Ron Z
Stunt Coordinator
- Joined
- Mar 15, 1999
- Messages
- 55
- Real Name
- Ron Z
Got the XA2 installed Sat morning. Ended up connecting with HDMI via the Pioneer Elite VSX80-TXV receiver to the Pioneer PDP-5050HD 50" plasma. The receiver is my HDMI switcher for the D* HR20 and the XA2. Audio was connected via the XA2's 5.1 analog outs (for TrueHD and other lossless audio formats) into the receiver, as well as the coaxial digital ouput.
First off, I have no previous experience with HD DVD, Blu-ray or upscaling DVD players other that what I saw in Best Buy, Circuit City or the like. My Amazon order of HD DVDs also happened to arrive late Sat morning. First movie I watched was the King Kong HD DVD - wow! Detail, clarity and 3D'ish look to the film that's the best I've ever seen! I can honestly say that I've never seen a movie look this good before. And obviously any HD DVD movie quality will depend on the transfer, and from what I've read King Kong is among the top 10 in that regard. But still, I was blown away by what I was seeing with that film.
Next movie was the SD version of "Ice Age 2: The Meltdown". I thought I was playing another HD DVD looking at this DVD through the XA2. Apparantly the Silicon Optix ReonVX video chip in the XA2 is responsible for this, and I can now see why the XA2 costs what it does. I'm thinking that as long as the studios keep putting out outstanding SD DVD versions, there won't be as much incentive for me to look into some kind of Blu-ray player.
And I just got through watching The Hulk HD DVD. Another superb transfer, and another reference disk for HD DVD. As far as the sound, these two HD DVDs offered DD+ and I can say it's impressive. I still have to listen to the TrueHD soundtrack of Batman Begins to see what that's like though. All in all, I was initially a bit concerned spending the amount I did on the XA2, but no longer. Now I just hope that more movies start coming out in HD DVD.
First off, I have no previous experience with HD DVD, Blu-ray or upscaling DVD players other that what I saw in Best Buy, Circuit City or the like. My Amazon order of HD DVDs also happened to arrive late Sat morning. First movie I watched was the King Kong HD DVD - wow! Detail, clarity and 3D'ish look to the film that's the best I've ever seen! I can honestly say that I've never seen a movie look this good before. And obviously any HD DVD movie quality will depend on the transfer, and from what I've read King Kong is among the top 10 in that regard. But still, I was blown away by what I was seeing with that film.
Next movie was the SD version of "Ice Age 2: The Meltdown". I thought I was playing another HD DVD looking at this DVD through the XA2. Apparantly the Silicon Optix ReonVX video chip in the XA2 is responsible for this, and I can now see why the XA2 costs what it does. I'm thinking that as long as the studios keep putting out outstanding SD DVD versions, there won't be as much incentive for me to look into some kind of Blu-ray player.
And I just got through watching The Hulk HD DVD. Another superb transfer, and another reference disk for HD DVD. As far as the sound, these two HD DVDs offered DD+ and I can say it's impressive. I still have to listen to the TrueHD soundtrack of Batman Begins to see what that's like though. All in all, I was initially a bit concerned spending the amount I did on the XA2, but no longer. Now I just hope that more movies start coming out in HD DVD.