I have got this player for some time now, but only now gave it some serious spin. It seems to produce quite good results, perhaps even one of the best. I have a range of players, PQ of which I estimate as follows:

Toshiba XDE > Panasonic BD35 = Toshiba A30 > Pioneer DV48 = OPPO 970 > Toshiba A2 > Onkyo 405 > Philips 5960

PQ-wise, it is definitely comparable to the best players I have. It is hard to tell if it competes with XDE: the processing philosophy is quite different between those two. A lot depends on calibrating your TV. But it is definitely a very good player. Has anyone else compared this player to any of standalone players and what is your take on its PQ?

I did a bit more testing of the WD player. While it is good, it was not on par with Toshiba XDE or Toshiba A30/Panasonic BD35, but probably somewhere in the area of Toshiba A2 and Oppo 970. On the other hand, WD player can play 40mbs 1080p AVC streams without a hickup:) Will report on HD quality of WD player later.

Try playing MKV files that are native 720P. The picture is stunning.

Try playing MKV files that are native 720P. The picture is stunning.

WD HD player can play native BD stream [1080p m2ts files]. The question in this thread was a comparison to STANDALONE players on SD MATERIAL. In my opinion it is competent but still not on par with the best players.

WD HD player can play native BD stream [1080p m2ts files]. The question in this thread was a comparison to STANDALONE players on SD MATERIAL. In my opinion it is competent but still not on par with the best players.

Upconversion of SD material is definitely not this units strength. But with compressed HD material, it is incredible.

Upconversion of SD material is definitely not this units strength. But with compressed HD material, it is incredible.

When you say "incredible" what are you comparing it with? Obviously, WD player can be compared to a BD player on m2ts file playback [it's quite good, though Panasonic BD35 maybe better]. But with MKV files what is the comparator?

Even at 2.5 Gb MKV, Madagascar 2 looked very close to a BD disc. At 4.7GB MKV Passion of Christ was literally same PQ as an HDDVD or BD disc. Granted, its ripped from the BluRay but MKV would seem to be the ideal compression for high quality video.

Even at 2.5 Gb MKV, Madagascar 2 looked very close to a BD disc. At 4.7GB MKV Passion of Christ was literally same PQ as an HDDVD or BD disc. Granted, its ripped from the BluRay but MKV would seem to be the ideal compression for high quality video.

I think what you are saying is that h.264 encoder that you are using is good. You are not comparing like with like, i.e., playback of the same files on a BD player and WD player.