NEW HD-DVD owners: Please post your reviews here for members considering purchase! (1 Viewer)

[RobertSiegel]

Can anyone help me? Today I purchased the Toshiba HD (hd-A1) player. I heard so much about the upconversion, with some people saying it was a wow factor and that they might not buy alot of hd-dvd's because of the awesome upconversion of regular dvd's. I am using a Sony HS51 projector, and using HDMI. I don't see much difference. I am using the "resolution" button on the top left of the remote of the hd-a1, and switching between 480p and 1080i, and I see very little difference. Is there something I am not doing right? If anyone could help me maybe there are other seetings I am not finding? Please be specific and thanks for your time.

 

[RobertDW]

Sounds to me like your projector is doing a good job of upscaling the 480p input so that's why you don't see much of a difference imo. A better way to test or look at the A1's upscaling is to use the same display and switch between the A1 and another upscaling DVD player like the Oppo player and trust me the A1 does a better job.

 

[Gregory Suarez]

Got my Toshiba HD-A1 on Friday 10/20. It might be a little early in my experience with it for a full review, but here are some quick initial thoughts. Note that I am still awaiting the v2.0 firmware disc from Toshiba, so these opinions are based on out-of-box equipment.

EQUIPMENT:

Video: JVC HD-52Z575 D-ILA LCoS, via HDMI (ISF-calibrated after purchase)
Audio: Denon AVR-2805 receiver (optical digital for SD-DVD, 5.1 analog preamp inputs for HD-DVDs)

PLAYER SETUP:

This was a breeze. As usual, the hardest part was shuffling behind my entertainment center and fumbling with the rat's nest of wires. The actual connection and menu setup of the player was no-sweat. The setup of the player's internal audio decoder was not designed well from a convenience standpoint; it's not hard to use it, it will just take you longer than it should.

VIDEO (HD):

The picture is marvelous with HD-DVD material. So far I have watched Sleepy Hollow, Swordfish, Corpse Bride, Sky Captain, and Fast and the Furious and was blown away by the images compared with their SD counterparts. Resolution is noticeably better as is color clarity. The thing that really impresses me, however, is that the picture is rock-solid and smooth and (most important) almost completely devoid of pixelization. With SD-DVDs, I am always able to stomach slight color inaccuracies or less-than-perfect picture detail. But the cardinal sin for me has always been pixelization...I have never been able to get used to it, look past it, or otherwise excuse it. So far, the HD-DVDs I've watched have been almost totally free of it, and when it does happen, it's so subtle and quick that it's easy to miss if you're not looking for it.

I began watching HD-DVDs in 720p, which is my TVs native resolution. For kicks, I decided to try it in 1080i, and was blown away with how much better 1080i looked. While I do notice the occasional interlacing problems in things like crosshatched patterns, it is so uncommon in most movies that I'm willing to live with those few instances for the increased resolution. And because of 1080i's dramatic jump in resolution over 480i, the dreaded stairstepping on angled lines from the early days of DVD (another interlacing-related problem) is almost totally absent on HD-DVDs.

VIDEO (SD UPCONVERSION):

In a word: phenomenal. Even if HD-DVD ends up dying as a format, the HD-A1 is a champ of an upconverting DVD player. Before the A1 I was using a Samsung DVD-HD841 that upconverted via its DVI output (I used a DVI-to-HDMI cable to hook it up to my JVC LCoS set). The upconversion on the Samsung was okay on its own, but in comparison with the A1 it was junk. The A1 is a spectacular player with which to watch your old DVD library. The image is cleaner and the edges are much smoother with the Toshiba upconverting them. Watching cel animated shows on the A1 like King of the Hill and The Simpsons reveals cel flair and other animation anomolies that the Samsung was unable to reporduce. This is a double-edged sword: while I did not see these "problems" on the Samsung, it also meant that the Samsung was not as apt to reproduce all of the detail of SD-DVDs like the Toshiba. Another SD reference scene I use is in the 4-disc extended version of Fellowship of the Ring, specifically the first time you see Frodo as he is reading under a tree in the woods. On the Samsung the dense foliage of the trees and grass looked muddled and the contrast bloomed to distortion. On the Toshiba, the same scene is smoother and more detailed without the blooming effects of the Samsung.

Note that while I found that 1080i produced a better image for HD material on my TV, 720p looks better on my TV for SD upconversion. Don't know why, but there it is...

AUDIO (HD):

I have been using the A1's internal Dolby Digital-Plus decoder for all my HD viewing and piping the 5.1 analog pre-outs to my Denon receiver. All of the DD+ tracks I have heard so far easily eclipse the quality of the DD or DTS variants on SD-DVD. Detail is more apparant, bass is tighter and the listening environment seems more immersed in the soundtrack. I have noticed, though, that some DD+ tracks seem to be encoded at noticeably lower volumes than their SD counterparts. This might also be a function of the player's audio decoder.

Note that I have not yet received the v2.0 firmware upgrade disc from Toshiba, so I have not bought any Dolby TrueHD discs yet to try. But I'm dying to hear Batman Begins and Constantine in all of their aural glory. So far, though, DD+ has impressed me.

OTHER COMMENTS:

Boot up times are LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG for HD discs, so you'll need to be patient; it doesn't bother me nearly as much as I thought.

The remote is nice, but the buttons are not backlit and impossible to see in the dark. This is not much of an issue for me, though, since I programmed my Sony LCD universal commander to work with the A1.

The A1 itself is very nicely built. It's a solid, heavy unit that feels like an expensive, cutting-edge piece of electronics. It's both taller and deeper than a standard SD-DVD player, so make sure you have room to accommodate it. Also, it has a ventilation fan at the back, so make sure it will get proper air flow. I have not been bothered by fan noise.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Gregory,

Your comments made for a very enjoyable read.

Welcome to the HD club! I am not surprised that
you are estatic with your purchase.

 

[Sami Kallio]

One thing I wish the A1 would have...more choices in audio setup. I have my player currently in my living room where I can watch it in 1080p but I don't have a centre channel in that configuration. Fine, I thought, I'll just set up a phantom centre. Nooo, my B&K prepro doesn't support phantom centre and A1 only has options for 5.1 or 2 channel. No 4.1 and more importantly no 2.1.

 

[mfabien]

The lower volumes are caused by some of the first releases by Warner. Phantom of the Opera is a case in point. Nothing to do with the player.

As for DD TrueHD, "The Perfect Storm" and today I just viewed "Batman Begins" and are both very good for PQ and audio. In the 5.1 multichannel setup, set the same distance as you have for digital connection, all speakers to SMALL, speaker level at 0 dB for all speakers and crossover at 100 Hz. The sub GAIN setting should be increased by 2 o'clock from its setting for digital, otherwise, the master volume can remain the same as for digital.

 

[thomasBa]

So what do you folks think, is the A1 or the XA1 basically the same or should I spend the extra and get the XA1. I have an older Marantz receiver that doesn't have an hdmi so I can't take full advantage of the audio, does that make a difference? I will be purchasing one of the two players very soon. I have been very enlightened with this forum and an opinion from anyone of you would be very much appreciated.

 

[RobertDW]

If your Marantz receiver has analog inputs which most receivers do then you can get TrueHD from the A1 or XA1.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Thomas,

In my opinion, go for the cheaper HD-A1.

Here's why....

On pure basics, both machines offer the same picture and
sound qualities. No difference whatsoever.

Being that we are in a format war where the future holds much
uncertainty, combined with the fact that you'll probably replace
this player in a few short years with either newer generation
hardware (or hopefully) a combi-player --- you are much better
going the cheaper route.

 

[Tim Glover]

Do what Ron says ...I agree. Can't go wrong with the HD-A1.

 

[Larry Sutliff]

Nice montage of images there, Tim.

 

[Brian Sallot]

After having more time to watch titles projected on a 100" screen using a Sanyo Z3 projector I can say without question even at 720p it is a huge difference from standard 480p. The details are amazing and the colors much more vibrant and real than what I am use to seeing on any other format(except possibly BR). The films I have watched recently are Apollo 13, The Polar Express and tomorrow I will have a Tim Burton double feature with Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I am enjoying what I am seeing so far and cannot wait for what the future holds.

Later Everyone
Brian

 

[Nickrh]

Bought a Toshiba HD-A1 yesterday and have it hooked up threw component to my Calibrated Mitsubishi 48413 and analog 5.1 to my Harmon Kardon AVR-235, Words simply cannot describe how incredible this thing is. I almost had to get use to the Video quality cause im not use to seeing HD with such detail, I think the big thing was that im not use to seeing HD with a natural film look to it.

I am equally impressed with the new lossless audio formats and even Dolby Digital+. I think alot of people overlook or just don't understand how much better the audio is on these units vs regular DVD. I was going to purchase the Xbox 360 addon but im so glad i decided to get the HD-A1 with the lossless audio.

 

[Citizen87645]

I got my HDA1 yesterday. I haven't done the whole calibration thing, but out of the box and just hooked up to my set I'm quite pleased. I admit it took a little while for it to soak in - I think my expectations were a bit on the high side - but as I was watching "Batman Begins" I realized the issues that usually pop up with DVD were not coming up (loss of detail in wide shots being the major one).

My legacy receiver (Onkyo 575x) also has a bit of an issue recognizing the SPDIF output. I think the player's encoding to DTS confuses it initially - the display will show "Dolby Digital" but no audio. The remedy is simply switching to another input and then switching back. It took me awhile to figure it out - much of the time spent confirming whether there should be any output at all.

I haven't decided yet whether to go with the analog or SPDIF. Up to now the analog inputs have been used with my DVD-A/SACD player and ICBM. With my tentative plans for a display upgrade it now looks like I will be looking to a receiver upgrade too (I'm not complaining ).

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Nick and Cameron,

Welcome to the HD-DVD club!

I'm not at all surprised that you guys are enjoying the
picture and audio quality of this new format.

Thanks for posting your thoughts. We still have many we
need to push over the fence!

 

[Nickrh]

Thanks Ronald!

 

[Nickrh]

By the way, I decided to give HDMI a try on my Mitsubishi 48" CRT with a DVI cable and HDMI adapter and i like the picture even more then component! It seems like there is more depth to the picture with HDMI, Ive always heard to always use component with a CRT but i guess it just depends on the tv.

 

[Larry Sutliff]

Nick, I have had the same experience as you with HDMI/DVI versus component. HDMI just looks better on my monitor, even though the consensus seems to be the opposite. Maybe it depends on the television more than the player.

 

[Romar Armas]

I was initially thinking of getting the Xbox 360 HD DVD add on. After letting my wife know about this, she said she would get it for me for Christmas. After checking out the specs of the X360 add on, I realized that I will be missing out on a lot of things specially with the sound. So with that in mind, I went out and picked up the Toshiba HD A1. Of course my wife was not pleased at first since it was more than double the price. However, that all changed once I set the player up, that all changed.

My old outdated HT:
Toshiba TW40X81 TV
Denon AVR 2803
B&W 602S3 Fronts
B&W LCR6S2 Centre
B&W 601S2 Rears
SVS 16-46PC Subwoofer

I connected the HD A1 through Components to the Receiver for video and using a 0.5m Kimber Kable D60 Co-ax for sound. I also connected the 6 channel analogue to my receiver Ext In.

The first thing one does really notice is the load time as mentioned many times. It takes a while for the player to load up and just as long to load the HD DVD.

The only discs I have watched currently are Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Polar Express. The first one I put in was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and was immediately stunned at the picture. Even though my TV is 5 years old I don't think I've ever seen a pure 1080i source on it. I was quite astounded by the clarity. While Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is not really the best to show off the image with due to the art direction, everything is just so clear one immediately notices a difference. When we watched the Polar Express, the image was even more noticeable! My wife and I didn't watch this at the theatres. We only watched it on DVD when it came out. While the DVD was good, this just totally blows it away. I didn't think the Polar Express could look any better but it does! The characters even look more realistic in HD and the feel of the movie is different compared to watching it on DVD. It's quite hard to explain.

Then there's the sound. My system never sounded so good. The DD+ is truly astonishing. It really feels like you're part of the movie as the sound is constantly around you. With DTS/DD5.1 on DVDs, the rears will get an occasional work out and then disappear. But with DD+ the rears are always working just as hard as the fronts. The voices coming out from the centre is crystal clear and every speech from loud to the little whispers can be clearly heard.

And then finally, there's the LFE. I never thought the SVS could get any crisper but I was wrong. When the Polar Express arrived, the rumble of the train from a distance and increasing as it arrived was replicated accurately minus the boominess. When we watched it on DVD, the entire family room rumbled and things rattled which my wife hated a lot. However, with the HD DVD, you can feel the room rumble but, it was not bothersome and nothing rattled. We were both in awe and talked about the difference for a few minutes. That was when my wife was sold on HD DVD. In her own words she said: "It's just like watching in a movie theatre". I had to grin after that remark.

The other movie I have to watch is The Corpse Bride which I purchased due to the great reviews it received. I have also ordered Batman Begins, V for Vendetta and The Break Up (for more WAF) from Amazon. I can't wait for those to arrive.

One problem that I noticed is with the TrueHD soundtrack in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When I have DD+ going through the EXT IN on my receiver, the sound is really good. But, when I switch it to the TrueHD track, the sound gets very quiet and I have to turn the volume up. Sometimes I don't get any sound at all. Does anyone know what could be the problem?

Other than that, I am very very happy I took the plunge with the HD A1. Now I have an excuse to get a new LCD TV and Receiver.

 

[mfabien]

Perhaps "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" suffers from low volume audio via the analogs, just like "Phantom of The Opera. It's not the player, Romar, it's the movie. Some of the first releases have had this audio problem with the multichannel analogs.

Now, for Multichannel analogs, you must review the settings in the player. Distance, I made the same as in the a/v. Speaker size, same thing which is normally SMALL for all speakers. For speaker Level, 0 dB for all speakers is best. And Crossover can be 100 Hz which compares with 80 or 90 Hz in your a/v. That will result in the same Master volume for analogs as you have for digital except for the subwoofer... at 0 dB it is still 10 dB less than for SPDIF so, increase the GAIN at the sub by a 2 o'clock value and you will be OK.

Good movies for DD TrueHD are "The Perfect Storm" and "Batman Begins".