Re: Thank-you HD DVD and Toshiba
| Good points. However, we still don't have a Blu-ray player with a level of audio support and next-gen features comparable to the basic HD DVD hardware spec. |
Regarding audio yes we do. The HD DVD spec ONLY requires internal advanced audio decoding for advanced Dolby (plus and TrueHD), *not* DTS-HD MA. And the spec doesn't mandate bit-streaming over HDMI 1.3 of the raw signal... that's optional. In fact, the HD DVD spec doesn't even require full 5.1 decoding of TrueHD... just 2.0.
To your point, in fact MOST Blu-ray Disc players on the market to day do as much if not more with "advanced audio" than the HD DVD spec would require. Most of them are fully decoding TrueHD, and some also bitstream over HDMI 1.3.
Oh, and it's probably going to be pricey
but Panasonic just announced their BD50 which is the first 2.0 profile player and has internal decoding for both DTS-HD MA and TrueHD.p.s. when it comes to "PIP" or web features, I agree 100% with you. IIt's why I bought the PS3... so I could update to profile 1.1 (which I have) and eventaully 2.0 (which I will, along with DTS-HD MA deocding)



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I see nothing wrong with enjoying the audio-transparency of Blu-ray before upgrading your video chain.
