Several Questions... (Toshiba 50HX81 owners could answer a few of them) (1 Viewer)

[Grady Hollums]

Ok. I have now gotten permission to buy the Toshiba 50HX81 Cinema Series from my wife with a deal that I get no Birthday or Christmas this year and next year. It was hard, but I think it will be well worth it.
Question 1:
After talking to a Circuit City guy (who did not know too much, but enough to make me ask this question) and he said that DVDs can not hold enough info to produce Hi Def output and the only thing that can do that is "Optical Disks" that are a disk, with a gold rim and totally clear in the inside of the disk. Something he saw at CES. Is this true?
Question 2:
If I have the Xbox as my DVD player and the Toshiba 50HX81 as my TV will I need to buy a progressive DVD player, if the TV makes the signal progressive (i.e. line doubler) would I need to buy a progressive DVD player?
Question 3:
The CC sales person said that the HDTV sets today come already out of the box to HDTV specifications and that Video Essentials is for NTSC signals and not HDTVs, and so using the VE DVD would probably not allow my set to be as good as out of the box. Is this true? Do I just need to wait on the VE2 DVD coming out later in this year?
Question 4:
What are all the web sites I need to go to to find out EVERYTHING I need to know about tweaking and adjusting my Toshiba HDTV once it comes in? I will not have the money to have it ISF calibrated, but I want to learn all I can and get anything I may need to do as much as I can by myself. Know any really good web sites?
Question 5:
I am getting a 50" 16x9 Screen, but in my Apt I will only be about 8 ft/96inches away from the TV. Is this going to be too close? (I really have no choice if I want to keep my rear speakers above me instead of right next to my ear.)
Question 6:
Will my SVS sub change the TV's calibration due to low rumblings and cause me to have to change it every time I watch a movie?
Thank you all for answering any or all of the questions!!! I love the HTF and I honestly don't feel quite at home anywhere else on the net!!
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In Him,
GH
My Home
Theater

 

[Jesse Leonard]

Question 1:
He is correct that a DVD doesn't hold true HI-DEF video. There are many things other than his "optical disk" that can store 1080i (but most of these aren't very feasible for consumers). You can even turn a HTPC (home theater computer) into a HDTV recorder.
Question 2:
The X-Box will not output a progressive signal. Your TV's internal line-double will do a good job with an interlaced signal (but we really don't know how the X-box's dvd performace will be yet). Progressive isn't a "must-have", it is a "nice-to-have". You will just have to compare the DVD player you have to a progressive one to see the difference.
Question 3:
The CC drone is full of crap. VE/Avia will do wonders for helping you set up you set. These things come out of the box in "torch" mode and with many setting way out of whack. Don't listen to him.
Question 4:
www.hometheaterspot.com is an excellent source of HDTV information (for all brands)
Question 5:
That distance will not be a problem.
Question 6:
No, your sub will not cause your picture to need recalibrated.
[Edited last by Jesse Leonard on November 02, 2001 at 06:45 AM]

 

[Grady Hollums]

Jesse:
Thank you so much for the help! I really appreciate it! I will be getting the TV in about a week or so, and just can not wait to set it up. I really plan on buying the Panasonic RP-91, but with the deal I made my wife I am having to wait through all of next year to be able to buy it. heh heh. Thank you again!
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In Him,
GH
My Home
Theater

 

[Chris Vargas]

Grady: congrats on the clearance from the wife! Sorry about those deferred birthday presents.
Some additional comments to add to Jesse's...
Question 1: there was indeed a company hypeing a new storage medium that was clear, handled multiple layers, and could hold enough to effectively be an HDTV-capable DVD. Don't remember the name of the company or the media. But 480p is supposed to be darn good, so I wouldn't worry about DVD not being 720p or 1080i yet.
Question 2: sorry to correct Jesse, but the XBox in fact can do progressive scan. Oops, now I'm searching around and noticing that Microsoft may have backed off of the early statements that they'd be including prog scan capabilities. And their official site is no help at all in answering the question. So it's unclear--some sites say one thing, some say another. I'd probably agree with others in saying that you'd be better off getting a "real" DVD player rather than trying to use a game box as one... I tried it with my PS2 and I've switched to a Panny RP91.
Q3: you'd definitely be well off getting some kind of calibration disc. Might be worth it to wait for VE2 later this year; you might be able to get by with the THX calibration screens present on some DVDs (Star Wars Ep1; T2; etc.)
Good luck!
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--cv--