewer)

[Tim Glover]

Robert I appreciate your points here and that is one of the downfalls somewhat of even participating in these tech type forums. Sometimes, and I include myself in that, we get too caught up in the bits, codecs, compression, lossy or lossless stuff that we forget the reason we bought the dang film in the first place.

I think there are some who write off a film's enjoyment due to whatever tech stuff it might be lacking.

There is a fine line between being an elitist snob who must have the highest tech stats, and one who can get caught up in their favorite movie pretty much regardless of those issues. It's possible to want HD media to push the envelope as much as possible and yet still allow ourselves to remember what got us here in the first place.

All those years of worshiping my dvd library won't just suddenly get pushed out. Too many great titles remains on standard dvd. HD does have the ability to make that enjoyment even greater. Perhaps more from a psychological standpoint as well.

Another part and this is where I really don't mind the 'niche' HD DVD & BD find theirselves in is having something (like laserdisc) that most people don't have and we're part of the best kept secret.

Funny, I've changed my tune a bit since starting this thread. Still think HD is far better resolution wise but I can also enjoy my dvds too. I better enjoy them because for some it will be the rapture before they get HD treatment.

 

[Chris S]

So true! My wife accused me of being elitist since moving to HD but I swore that picture quality was subpar even for SD-DVD. I've noticed that I tend to see more/smaller SD-DVD picture quality issues now then I did prior to going HD.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Of course...the size itself has a dramatic impact that cannot be replicated by sitting closer to a TV to achieve the same FOV. I used to tell myself it could, when I only had my 30" widescreen set...but it's not even close.
I would think that anyone who sees "The Searchers" on a nice PJ in HD DVD might see what folks are talking about, how such a transfer/medium can truly enhance the experience. And in glorious mono.

 

[Geoffy]

I've certainly limited my SD buying since experiencing HD, but it's not gone altogether - certain SDs that either probably won't arrive on HD for a while (Warner Film Noir sets) or new releases that I'm pretty desperate to see (Half Nelson, which has only just had a theatrical release here in the UK) have been bought.

On the whole, my SDs are going nowhere - the only ones that have disappeared are the couple that have been superceded by the HD release & I've simply palmed the SD off to a family member.

 

[Dan M]

" did try to watch blood diamond on sd when it first came out, but
it is so bad as far as pq goes i couldnt finish it."

Thats interesting to me because I thought the sd dvd looked pretty good on my 720 projector viewed through a HE lense for constant heighth, so we're talking about an image blown up pretty large....It's amazing how we all see things differently on our rigs ...

I dont envy you guys at all who can only watch HD material now or find SD material too subpar to enjoy

I still enjoy my sd dvd's as well as the added pleasure of HD so I get the best of both worlds! I have to admit though my sd dvd buying is severly limited (must have titles only) since the inception of HD DVD but I still reach into my library often...

Home Cinema is sweet these days

 

[TonyD]

i posted in the review thread about blood diamond.

i watch on a 73 in mits dlp.
BD was especially abysmal.

also watching with a tosh hd xa1

 

[Rachael B]

I hit the DVD wall back in 2002 when I saw my first D-Theater tape. I'm gonna pass 300 total. prerecorded HD releases very soon. I'm a 5 year vetern of the DVD won't do clique.....

BTW, IMO, upconversion of SD to 1080i and calling it "near HD" is THE BIG LIE....it's total BS. Give me the real thing or my money stays in my pocket.

 

[Tim Glover]

We expect nothing less from you Racheal. ....after all you own what, 12,000 laserdiscs.

So far with my projector, I'm just not seeing a better image upscaling 480p. The XA-1 is a rather terrific upscaler too. This is probably for a separate thread but it seems that we just shouldn't ask more from 480p than what is on the disc. Kind of like trying to take out 1080 dollars from a checking account that only has 480 to give.

 

[Rachael B]

It's more like 1200 LD's and about 500 that I'd stille actually watch..... You got a great analogy there on resolution....the HDMI leg-hold trap wants you, 'an you, 'an you.....

 

[Tim Glover]

...

 

[ppltd]

Couldn't agree more. In no way do upconverted DVD's look anything at all like 1080p HD disks, although, as a rule of some, if I am going to watch SD DVD's projected to 106", I would rather have them upconverted.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

And as far as upconversion goes, the XA1 (the only HD DVD player I've seen) has the best that I've seen... noticably better than my Momitsu which was noticably better than all the other upconverting players that I tested.

Rest assured that the XA1 is doing about the best job upconverting possible.

I agree: while I wouldn't dream of watching a DVD through my PJ's own scaler, neither would I suggest that upconversion is a substitute for real HD!

dave

 

[Chris S]

Do the A1, XA1, A2 & XA2 all share the same chip for scaling of SD-DVD? I recall reading somewhere that the A2 used the Silcon Optix Realta but I hadn't heard about the others.

 

[TonyD]

thats perfect, and every reason why i like to watch at home.

btw happy b-day Ron-P

 

[JediFonger]

skipping all the post just so i can say my piece. my miff is why bother with VHS, LD, SD-DVD in the first place when we could have been enjoying HD since 80's... *sigh*.

 

[Tim Glover]

Chris, only the XA-2 has the highly regarded Silicon Optix Reon-VX chip. Not sure what the others used but the XA-1 remains an excellent upconverter though.

Most users of the XA-2 are positive about it's sd dvd performance.

 

[ppltd]

I have owned both, but never had an opportunity to view them side by side. I can state that the XA1 had superb upconverting capabilities, and that the XA2 will also not disappoint. Maybe someone can post who has had the time to evaluate both systems side by side.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Well, we did our first post-A2 SD viewing (Notes on a Scandal) last night as the wife hit Blockbuster and grabbed a few DVD's that struck her (she's knows enough to always avoid full screen, my only request). I was gratified to find that, while the picture is undoubtedly "lacking" ( softer, obviously) in comparison to HD, it's not anywhere near "bad"...certainly not to the point of distraction from the story. As with audio, I find softness more easily ignored than sharpness or artifacts. I was impressed anew by the synergy between my AE900 and Oppo 970, sharpest image I've seen on SD in my system (I think the lack of Faroudja smoothing helps with this pj). And I truly enjoyed the lightning-quick menu navigation compared to the ponderous nature of same on my Toshiba.

 

[Sam Davatchi]

The big wow came to me after I watched Payback on BD. I went back to my DVD to see the original version and it was almost unwatchable, like a VHS copy!

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Watched "The Black Dalia" last night in SD, a 2.35 film. Since there's 33% less resolution present on the disc, zooming it to fill my 2.35 screen resulted in a really soft pic...almost to the point of too much. This is an area where HD is clearly superior, especially on a 7' wide screen.