Official HTF Review X-MEN D-VHS High Def (1 Viewer)

[Gregg Loewen]

Can we get back to the subject of D-VHS and X-MEN?

Thanks

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Gregg,

Sorry about that. My point was that even if DVD were all stored 480p, it wouldn't look any different than the 480i DVD we have today...assuming the 480i disc was flagged correctly and the progressive player were designed properly.

I do have a couple of questions...

For reference, what display did you watch this on?

Also, can the player indicate the audio bitrate of the DD track? Does it differ from the DVD in this case?

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Sorry Gregg, guess I'll continue seeking the real answers elsewhere.

Apologies for hijacking your thread.

-V

 

[DaViD Boulet]

can we get back to D-VHS and X-men?

Sure we can...just as soon as we clear up the confusion that "all" DVD is 480I
Whether DVDs are encoded in a field vs frame format is irrelevent. As DVD can store these fields in 48 field-per-second form (24 frame per second) with no 3-2...and the field-pairs can be flagged to represent a single frame of video...DVD is a format that can represent 480 progressive video.
how the data is arranged on the disc doesn't matter. the 5.1 channels of DD sound are mixed into a single compressed signal but we don't call it a "mono" format.
DVD can not only store "480P" in this way from film source material, but can also be encoded to store 480P 30-frame-per-second video (like from a progressive-scan SD-video camera) in the same way by flagging each field-pair as a true frame set.
How the DVD player reconstructs this progressive signal is something of a different matter...with most good players today not needing to rely on this flag information due to so many poor mastering houses.
Regarding the D-VHS comparison...
Nice to hear how dramatic an improvement the HD version is over the 480P signal from your panny rp91 (the same dvd player I have). It's very exciting that the added band-width of D-VHS appears to produce images with much more clarity and depth than we ordinarily see on broadcast or satelite. What's your approximate screen size/viewing distance? I'm wondering what viewing angle you have when doing the a/b comparison. Also, what is your display? Have you had a chance to compare the 2 on a good front-projector just for fun?
-dave

 

[Mark_Wilson]

Hell I can't even find a copy of this title to purchase, anywhere!

 

[John Berggren]

This one I'm most certainly picking up. Two days ago I don't think I would have thought twice about it. I'd love to see more titles released though!

 

[Tom Boucher]

Yee haw and all for the picture quality but...

Am I the only one that doesn't like a bendable, stretchable media dragged across a solid object? It may be super sharp, but say something like 'Rugrats the Movie' comes out.

I have a 4 year old that has watched my version at least 85 times. That kind of viewing on previous VHS cassetes would cause all sorts of tracking, failures, picture/sound drop outs.

What does D-VHS do to combat this?

What ever happend to HD-DVD? or is that being killed by the 'all consumers copy our products so DVD is insecure' MPAA that don't believe people actually pay for things?

 

[Damin J Toell]

Am I the only one that doesn't like a bendable, stretchable media dragged across a solid object?

Some recent threads on the subject:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=81663
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=79330
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=57582
My intuition is that we should keep this thread on-topic about the X-Men review and not get into yet another debate about the fact that D-VHS is a tape format.
DJ

 

[DaViD Boulet]

So let's hear some details on the display system used. It's all fine and well to say "the D-VHS looked great" but how big was the screen? What type of display? How close were you sitting? Did any calibration need to be performed? Let's hear the details!
Those of you interested in D-VHS quality should also read some of the threads over at AVS:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...0&pagenumber=1
And be sure and check out this one...they actually compare the D-VHS of T-2 against a projected film print!!!
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=147993

 

[Jack Briggs]

Yes, let me interject a word here: Stay focused on Gregg's review. We will not let this turn into another tape-versus-disc ragathon. Seriously.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

So let's hear some details on the display system used.

The first paragraph of Gregg's review states that his display is a Toshiba 65H80.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Hi Gregg Next time you come over wanna bring that deck

Dave

 

[Richard Travale]

Oops, already been covered

 

[Gregg Loewen]

Hi guys, Im just getting back from LA via Scooterpoloza 2002 in NJ

I think that comparing the DVD displayed via a PS player directly to the 1080i version on the D-VHS deck is a valid one. Most people do not have the means to do the scaling required to upconvert the 480i image to 720p or 1080i (or whatever). For these people (like myself) I think the 1080i D-VHS route is a great option. I contacted my supplier and I can get this deck for about $1250, which isnt much more than a good DVD deck was several years ago. Now, we just need to trust the Studios to release more product in this format.

Just my thoughts, and an afterthought...wouldnt it be awesome for some of the new releases to be released in HD too? I'd buy the DVD for the extras and the HD version for the movie viewing.

Gregg

 

[Jack Briggs]

I'd buy the DVD for the extras and the HD version for the movie viewing.

That's the spirit, Gregg! I'd love to see this thing in 1080i, though.

 

[Bjoern Roy]

I think that comparing the DVD displayed via a PS player directly to the 1080i version on the D-VHS deck is a valid one. Most people do not have the means to do the scaling required to upconvert the 480i image to 720p or 1080i (or whatever). For these people (like myself) I think the 1080i D-VHS route is a great option.

I also think this comparison is fair for most people. But still, it has to be noted even IF you scale both HD and DVD to an optimal 1080p, the HD will be heads and shoulders above DVD. I will soon show screenshots that will demonstrate just how big that difference is. I think many will be amazed.
Regards
Bjoern