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Austin - next HTF meet planning (1 Viewer)

Scott Oliver

Screenwriter
Joined
Aug 30, 2000
Messages
1,159
Ok head count for the blind testing portion of the meet before we exceed the maximum of 12 participants.

Scott O.
Nils
Chris Collins
Jonathan Atkins
Rich Ave
Hank
John Prator (please confirm)
Rajiv Arora
Gomez (please confirm)
Mark J (please confirm)
Humphrey
ReneZam and wife

By (please confirm) I mean either you posted a willingness in another thread or said something like I'm in but no clarification as to whether your in for both parts or not. So send me an email or something to clarify.

We will start a waiting list if any of the above do drop out of being able to do the blind testing. But by my count that makes 12, so we look to be full at the moment for blind testing.

Waiting List (in order)
Fredrick

Note this has nothing to do with just the open house portion of the meet, plenty of room there still.
 

Scott Oliver

Screenwriter
Joined
Aug 30, 2000
Messages
1,159
Jake, at some point when you are pretty certain what gear you will have on hand please post what type of stuff you would like to do blindtesting on, so that we can work on trying to find some comparable equipment amongst the group to include in the testing.
 

Humphrey

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jun 23, 2003
Messages
234
Sorry, I should've said "All In' as well. If there's space I want to attend both parts of the meet.
 

Frederick_Falk

Second Unit
Joined
May 17, 2000
Messages
288
Scott,

I am definitely in for the meeting. For the blind sound test I will certainly volunteer but I do not want to knock a true audiophile out of this test. If there is plenty of room, I will certainly make myself available. If you want to put me down as an alternate, that would be cool too. Just let me know, either way.

Jacob,

I can also supply my Sony DVP-S9000ES DVD player and I also have access to a 7000 (which does not have the chroma bug) if you would like me to bring either or both of these units. Just let me know.
 

Rajiv Arora

Agent
Joined
Jun 10, 2002
Messages
34
I'd love to do blind comparisons of CD and/or SACD players, especially if anyone in the group has some high-end players. My DV-47A universal is already getting long in the tooth. :D

-Rajiv
 

Rajiv Arora

Agent
Joined
Jun 10, 2002
Messages
34
Or, if you want to get really controversial, an SACD to analog (vinyl) comparison, using pressings of the same recordings, if we can round some up.

-Rajiv
 

Jacob Aaron

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
106
Rajiv- You could bring your Pioneer and compare it to the DVD-A sound of the T533 and the G98. I'm not sure I'll have a SACD capable player in the store until November.

I have a brand name thats interested but I won't have the product until November. The rest of my manufacturers believe that Universal players generally don't do something right. Sometimes its great DVD, SACD, but poor DVD-A, sometimes its great DVD-A, but poor SACD, etc. My personal experiences with the universal players have all left me wanting.

The player I'll be picking up costs $3,000 however, and is the best Universal I've seen/heard. Its better than the $5k Linn, and offers a better picture than the $10k Linn, and its sound is GOOD in all aspects, not great, but good.

The best SACD player is still the Sony SCD-1, hands down. I've yet to hear a player come close to it. Ofcourse its Sony's SACD only player and it costs $5,000 MSRP. Still if you ever get a chance to hear it, it really lets you know whats missing on all these universal players.

The best DVD-A player is in the Meridian 8 hundred line. The second best I've heard is the Meridian G98. It is also capable of playing DVDs and CDs. It does a reference quality job at all three. Its a step up from the Meridian 5 hundred line and many thought that DVD player had reference quality DVD picture, sound and DVD-A sound.

The best Universal Disc player I've seen/heard was the Linn Unidisk, and it costs $10,000 MSRP. It did a good job in audio in everything and had great CD, SACD playback, its video picture was lacking. I want the best video possible for $10,000. You get a better picture IMHO with a NAD T572 DVD player than the Linn Unidisk with an SDI out!

The new less expensive Linn player does a poor job with DVD-A. It is a good DVD player and a good SACD player.

Universal players are still a couple years from being perfected. NAD has a unit coming out next year that they claim will be a good player for all formats and provide a "stunning," picture. It will cost around $1,000. I still want to see/hear it to believe it.

I'd be more than willing to compare the quality of sound in these players, but none offer SACD that I carry. If you want to hear how your player stacks up to the others you can bring it, I'd like to see how they all stack up.
 

Frederick_Falk

Second Unit
Joined
May 17, 2000
Messages
288
Jacob,

My Sony DVP-S9000ES will play SACD and it would be interesting to see how it holds up against the other units you have listed above. Would you mind me bringing that player and throwing it into the mix?

Scott,

I received your email but when I try to respond to it, I get a message saying "The recipient name is not recognized". So I will post my answer here:

"Count me in for being a helper, then; or wherever I am needed."
 

Gomez

Agent
Joined
Aug 22, 2003
Messages
29
Will there be any HDDVD players on demo that day? are there any that are worth it right now? if so which ones?
 

Nils Luehrmann

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2001
Messages
3,513
HD-DVD players/recorders won’t be available until 2005.

Blu-Ray players/recorders are currently available. Panny just released the DMR-E700BD ($3,000) which can record over four hours of HD from satellite/cable and six hours for OTA HD with a DL 50G disc ($70).

There is very little in the way of pre-recorded software on Blu-Ray discs.

The biggest problem with Blu-Ray is that so far they show little to no interest in supporting WM9 (likely due to the animosity between Sony and Microsoft). WM9 is a far superior codec than MPEG2 and would also allow for a significantly greater storage capability.

Reps for Blu-Ray love to point out that their format offers nearly twice the amount of data capacity than HD-DVD. Single-Layer HD-DVDs are 15G VS Blu-Ray Single-Layer discs which are 29G. The problem with this statement is that 29G can only store 132 minutes worth of HD in MPEG2, while 15G is enough to store 180 minutes of HD in WM9.

Thus the irony is that Blu-Ray with nearly twice the storage capacity of HD-DVD actually ends up storing less data due to MPEG2.

This is also the reason why Blu-Ray has so far said they will not be offering any lossless audio tracks where as HD-DVD is supporting lossless audio.

The success of any playback Hi-Def DVD format will likely fall into the hands of the studios, and so far the majority have hinted that HD-DVD is at this point their preferred choice. This probably has more to due with economics, as HD-DVD manufacturing is so similar to the current DVD format that the cost difference would be extremely negligible.

I don't feel strongly enough about lossless audio for that to be a deciding factor, but I certainly wont support any HD format that only uses MPEG2. If Blu-Ray group decides to include WM9 then I suspect they'll win my vote for best of the two formats.

Interestingly, even fellow Blu-Ray group members can't agree on the format as Sony's Blu-Ray recorder, BDZ-S77, uses a 23G disc encased in a cartridge, while Pannys' new recorder uses both 25G and 50G discs both of which use an open cartridge that is very different than Sony's and have caused some compatibility issues between the two Blu-Ray recorders.

Obviously there are a lot of issues with both formats that need to be resolved, and don’t expect studios to be rushing in and releasing their valuable assets in HD without serious consideration over better copy protection standards.

Even then, I’d expect any Hi-Def DVD format to be a niche market for quite a long time as the majority of DVD buyers do not even own a HD resolution display, and those that do, very few will notice that much of a difference, certainly not enough to justify the cost. After all, the difference between standard DVD and Hi-Def DVD will be far less than what the average consumer saw when they went from VHS to DVD or from watching NTSC to HDTV. Don’t get me wrong, I personally am looking forward to Hi-Def DVD, but the majority of the market will be more than happy to stick with standard DVD.

Standard DVD had many immediate advantages over VHS; better video, better audio, more durable, convenience (no rewinding or fast forwarding needed), added value from special features, and eventually the cost was even lower. Hi-Def DVD will only really offer one advantage, better video, with HD-DVD you can possibly add better audio. This is hardly going to be enough to entice the majority of the DVD buying public to embrace this new technology.
 

Gomez

Agent
Joined
Aug 22, 2003
Messages
29
Cool thanks for the info! I have another question, I currently own a Denon AVR 3805 and I'm looking at possibly adding a pre-amp processor to it but I'm not sure what I should get? i know a lot of it has to do with my budget but I'm wondering which brands I should stick with? I'm looking to add something to my 3805 to give it a little more kick when I watch movies or listen to music. I watch movies primarily because I don't have a good cd player right now. I know Primare has a pre-amp processor (sp 31.7) for around 4k but not sure if it's worth it? or if I should go for something else? again I don't really want to break the bank b/c I plan on replacing my l300u in about a year.

Thoughts?
 

Chad Anson

Second Unit
Joined
Feb 13, 2000
Messages
377
Dangit -- I'm not going to be able to make it to the preview event. Ah, well... at least I'll be poolside sipping on a cold fruity drink. :D
 

Rich_Ave

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jul 16, 2002
Messages
58
I don't have golden ears, but I would like to be added to the waiting list for the blind tests. I would definitely like to attend the open house portion of meet. Thanks. - Rich
 

Steve Stogel

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jul 19, 2000
Messages
600
What's the count up to? If there's still three spots left, I'd like to reserve for myself, Todd (bro-in-law), and Jess (pops-in-law). If there's only one spot left, then I'd like to reserve for ME! :D

Steve
 

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