HD-DVD Players ? (1 Viewer)

[Dave Moritz]

Has there been any news of other manufactures making a HD-DVD player besides Toshiba and RCA? I would like to see a better company make an HD-DVD player. I wonder how long it will take for manufacturers to start building players?

 

[Harminder]

Sanyo and LG are on board. NEC may produce a whole player themselves instead of just the HD-DVD drive (they've made VCR's and DVD Players in the past).

However, there haven't been any dates confirmed of when any of these manufacturers will begin producing players of their own.

 

[Seth=L]

Toshiba pioneered the technology the HD-DVD so they probably will make the best player for now. Toshiba can make good stuff I own one of the first Flagship DVD players from 1999 the SD-9000, a superb player. We can hope that in the next year we will see a flagship Toshiba HD-DVD player.

 

[Dave Moritz]

That kinda sucks, when I think of high quality components Sanyo and LG defenantly do not come to mind. And I can't say I would pay top dollar for a NEC HD-DVD player ether. Toshiba needs to get other manufacturers onboard if they want to gain even more ground on Sony's Blu-ray. I was hoping that by now there would be some better companies anouncing HD-DVD players :frowning:.

 

[Harminder]

There's nothing wrong with investing into a Toshiba HD-A1. It's a solid first generation player that's performing beyond alot of people's expectations including mine. Especially in SD-DVD upconversion. With the offering of a LAN internet connection at the back for firmware upgrades, this is a major bang-for-your-buck player.

If that doesn't convince you into investing into a Toshiba HD-DVD player, then you may want wait for an eventual player release by Hitachi who currently are producing an HD-DVD recorder.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Hey Harminder,

I have no problem investing in the Toshiba HD-A1 especially since they came out with the firmware update that fixed the problem the player was having. I am thinking of later on down the road I will want a highend HD-DVD player to go with the 1080p video projector I will want to buy. For now as soon as I can save up the cash for the Toshiba it will be more than good enough. And if Sony does not get on the ball and start making better VC-1 Blu-ray discs available HD-DVD may end up being my HD format of choice?

My current HT upgrade is something like this. Toshiba HD-DVD followed by a Sony Blu-ray player. Then around the end of next year I am hoping to replace my old Yamaha RX-V995 receiver with something with switchable 1080p component, switchable 1080p HDMI, assignable digital and Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD and DTS-HD. Then after that I want to save up for ether speaker upgrades or a 1080p HD projector and the Stewert Film Screen (120" diaginal) to go with it. At that point I may ether take a brake from the upgrades or buy some external power amps and then I should be set for at least 5 years, I hope LMAO.

 

[Seth=L]

1080p component

HD-DVD and Blu-Ray don't support 1080p via component. Is Component even able to handle 1080p at all?

Seth=L

 

[Dave Moritz]

As far as I know component video is capible of 1080p its just a matter of how long they will allow that output to offer 1080p. If this is incorrect please correct me.

 

[Harminder]

Sounds good. That's a hell of an upgrade I must say. That receiver alone is going to cost an arm and a leg in the near future. But I've said it before, if it makes you happy, money doesn't matter.

 

[Seth=L]

I just know that component video out on a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player cannot exceed 480p. This is due to the copywrite protection they are using on the players. If you try to hack the player to change it, it will shut down. They may be able to keep the hackers out for a while, but not forever. Some people have a lot of spare time to hack it just so many can pirate the material. So who knows maybe we will have the option of high def through component for next gen players.

Seth=L

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Seth, all current discs released in both HD DVD and BD play back at 1080i over component video. This is not hacking. It's a fact.

- Steve

 

[Seth=L]

The Impeding Dilemma of Component Video, By: Dennis Barker

These are the facts. It is possible for some televisions to upscale the 480p resolution to 1080i.

Seth=L

 

[Rakesh.S]

Please do some reading -- all the titles released thus far are playable at 1080i over component, as steve pointed out. This is pure HD, no upscaling involved. There are actually people out there that own these discs and are playing them back over component. Do you actually own a next gen player and/or any discs?

The capability to force 480p is there, but the studios are not using it because they know that millions of sets currently in use do not have HDMI or DVI HDCP.

Dennis Barker doesn't know what he's talking about, or you're quoting an article that is many months/years old.

These are the facts.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Seth,
That article is wrong about the 1080I signal only being passable through the HDMI output. I own both formats and they both, support passing 720P and 1080I through their component output. It is not upconversion, but a High Definition signal that is passed. At this time, the industry has not enable the ICT function which will disable the ability to view 720P or 1080I through the component output of either format. The reason is simple, it will killl these new formats before they got off the ground because most consumers do not own a television with an HDMI input. Most observers don't see the ICT function being enable until 2010 at the earliest if then.

This forum has a wealth of information about these formats if you take your time in reading threads in this forum area. Many of the comments are based on actual experiences with these players.





Crawdaddy

 

[Harminder]

I was just digging around for info on future HD-DVD players and I came across the prototype for the Sanyo HD-DVD player. It looks pretty stylish to me, I definitely approve.

 

[Pete T C]

Couple of things in play here.

First, Panasonic and Pioneer have vested interests in Blu-Ray. They spent a ton of R&D making their over $1k players for this format. Now that it appears that Blu-Ray is the weaker of the two formats, its going to take some time for them to defect. They haven't even launched their Blu-Ray players yet, so you aren't going to see an announcement until that happens; I wager they are still hoping Sony can pull off a miracle and float Blu-Ray, but that seems more unlikely in each passing day.

Second, consumer electronics are typically released in Q2. So you probably won't see an announcement until post-XMAS and the actual product will probably be available Q2.

In other words, Toshiba/RCA will likely be it until 2007. A lot of software/hardware companies bought the Blu-Ray hype like many consumers did, and now that it didn't pan out it will take some time for them to retool for HD DVD. After XMAS, I'd imagine we'll see a lot of HD DVD software/hardware announcements.

With all that being said, the Toshiba HD-A1 and XA1 are incredibly solid pieces of engineering. I don't think you are going to get much higher quality than that. Just get a display device with a decent de-interlacing chipset and you should be set.

 

[Dave Moritz]

While I will agree that the Toshiba players are performing very well in the picture and sound department. I honestly don't agree that other companies could not make a better player than Toshiba. One that also is using the newest HDMI along with onboard DD+, Dolby True HD and DTS-HD decoding. And maybe even a player that will support DVD-A & SACD for those of us that own HR audio discs. I would also like to see a better looking player that does not look like it escaped the 80's. The Toshiba is kind of ugly but I am glad I am in the process of buying a HD-A1. I am glad I gave the format a chance and realized that it has lots of potential. I have 7 HD-DVD discs sitting next to my SD-DVD movies, just waiting for the player. So I can start enjoying HD movies on my HDTV. I still believe that Blu-ray has alot of potential but if Sony fumbles and Toshiba wins. Well I will be sound as a pound . I will be calling the retailer today to see if my HD-A1 arrived yet or not.

I am actually excited about the promise of better surround sound quality and lossless bit for bit audio. What I am not excited about is what Blu-ray was supposed to be and what we have been shown so far. I also believe that no matter what any ones opinion or believe is in this forum. That everyone should be respectful of that opinion. We are all here because we love all that is audio/video! We enjoy music and movies and the experience of our HT systems. I began with the mind set of Blu-ray was the only thing that mattered. I had no intention of even checking HD-DVD out or giving it a chance. Well I am glad I stepped back and gave it some thought. Because while there are some things that I feel are better about Blu-ray. It does not change the fact that HD-DVD does look better than Blu-ray at this time and has more storage than Blu-ray. Unless Sony can get there act together and make 50 gig discs a reality. At this moment HD-DVD has a product that is offering the best picture and great sound. Sony has done nothing so far but promise Blu-ray is better. And so far its only on paper because I have not seen it.

I would like to see HD-DVD players that will output 1080p and then will see if how long the format war goes on after that. And if Toshiba could make discs that where 50 or 60 gigs, what then. There might be very little reason for anyone to go with Blu-ray at that point. I now say that as long as they can fit 4 hours of HD content on HD-DVD. And if there was absolutely no difference between it and Blu-ray using VC-1. Then I will stick with HD-DVD as there would be no reason for two format. For Blu-ray to prosper and to succeed they need to have an advantage. A reason for consumers to spend there money on that format. Well Sony dazzle us with all that Blu-ray should be. If you want us to buy Blu-ray show us why we should go out and spend 1k. When we can currently spend $500 and have great HD performance with HD-DVD.

 

[Hayes Preston]

I am pretty sure you will not see an HD DVD player that plays SACD unless Bluray completely looses the format war, even after that, it will be a loooooong time.

 

[LarryH]

Uh, well, Microsoft will be selling the XBox 360 add-on - though I doubt this qualifies as a better company. At least it is a second source and since I inexplicably have an XBox 360, I'll probably buy one to use on my old rear-projection TV.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I definantly would not concider MS a better alternative to Toshiba .

For myself I have no need for X-Box 360 as my pc is curent and can do anything that the X-Box can do. I honestly I can not afford to buy HD movies, CD's, PC Games and console games as well. I also don't like the idea that X-Box 360 have problems burning out because of cooling problems. But it's good that MS is finally going to finally offer the HD-DVD option. IMHO the HD_DVD option should have been available from day one and not as an external option ether.

If HD-DVD wins this format war I would love to see companies like Pioneer Elite and Denon make players. And yes I know that Pioneer has a vested interest in Blu-ray. But that does not mean that I wouldn't want to see a player from them later on. Its only good buisness sense that if Blu-ray fails that Pioneer would want to get a slice of the HD-DVD market. If HD-DVD was gain wide acceptance, and Blu-ray fails. I would be willing to be that even Sony would end up making HD-DVD players if everyone else was making them to. Its all about the mighty green dollar in the end