DVHS decks for $600. Ok, I'm starting to get tempted. (1 Viewer)

[Jay Sylvester]

Those of you gushing over the WM9 HD stuff Microsoft is producing need better displays. The 720p material ("Stepping Into Liquid") they have posted on their site is NOT good HD. Lots of artifacts (blockiness, video noise). I can't imagine 1080p material at the same bitrate looking very good either.

If HD-DVD looks anything like that, I won't even bother with it. D-VHS may not be perfect, but at least they put the quality of the presentation over everything else. If it's convenient, but it sucks, then what good is it?

 

[Brian-W]

David-have you ever heard of TERMANTOR 2 Extreme edition DVD with the T2: High-Defintion complete theatrical version of the film in microsoft Windows media 9 playable in high resolution and 5.1 sound...this is a MAY 5 2003 release-not a 2009release....hello david are you still there?

This is the lamest thing I've ever read in this thread.

Let's examine:

T2: D-VHS:

• $500 D-Theater deck
• $29 D-theater D-VHS tape

T2: Extreme Edition:

• $1500 PC (3GHz, 512MB RAM, video card, monitor, 1600x1200 minimum resolution)
• Audio card capabable of handling 24/96KHz audio 5.1
• Decent "PC" speakers (blech) $500
• DVD of movie $30

Jeez, $550 for a complete HD setup that also records, or $2000+ for an overly compressed PC version that doesn't even RECORD HDTV. Oh the choices...

Mehdy, ARE YOU STILL THERE?

 

[Brian-W]

BTW - I have the advertisment for T2:Extreme (last weeks Video Business) and the RECOMMENDED spec (i.e., will look and sound like crap if you don't have the recommended spec) was the PC specs I listed in my post above.

 

[Jay Sylvester]

I have a 1.8Ghz P4, GeForce3, and 1 gig of RDRAM. The 720p clips on Microsoft's site almost played, but they dropped frames every few seconds. And they didn't even look as good as broadcast HD, which itself isn't as good as D-VHS.

This was on a Sharp Z10000 projector connected to the PC via DVI, 1280x720 mapped 1:1.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Jay,

thanks for that report. I envy you and your Sharp 10000 projector!!! I've demoed one extensively at a shop nearby and it's my favorite HD2 machine that I've seen...scaling is supurb (almost HTPC like it's so clean with good component input) and it even deinterlaces 1080I film-material with 3-2 pulldown! Gotta love it...

anyway...I hope we can rely on you to post a reivew of the HD inclusion on the forthcoming T2 UE so we can know what it *really* looks like on a revealing system (just in case anyone is wondering what that means...most CRT RP sets don't quite have the resolving capability to render the finer details of an HD signal...contrasted with many hi-res digital displays and 9" CRT front projectors *really* show you what you're watchin!).

-dave

 

[Ron Boster]

I went home and watched about 20 minutes(each) of four titles that I picked up with the JVC 30000. Here's what I saw...

Transporter: Wow, some of the best HD images I have seen. Jumped off the screen.

Fight Club: Solid color...reflected the director's intent (from what I remember in the Theater). Had to tweak the contrast to pick up a very dark image....director intention. Still out shined DVD...but would not make great demo material.

X-Men: Compared to 1.5 version of the DVD. Great DVD, but even better on D-theater. Colors are right on. Image stands out a little more than DVD. This would fall into the tweak category....but it's the small things that drive me crazy...I don't see those small anoying problems in this image.

U-571- Another WOW title...smooth film-like image with the fore front in 3-D...background smooth, no noise and a lot of detail. This rocked!!

As far as the sound, it was terrific...better than the DVD counterparts. Very directional, very detailed, no strain at all.

After watching these four titles...1) I want whatever is available. 2) I see myself being a little more picky about which DVD titles to buy....hands down, if it's available on D-VHS...that would be my first choice.

I'm using a Cinema 13HD LCD projector (calibration by Kevin Miller) on a Dalite High Contrast 106" screen. The dvd player is the PD-1100, which is a HTPC...image scaled to 1366x768.

I am by no means claiming to be an expert, but these are my observations on my equipment...YMMV.

Ron

 

[Jay Sylvester]

David,

Yes, the Sharp is a nice projector--the best digital I've seen so far IMHO. Unfortunately, I'm rainbow sensitive, and I received several 10k's that suffered from the fan noise issue, so I asked for a refund (I post under the handle thirdkind at AVS and have posted about my experience with the Sharp there).

Today I received a JVC SX21, and am waiting for the Panamorph to go with it. Haven't hooked it up yet though. I'll be pairing it with an HD Leeza scaler which also performs film-mode 1080i deinterlacing, so the higher res of the JVC/Panamorph combo should be very revealing. My HTPC should do well enough for now.

I hadn't planned on purchasing the new T2 release (already have the not-so-Ultimate Edition), but I might get it just to see what WM9 1080p looks like.

 

[HowieG]

Jeez, $550 for a complete HD setup that also records, or $2000+ for an overly compressed PC version that doesn't even RECORD HDTV. Oh the choices...

We'll I wasn't going to, but now I may just buy that d*amned JVC after all. Heck I've got a bunch of VHS and S-VHS stuff and it would'nt hurt to get a few DVHS titles either. I can call B&H and get this puppy for $550 and I need to retire my old VCR anyway. I love this stuff (if it ain't too pricy). I still want HD-DVD though.

BTW, I shoot miniDV so what's the diff?

 

[Mehdy]

Brian : lets compare dollar for dollar and see who is the
lamest: Terminator 2 D-VHS Price 34.98 AMAZON.Com April 22,2003 Terminator 2 Extreme edition 2 set DVD 22.49 Amazon.com april 22,2003...opps brian forgot to mention brand new frame by frame restroation, DD 5.1 EX(not available on Dog-Vhs), dolby headphone audio track, all new
commentary and behind the scenes footage,so MANY extras, I
cant list them all AND T2: HIGH DEFINTION for greater than 30% less...How about the $600.00 price tag- You can purchase
1 phillips dvd home theater system(Amazon 349),I koss dvd
reciver system and one norvent home theater system. Thats
3 dvd players, 15 speakers, 3 subs, 3 DD recievers,speaker wire, and you think my post is LAME, Brian can I sell the
statute of liberty....cheap....
Ron, I like how you conviently pick the best reivewed
D-VHS tapes to compare...why dont you talk about the majority of the reviews..which state a nonappreicatable difference( certaintly not worth 600.00) between D-VHS and DVD you and I must be reading different issues of WIDESCREEN
REVIEW.
For those of you who think tape is alive..LA TIMES April 19, 2003 business section page 4..."The straight to dvd interactive movie is grabbing studios attention"....
the movie has multiple breaks in the storys narrative..there
is no way we could have made this movie for tape...for us
VHS IS DEAD said marylou bono,vice president of marketing of home video for WARNER strategic markeing. We made a conscious decision back in January to phase out VHS....retailers are not just picking up a lot of video tape this past year...Anybody been to best buy lately? Why does not anybody talk about the fact that not all studios are aboard for this format.
On the issue of 6 years before HD-DVD...Viedo store magazine(very respected insider publicaton) April 20-26,2003
HD-Players jockey for winning positon: ....a spokes person with the DVD FORM(Dog-vhs does not have anybody but suckers...) told VSM that HD-DVD technical issues were still being discussed the the ...groups...and the first version could be finished by the end of this year and that product could reach the market NEXT YEAR..it goes on to say
that ..the winner in the high defintion batttle is likely to be the blue laser(I agree) HD-DVD said bill hunt of the digital bits...the reality is if the hd-dvd spec comes out and its great and everyone comes on board, nobody is going to be able to beat that(Bill Hunt)..
I must adimit I made a mistake, I stated in a prior post
I would pay $150.00 for this wasted effort..I was wrong..
It is not even worth fifty bucks.....

 

[Mark_Mac]

Mehdy
I really cant make out your point most of the time, you keep referring to DVHS as dog-vhs. Its really apparent you dont know what your talking about and I wish you would spare the rest of us your negative BS. In your price break down you dont even mention the cost of a 3ghz pc that is required to run the HD version of T2, you probably think you can run the HD version from your dvd player. The people on this forum that are using and enjoying DVHS are not doing you any harm, so why dont you go troll somewhere else and let us so called suckers enjoy our HD on DVHS.

 

[Ron Boster]

Mehdy:

**Sigh*** You don't bother to read "to understand"..you read to see "what you want to see." I don't care if it's a frickin $600 tweak. I spend money on isolation devices, power cords etc. My system benefits from those items...and it's my fricking money....not once in my life have I have said before a purchase, "would Mehdy approve?" and NEVER WILL I!!! I am not posting my comments about certain titles to debate whether D-VHS is good or bad....THAT IS NOT THE FRICKING SUBJECT OF THIS THREAD and the mod has told you that. So stop trying to change this thread to suit your agenda and start your own fricking thread or move on.

*********

Anyone want to throw some other thoughts on other titles? I would like to hear what other owners think of specific titles, as I am just starting my collection.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Mehdy,

You have made your point.

The purpose of this thread was for favorable
discussion of the D-VHS format. I have received
too many complaints in my email box concerning
your attempts to turn it around.

I am politely requesting that you please cease
thread farting here.

Many thanks

 

[Ron Boster]

I'll bump one last time...

Anyone want to give me their opinion on which titles are a must have in terms of Video/Audio quality... for a new owner of the JVC 30000?

Thanks
Ron

 

[Brian-W]

Ice Age definitely...

 

[DeanR]

I might be in the market for a S-VHS deck cause the one I have is getting long in the tooth. I do not have an HDTV. I want a good deck because this will be my last VCR purchase. Since the price of this deck is only about $100-$150 more than JVC's top of the line S-VHS deck should I go for it even though I will not be using the high def capabilities? How is the S-VHS performance? I appreciate any comments.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Did you guys see in WS review the blurb about JVC introducing 2 new D-VHS decks?

Firewire is mentioned...as well as full-bit-rate DTS compatibility (and some studios have said they plan to do 24/96 DTS...WOOHHOO!!). No mention is made about 1080P output potential.

Given that a projector like the Sharp 10000 has 3-2 pulldown for film-based 1080I signals, it would be nice if JVC would supply such a conversion on their DVHS unit (the same way "progressive scan" DVD players process the "480I" from film-based DVDs) so if someone had a digital projector (inherently progressive scan) they could feed it a 1080P signal *regardless* of whether the film was "encoded" or "flagged" as progressive. It could produce a spectacular image on many digital projectors if the DV link turn out to be compatible...

 

[Ron Boster]

Thanks David...

Now that I invested in the JVC 30000, I just signed up for Widescreen review to keep on the progress and titles (reviews).

Thanks for the info
Ron

 

[Gruson]

Ok,

The liquid clip has artifacts because the soure it came from was bad to begin with.

My HTPC is a 2.53Ghz, Revo 7.1 sound, 640megs PC2700, and a GF4Ti4200, 60 gigHD, wireless network, mouse, keyboard and the clip plays flawlessly. Computer was built for around $550 thanks to fatwallet.com and Dell. Every HD clip I have downloaded works great.

You do not need new speakers either. Hook the PC directly to your existing sound system/amp and run the computer to your HDTV with a VGA breakout cable.

I am VERY excited about T2 coming out.

Not to mention the ability to record HD material like Raiders of the Lost Ark last year and NBA playoff games. You will just need some big hard drives.

HTPCs are great, you just have to have the patience to set them up right.

DVD playback exceeds progressive players too.

I am all for WM9.

 

[Nathan_R]

edit.
I'm stupid.

 

[Jay Sylvester]

Gruson,

I agree with your assessment of the superiority of HTPCs over standard DVD players. They're very configurable, and if you have a display with a DVI input they can provide a 100% digital pathway from disc to display. If you have the patience to set one up it's worth the trouble.

However, how do you know the source of the liquid clip is bad? Have you seen it? The macro blocking I saw in the 720p clip is an artifact typical of digital video. I highly doubt the hi-def camera used to capture the original source introduced those artifacts. I believe it was caused by the low bitrate/high compression of WM9. Perhaps higher bitrates will minimize these artifacts. After seeing 720p on ABC, which blows the liquid stuff away, I won't settle for WM9. We should be shooting for high-bitrate HD on blue laser DVD machines.