HD-DVD players actually in homes, general consensus on picture quality is just OK - Page 4

JediFonger · 05-01-2006, 01:24 PM

if you're able to not live well beyond your means and make about $40+ you're middle-upper middle class =).

Nils Luehrmann · 05-01-2006, 01:32 PM

While resolution is but one element that determines the over-all quality of an image, 1920x1080 video is certainly a much bigger leap in PQ over DVD than DVD was over VHS, especially when you compare S-VHS and Beta, which were capable of ~400 lines of resolution.

And to put that in perspective, compare 1920x1080 (2K) to that of 4K & UHDV:

The problem is that the mass market really doesn't care. Standard DVD didn't become the mass market darling because of it's superior PQ or AQ. What grabbed the attention of the mass market was the superior convenience features (aka no more rewinding tapes or inconvenience of trying to cue up to a specific point in a tape). Interest continued to grow as more and more titles were made available on DVD, but it did not become a massive hit until the prices of entry level players dropped below that of basic VHS players.

The mass market has always been primarily motivated by the three C's, Cost, Convenience, and Content - and in that order.

In addition, while consumers with all types of displays could immediately see the advantages of DVD over VHS, the same is not necessarily true for hi-def video. Yes there are still some advantages, even for those with old, small analog only TV's, but certainly not enough to convince them to pay any premium over what they currently have available to them via standard DVD.

In this regard, hi-def video (in any format) has a very long road in front of it before it will ever reach the same level of popularity that standard DVD has benefitted from.

JediFonger · 05-01-2006, 04:31 PM

nils, i have a reply to your post, but i made a separate thread:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...94#post2851194

JonZ · 05-02-2006, 01:05 PM

Still no players at the Circuit Citys in my area. Im too lazy to go to Best Buy because its out of the way.

But I noticed HD DVDs on the shelves in front of the SD versions. Goodfellas caught my eye.

Ryan-G · 05-02-2006, 03:16 PM

I saw one setup at BB today. It had Corpse Bride playing on it, which struck me as very odd since I haven't seen that's been released for HD-DVD yet.

Video quality was fairly good, Impressive really in the texturing, but I still wonder if what I was seeing wasn't a broadcast feed of some sort. I can't find any references to an HD-DVD Corpse Bride anywhere.

Larry Sutliff · 05-02-2006, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Still no players at the Circuit Citys in my area.

I don't think that Circuit City is going to carry the Toshiba player. They will be carrying the RCA player, which is just the HD-A1 rebadged.

Quote:

I can't find any references to an HD-DVD Corpse Bride anywhere.

Yeah, it was probably a SD DVD upconverted, as CORPSE BRIDE hasn't been announced for HD DVD yet.

Sean Bryan · 05-02-2006, 05:57 PM

Quote:

I saw one setup at BB today. It had Corpse Bride playing on it, which struck me as very odd since I haven't seen that's been released for HD-DVD yet.

Video quality was fairly good, Impressive really in the texturing, but I still wonder if what I was seeing wasn't a broadcast feed of some sort. I can't find any references to an HD-DVD Corpse Bride anywhere.

Was it the actual movie, or was it the trailer?

The trailer for The Corpse Bride (which looks absolutely amazing) is on the HD DVD demo disc that is playing at many Best Buys.

A release date for The Corpse Bride on HD DVD has not been officially announced, but I believe it is one of the rumored titles coming later this year.

Ryan-G · 05-02-2006, 06:48 PM

It might have been the trailer, to be honest, I was so impressed with the texturing on the character's clothing and on the background walls I really wasn't paying any attention to what exactly it was. Thought about it too late when I got home.

But the whole thing did make me go peek around the LCDTV section to see if there were any 1080p models on their shelves yet. Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but I know Dell has 1920 x 1200 model monitors which is 1080p capable, so there should be 1080p LCD's right?

Was disappointed though, no 1080p LCD's, and I'm not about to buy a 720p monitor. I'll just wait and see what pops up when I'm ready to buy a High-Def player.

JediFonger · 05-02-2006, 08:03 PM

ryan,

yes, dell's 2407 and 3007 are both 1080p, 8-bit color, full on HD displays capable of displaying 1080p but you will have black bars even in 16:9 because it isn't just 1080p, it's 1200p... hence black bars. in fact, 3007 is 2536x1600, pretty close to 4k. they both have HDCP DVI input (you can buy a HDMI->DVI converter to make it work). 2407 is more HDTV friendly because of the inputs, but 3007 only has DVI, so you'll need an a/v receiver/device to up-res all lesser connections towards DVI/HDMI. 2407 is about $800-1,000 depending coupon levels. 3007 is about $1600-2,200 depending on coupons.

http://www.westinghousedigital.com/c...-monitors.aspx
^also 1080p and true 16:9 aspect ratio. some issues about minor overscanning, but other than that it's great. 37" is about $1,800+, 42" is about $2,700+.

Ryan-G · 05-02-2006, 08:21 PM

Ty Yi,

Not too worried about Black Bars, like most here I'm more worried about getting correct or nearly correct aspect.

The information is much appriciated though, I've been working on this decision for a while, but haven't turned up too much info on 1080p support on monitor panels.

JediFonger · 05-02-2006, 09:41 PM

just a minor caveat though, i'd wait on the 2407 until it receives a revision. there are mentions of color banding on the first batch. secondly on the westy, if you want 37", get the w3 revision, has more inputs than NASA (har har). i'm looking for one myself, but under 20"

. why? anal-rententiveness.