Home Theater Forum  ›  Forums  ›  Hi-Definition  ›  HT Hardware - High Definition  ›  More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"
Forum Nav More Forums | All New Posts | New Thread

More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

#91
Rating: 0
8/29/08 at 6:40am
  • Joined: August 2002
  • Post Count: 501

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

ABC is still 720p (as is Fox, ESPN).

Enhanced Definition TVs were also CRTs.

-R
The truth doesn't care whether you believe it.
Export to Wiki
#92
Rating: 0
8/29/08 at 9:57am
  • Joined: September 1998
  • Post Count: 1,496

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

I regret the error re: ABC.

The ED sets I saw were LCD...one as recently on someone's wall this past winter. Truth be told, it's the only one I have ever seen in personal use.
Export to Wiki
#93
Rating: 0
8/29/08 at 11:48am
  • Joined: August 2002
  • Post Count: 501

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

Scooter,

I didn't mean to make a big deal about the ED CRTs. I was just mentioning it as a historical footnote. They were sort of a one year wonder in or around 2000. I seem to recall one of the HTF members (I won't name names) complaining about how awful his was.

-R
The truth doesn't care whether you believe it.
Export to Wiki
#94
Rating: 0
8/29/08 at 1:19pm
  • Joined: September 1998
  • Post Count: 1,496

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

No biggie...was just pointing out I only ever saw one in personal use.

No...back to our regularily scheduled debate....
Export to Wiki
#95
Rating: 0
12/10/08 at 1:13am
  • Joined: March 1999
  • Location: On duty and takin' out the fullscreen trash.
  • Post Count: 10,245

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

So, has anyone here at HTF bought and reviewed this player? Someone must have but I can't find anything.
"You have no idea how far i'm willing to go to acquire your cooperation." - Jack Bauer
Export to Wiki
#96
Rating: 0
12/10/08 at 7:45am
  • Joined: October 1998
  • Post Count: 1,863

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

Quote:
Originally Posted by Inspector Hammer!
So, has anyone here at HTF bought and reviewed this player? Someone must have but I can't find anything.

I've been watching the price of this unit @ Amazon (Toshiba XD-E500
presently $84.95 w/FREE SH) which would become my main unit to play one of my 600+ SD DVD's and free-up the SD DVD duties from my Sony BDP-S350 & Toshiba HD-A35.

Here's a couple of reviews:

Toshiba XDE DVD Player: Better than Blu-Ray?

PCWorld - Toshiba's XD-E500 DVD Player

Hope this helps.

My HT Enthusiasts GeoCities Website
---- Toshiba 62HM196 62" 1080p DLP HDTV pic's (#1 in Consumer Reports)
DVD Aficionado (DVDAF) on-going list.
Acquisition Rule #59 “Free advice is seldom cheap.” (Quark @ DS9)
JBL S-Series + SVS 25-31PCi (SN: 00034) w/NSD Upgrade!

Export to Wiki
#97
Rating: 0
12/10/08 at 8:27am
  • Joined: February 1999
  • Post Count: 1,773

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

Just for the record, I own one of these and have been very satisfied.

However, I should state here that I have my Tosh XDE paired with my 720p native resolution Optoma HD65.

The way I use it:

1. For film-based DVDs I set the Tosh XDE-500 up to output 1080p, 24 Hz. (Yes; the HD65 accepts this source. and then downscales it to 720p. The advantage is less "judder". ) Very occasionally, a film-based DVD will be not be flagged correctly which will lead to some "stutter". (Macroblocking artifacts; plus the audio will go slightly out of sync.) When that happens, I drop the output on the Tosh down to 1080p, 60 Hz.

2. For video-based DVDs I use 1080p, 60 Hz.

3. For both types of DVDs I have the XDE set up for "SHARP+COLOR" which is probably the most controversial setting. The thing is, I calibrated a user setting around this setting and have been extremely pleased with the results. Most of my DVDs really do look at least as good as 1080i cable on my system.

Bottom line: The Toshiba XDE-500 works for me ... but don't expect DVDs to look as good as Blu-ray discs ....

Joseph
---------------

Export to Wiki
#98
Rating: 0
12/16/08 at 8:36am
  • Joined: January 2006
  • Post Count: 29

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

I purchased one of these units from Amazon. I too was impressed with the performance. My set is only a 720p and I think the Toshiba is designed to deliver optimal performance at the 1080p resolution. That being said, I was still very impressed with this unit's performance.

It does make my regular DVD's look sharper than they did in my old DVD player. It is however difficult to really tell how much of an improvement without doing a side by side comparison.

I was able to perform the following test and was amazed at what I saw. I have Dish as my satellite provider with all the HD content they offer. I happened to catch a HD broadcast of Ratatouille .....I have the regular DVD version of the same movie....so I played the DVD through the Toshiba. I set playback of the DVD so the scenes of the DVD would be approx 30 seconds behind the HD broadcast. As I watched the HD broadcast and then switched to DVD playback to compare, I was amazed that the DVD scenes looked nearly identical to the HD Broadcast. In fact, as I flipped back an forth I actually lost track as to which source I was watching.

This is not to say the Toshiba delivers HD performamce to all DVD's...but in this case it was pretty close.

I have a The Dark Knight on DVD and played that title back on the Toshiba....it looked better, but in no way would you mistake it for HD.

Your mileage may vary..but for me, this is a very good upconverting DVD player and does improve the image of standard DVD's.

I once asked this literary agent, uh, what kind of writing paid the best... he said, \"Ransom notes.\"

Harry Zimm

Export to Wiki
#99
Rating: 0
12/16/08 at 10:14am
  • Joined: May 1999
  • Post Count: 2,841

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

If I had not jumped into HD-DVD and BD this unit would have been the second unit for the RPTV downstairs. As for me the need for the XDE is pretty much not their now since both HD format players scale pretty well via HDMI.

Listen Up People.., Rack Em and Pack Em.., We're Phantoms in 15.
Export to Wiki
#100
Rating: 0
5/25/09 at 1:43pm
  • Joined: May 2001
  • Location: North Central Texas
  • Post Count: 11,716

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

I was thinking about getting one of these (Toshiba XD-E500), but I see reviews at Amazon that state that 4x3 material is stretched to 16x9 with no way of getting around it. True?
Export to Wiki
#101
Rating: 0
5/25/09 at 3:48pm
  • Joined: December 1998
  • Location: Michigan
  • Post Count: 7,636

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg_S_H
I was thinking about getting one of these (Toshiba XD-E500), but I see reviews at Amazon that state that 4x3 material is stretched to 16x9 with no way of getting around it. True?

Yes, that is true, Greg. Personally, I could never accept a player that performs in such a manner. I much prefer my Oppo 980H, which does not distort 4x3 material.
My DVD Collection
My Equipment List

My Photo Gallery
Export to Wiki
#102
Rating: 0
5/25/09 at 4:00pm
  • Joined: July 1997
  • Location: Amsterdam, Holland
  • Post Count: 16,244

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

Quote:
but I see reviews at Amazon that state that 4x3 material is stretched to 16x9 with no way of getting around it. True?
How can that possibly be true, Greg?

These people apparently don't know how to set the aspect ratio of their TV set. You can always set a 16x9 image to 4x3 on your TV set.

(Some TV sets may have a setting called "auto". In that case one must choose manual 4x3. My Samsung TV has a simple setting on the remote to change the ratio between 16x9/4:3/zoom/4:3 big, cropped.)


Cees


Edit: Just looked it up on the Amazon site. Indeed a few reviewers state this incorrect information, but if you go to the discussion thread, you will notice how one poster explains what to do to avoid the problem - the same "solution" I gave, of course. Funny: that poster appears to have a Samsung TV, just like me.
Perhaps changing the ratio setting is more straight forward on a Samsung than on other TV sets?
C.
HTF Rules (uhm ... and has Rules)
Export to Wiki
#103
Rating: 0
5/25/09 at 4:10pm
  • Joined: May 2001
  • Location: North Central Texas
  • Post Count: 11,716

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

I don't see a way on my Sony CRT, but I've never had an occasion to test it. I see two settings:

Screen Mode: Wide Zoom/Normal/Full/Zoom/H.Expand/Vert.Expand.

I have that on Full. Normal is grayed out.

4:3 Default: Wide Zoom/Normal/Full/Zoom/Off

I have that on Normal, but it doesn't seem to have any effect at all. At least, not with my cable box.

I can't really know if I'd be able to overcome the problem since the settings currently do nothing (well, the Screen Mode zooms work). I guess I could buy it at Best Buy and take it back if it's a problem. Like Scott said, stretched 4x3 is a dealbreaker.
Export to Wiki
#104
Rating: 0
5/25/09 at 4:41pm
  • Joined: July 1997
  • Location: Amsterdam, Holland
  • Post Count: 16,244

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

Quote:
I guess I could buy it at Best Buy and take it back if it's a problem. Like Scott said, stretched 4x3 is a dealbreaker.
That seems the wisest choice indeed.

Please let us know what you found!


Cees
HTF Rules (uhm ... and has Rules)
Export to Wiki
#105
Rating: 0
5/25/09 at 6:01pm
  • Joined: December 1969
  • Post Count: 7,211

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

Quote:
I have that on Normal, but it doesn't seem to have any effect at all. At least, not with my cable box.

The options that are available from your TV's menu may depend on the input - both the connection type and the output settings of the cable box. You might want to try playing with those.

Regards,

Joe
My Home Theater

My DVD Collection

My niece, "Miss Goofy Face"
Export to Wiki
#106
Rating: 0
5/25/09 at 7:16pm
  • Joined: April 1999
  • Post Count: 1,572

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

When you have a combo of a DVD player that doesn't pillarbox 4:3 discs, and a TV that always uses 16:9 mode when it sees a 720p/1080i signal, the usual solution is to change the DVD output to 480p (or 480i, necessary on some very old TVs). This will nearly always let you set the TV to a 4:3 mode that works.
Export to Wiki
#107
Rating: 0
5/25/09 at 9:03pm
  • Joined: May 2001
  • Location: North Central Texas
  • Post Count: 11,716

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

Yeah, but that defeats the purpose of having an upscaling DVD player, doesn't it?

I just tried the settings on the DVD input (component), and Normal was no longer grayed out. 4x3 Default still did nothing. I'll have to read up on it.
Export to Wiki
#108
Rating: 0
5/26/09 at 7:05am
  • Joined: February 1999
  • Post Count: 1,773

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

I own one of these, and *love* it; but I can tell you definitively that it will *not* pillarbox 4:3 material when upscaling to HDMI. Your display *must* be capable of handling this. This question was recently asked of Toshiba and they verified that they consider that to be a function of the display. The unit is already doing so much (upscaling *and* enhancing all the way to 1080p/24 for film-based DVDs) that adding the 4:3 pillarbox function would have made the unit too expensive to market.

Fortunately for me, the display I have it mated to (an Optoma HD65 projector) provides for a selectable aspect ratio of 4:3, 16:9, Letterbox, and Native via the HDMI input.

Joseph
---------------

Export to Wiki
#109
Rating: 0
5/31/09 at 1:29am
  • Joined: January 2009
  • Post Count: 5

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

Right on, write on about whatever you feel best.
Export to Wiki
#110
Rating: 0
6/2/09 at 9:29am
  • Joined: January 2006
  • Post Count: 105

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

Not sure if it has been mentioned in this thread, but I see Toshiba is putting similar processing into some of their TVs now -- my in-laws just bought a 47" Toshiba Regza that touts its "Resolution+" feature. I spent this weekend helping them physically set up the TV and stand, but haven't yet had a chance to do detailed tweaks to their picture settings -- so too early to say how good Resolution+ is/isn't. Just based on watching a few minutes of a DVD (input via component video from an older Sony player), I'd say this TV's handling of SD looks quite good! But I'd be interested to toggle Resolution+ on/off and see what differences it might make.
Export to Wiki
#111
Rating: 0
6/3/09 at 3:55pm
  • Joined: November 1999
  • Post Count: 5,728

Re: More information coming to light regarding Toshiba's new "Blu-ray killer"

Not sure which model your parents got, but Kevin reviewed a 52" Toshiba with it a few months ago here and his obeservations could be helpful in setting up the display:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/toshiba/index.html

HTF Rules 
Export to Wiki
Forum Nav More Forums | All New Posts | New Thread