Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD - First End User Reports! [Text View]

Ron-P

04-14-06, 11:36 PM

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/Ron-P/HDA1back.jpg

I had to buy an HDMI cable in the store. To put this in my rack I need a 35' HDMI cable so I'll have to shop around, just using a 6' AR (Acoustic Research) for now.

I played scenes from several films (King Kong, LotR: Fellowship EE, Animatrix and The Phantom of the Opera).

Before I get into image details please note that I am no pro at this and no videophile by any means. There is a slight improvement with upscaling to 720p, if I were to put a number on it, Id say about 15% over 480p, not a huge leap but enough to notice. My wife walked in during the scene when Kong was being captured and she said right off, "the image looks sharper". That comment even surprised me.

I used the same settings I had for my component connection and right off I noticed a slightly sharper image, mostly close up shots, distance shots really didn't benefit much. The colors were a bit more vibrant and blacks were deeper with more detail. The improvement in blacks caught me off guard as I was not expecting that.

It hung up a bit trying to load the Animatrix disk, took about a minute or longer to get that one to load, the other 3 were up in 15-20 seconds. It had no issues at all playing the disks, FF, RW skipping chapters, no navitation issues at all.

The fan is a bit noisy. More so then my Z3, it is noticeable but I had it sitting right behind my head on a box on the couch, once up on a shelf or in the A/V rack I doubt it will be noticeable. I'd say it was around 25db. It sounded close to what my old Panny PTL-200u PJ was like.

The machines menu set-up is very easy to use and navigate, set-up took only a few minutes. The remote on the other hand, a pain to use. Small buttons with very hard to see descriptions. Not a very user friendly remote at all.

Ken H

04-14-06, 11:36 PM

Topic title edited and topic stuck.

SurfingMatt27

04-14-06, 11:42 PM

Some pics of what your watching would be nice, like a pic comparing regular 480p compared to upscaled resolutions.

Eddie Wan

04-14-06, 11:46 PM

I am not Ron, but it's an easy answer. Yes, the player is capable 1080i/720p component output, it is up to the movie titles weather or not such output is allowed (ICT). Most studios are not likely to turn on ICT, for now.

However, AACS, as it stands now, does have a analog sunset provision which will ban players sold then with component output all together starting 2010, which is not really that far

For this reason, I and many others are boycotting HD-DVD/BD. I hope the sunset provision gets removed in the final AACS spec, if Hollywood gets the message.

Thank you for your information.

We Hong Kong AV fans are used to get hi-tech equipment from Japan. I know it is quite sure that the HD-XA1 now selling in Japan is capable of outputting 720p/1080i via its DA3/DA4 Terminal. This is sufficient for me as my Sony KV-36DZ950 has got D3/D4 Terminals, but am just curious to know if the version selling in US can do it even via the component video output.

If most, if not all the studios will refrain from imposing the stupid ICT stuff until 2010, I will be happy with that as I am quite sure by that time, I will have replaced my TV with a larger screen TV/monitor with HDMI inputs.

Now, we are just waiting for the importers in Hong Kong to get the players from Japan. Lcoal forums indicate that some are already expecting delivery after Easter. We expect the imported players will be modified to "Region Free" in SD DVD. In fact, virtually all SD DVD players now selling in Hong Kong are "Region Free", including those distributed by authorised dealers.

I also attended a demonstration seminar in Hong Kong on 11 April, organized by Toshiba HK. The HD video shown in their REGZA LCD monitor is really stunning. But too bad Toshiba HK said the HK version player will not be availabe until end of 2006.

Ken H

04-15-06, 12:24 AM

Hi guys/gals! After I saw that Ron-P had picked up a player at a California Best Buy I made a few phone calls. It turns out that they had 3 players at the Simi Valley Best Buy. I got up there as quick as I could and picked one up.You're late.

c722

04-15-06, 12:40 AM

Can any one confirm it can indeed do 480i over HDMI ?

WiFi-Spy

04-15-06, 12:43 AM

Can any one confirm it can indeed do 480i over HDMI ?

yes

HDTVwannabe

04-15-06, 12:47 AM

Sorry. I guess I'm number 4. I still feel awesome! I'm gonna go watch some movies. :)

http://www.soulfulsunday.com/IMG_2457.jpg

You better be posting AV quality reports on those 2 titles and like by tomorrow, early. Or else.

j/k ;), great catches man.

WiFi-Spy

04-15-06, 12:48 AM

Sorry. I guess I'm number 3. I still feel awesome! I'm gonna go watch some movies. :)

http://www.soulfulsunday.com/IMG_2457.jpg

bastard! I want the movies :eek: time to harass every BB in western washington tomorrow ;)

What'sHD

04-15-06, 12:53 AM

Congrats, guys.

This is actually a historic piece of CE equipment you own. Come on, dont keep us waiting for the reviews of PQ etc. :D

Btw, from HDBeat..

"I was reading the AVSForum and what do I find, but a guy from Surf City, CA managed to pick up a HD-DVD player from his local Best Buy. I guess they didn't know that they weren't suppsed to be released till Tuesday. Lucky for him, but not as lucky as you think, he still doesn't have any movies to watch. The forums members are keeping him busy with questions, this is starting to get exciting."

Hyabusha

04-15-06, 12:56 AM

This thread Is great! :D :D more Info and pics please!

Ron-P

04-15-06, 12:57 AM

The BB I picked up my player at had the titles in stock but cannot put them out forsale until Tuesday. Your one lucky man to get the movies as well.

mpalmieri1203

04-15-06, 01:11 AM

Wow this awesome congratulations guys!

quickfire

04-15-06, 01:13 AM

LordofDoubleD......Review of TLS?.........P...L...E...A...S...E????I thought it was GREAT looking on SD DVD ...can't wait to see what your response is! What are you using for Display/Monitor????

Robert D

04-15-06, 01:17 AM

LordofDoubleD......Review of TLS?.........P...L...E...A...S...E????I thought it was GREAT looking on SD DVD ...can't wait to see what your response is! What are you using for Display/Monitor????

Yeah I would like to know that as well. Also it would be great to know the equipment (monitor) when we get feedback on PQ. Finally I would like to know how the player PQ matches up with what we get from HD OTA, Cable, and satellite. :)

Rockokma

04-15-06, 01:21 AM

The sound quality is SOOOO MUCH DIFFERENT.... OMG!!! I though that I was not going to hear any difference on regular DVD's... I was really really wrong... I'm going back to try to bribe someone to give me some movies... they had them there they said they couldnt sell them to me though

dialog_gvf

04-15-06, 01:21 AM

Well that didn't take long, but not unexpected. I would be surprised if anyone makes a killing on these like people did with the Xbox 360 before Christmas. I wouldn't expect the demand to be as high or the supply as low. I haven't heard any stories of people camping out in front of Best Buy overnight yet.

If he had been smart enough to open the bidding to the rest of the world, he could have made a tidy sum.

Heck, Canadians would be happy to pay US SRP, rather than the stick-it-to-ya Toshiba Canada is doing (CAD$699 or about US$600).

Gary

HDTV Freak

04-15-06, 01:22 AM

congrats guy! tell us how it compares to OTA, satellite, cable..

dialog_gvf

04-15-06, 01:22 AM

Rockokma

04-15-06, 01:22 AM

Sorry. I guess I'm number 3. I still feel awesome! I'm gonna go watch some movies. :)

http://www.soulfulsunday.com/IMG_2457.jpg

Did you have to do anything special to get the movies, because they wouldnt give them to me although they had them

quickfire

04-15-06, 01:34 AM

Ron-P...You need to get some HD DVD movies(Go back to BB and BEGGGGGGGG them:D)....I have the Z3 also and very curious as to what a 720p to 720p feed will look like with the Z3........I have an order with Robert at V.E...but it will be late next week before receiving mine.....can't wait to see what your thoughts are on HD DVd picture quality thru Z3!

Rockokma

04-15-06, 01:35 AM

That's confusing. How could the sound be better off DVD?

Gary

I could not believe it myself... What can I say... It really honestly just sounds more clear and the surround sound sounds more surround like. Not just me, my whole family notices it.

longfellowfan

04-15-06, 01:50 AM

That's confusing. How could the sound be better off DVD?

Gary
That because it is in dolby digital plus not just Dolby Digital. The plus format is at a higher bit rate and at least acorrding to dolby it works with reg DD recivers.
http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/dolby_digital_plus.html

jon2k2

04-15-06, 01:59 AM

i saw a picture on the back of hd dvd player. and has a lot of inpiut for speakers and sub. Since it has its own decoder, do i just need to connect the speakers and sub and i will enjoy the surround sound?

Rockokma

04-15-06, 02:02 AM

Congrat Ron!! I want one now :) Those of us that are Canadian have to wait until the end of the month before we start seeing these.

I look forward to your impressions on your new toy.

Ron (or amirm) when you post your impressions, could you please check a few things for me?

On regular DVD and HD-DVD playback performance do you notice:

- the chroma bug?
- any player induced edge enhancement?
- macro blocking?
- anything wierd going on the the grey scale

Thanx

Chroma bug?

Sharper picture on DVD Don't have HD-DVD yet.

Macro blocking NONE seen so far... and i mean none on reg DVD... Picture from up close on reg DVD looks fricken amazing too... very nice upconvert... worth 500 just for the upconversion IMO.

Don't know too much about grey scale yet... sorry.

lymzy

04-15-06, 02:08 AM

That's confusing. How could the sound be better off DVD?

Gary

Maybe Toshiba HD-A1 has a good DAC? Remember the hype about sound quality from Toshiba 3960 DVD player?

FilmMixer

04-15-06, 02:09 AM

That because it is in dolby digital plus not just Dolby Digital. The plus format is at a higher bit rate and at least acorrding to dolby it works with reg DD recivers.
http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/dolby_digital_plus.html

He is talking about regular SD DVD's.. the bit stream is the same.

The sound quality is SOOOO MUCH DIFFERENT.... OMG!!! I though that I was not going to hear any difference on regular DVD's... I was really really wrong... I'm going back to try to bribe someone to give me some movies... they had them there they said they couldnt sell them to me though

Are you using the analog outs... That would explain it, as the DAC's are probably pretty good... but there would be nothing that the player could be doing to give you any difference on a DD or DTS SD DVD bitstream..

quickfire

04-15-06, 02:12 AM

Does the HDA1 come with an HDMI cable?If so what is the build quality like?

amirm

04-15-06, 02:13 AM

LordofDoubleD......Review of TLS?.........P...L...E...A...S...E????I thought it was GREAT looking on SD DVD ...can't wait to see what your response is! What are you using for Display/Monitor????
OK, since the news is out, go ahead and read my observations on picture quality in the Japanese Toshiba thread. When I talk about great picture quality, I am talking about TLS. This is HD DVD and is just about perfect in image quality. It is so real that you can see the ship that is approaching Japan to be a miniature. And yes, you can see spit coming out of Tom's mouth has he talks. Fine dust particles floating in the air. The stuff that I created the other thread for. There are dozens of scenes when your jaw drops on the fidelity of the image. Not overdone mind you. Just well done.

Lots of favorite scenes having been in Kyoto. But the one (that is probably not shot in Kyoto) is when Tom gets off the ship supposedly in Japan (probably in NZ some place). It is a busy scene with a lot of activity. Just take a minute and look around and admire how sharp every person and object is in that scene. The eye can travel across the frame for minutes and keep finding new detail.

On the technical side, this is a dual layer HD DVD 30. VC-1 is the video codec. Data rate is on the high side (although with our latest encoder, it could be lower and have the same picture). My observations were on three displays: Sony Qualia 005 1080 LCD (HDMI), Panasonic HD Plasma (Component) and Sony Ruby SXRD projector. The Ruby image is breathtaking. The other two show that we still have some ways to go to get the image that does justice to the source. But still look great in their own right.

I have watched this movie three times in HD (and probably 10 times in SD and broadcast HD) and still can't get enough of it. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I have (OK, when you get your copy :)).

Amir

Rockokma

04-15-06, 02:18 AM

He is talking about regular SD DVD's.. the bit stream is the same.

Are you using the analog outs... That would explain it, as the DAC's are probably pretty good... but there would be nothing that the player could be doing to give you any difference on a DD or DTS SD DVD bitstream..

Optical.. and I kid you not... wether it's "suppose" to have better sound or not, every one of my family members said "wow, did the sound get better?" it was the first thing we all notices.

absolutic

04-15-06, 02:21 AM

Well I am shocked there are like 4 people with these, and no review with pictures so far. RRRRRR

CD_14

04-15-06, 02:23 AM

Rockokma: as everyone (with analog) wants to know...can you please try the component inputs and verify the resolutions? Much appreciated.

Rockokma

04-15-06, 02:24 AM

Rockokma: as everyone (with analog) wants to know...can you please try the component inputs and verify the resolutions? Much appreciated.

One sec...

480p

When I try to change the resolution any higher on DVD it says High resolution output is Prohibited with this contet.

amirm

04-15-06, 02:27 AM

Rockokma: as everyone (with analog) wants to know...can you please try the component inputs and verify the resolutions? Much appreciated.
What would you like to know? It supports 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. You can cycle through them with a remote control button. Best picture quality seems to be at 1080i and then letting your display downsample it as necessary.

Amir

Robert D

04-15-06, 02:27 AM

Is Dolby Digital Plus the same as Dolby Digital EX? I was looking at receivers but none say DD+.

This is killing me so I think I may get up at daybreak and hit my local BestBuy as their web site says it has stock on the player.

amirm

04-15-06, 02:28 AM

No, they are different things. And no reciever yet supports DD+.

Amir

Rockokma

04-15-06, 02:28 AM

Well I am shocked there are like 4 people with these, and no review with pictures so far. RRRRRR

I only have regular DVD's, would you like screen shots of my TV displaying this?

HDTVwannabe

04-15-06, 02:29 AM

Same here, Robert [especially if I am truly backordered with my online preorder].

Although the distance and time I could leave, they'll probly sell their allotment before I can get there. (Unless they have more than 3 on hand, like some of the CA and WA stores from earlier tonight)

HDTVwannabe

04-15-06, 02:29 AM

I only have regular DVD's, would you like screen shots of my TV displaying this?

PLEASE!!?

;)

BlackRiderX

04-15-06, 02:30 AM

I only have regular DVD's, would you like screen shots of my TV displaying this?

I say go for it! :)

N8DOGG

04-15-06, 02:33 AM

My hitachi only has dvi, buying a cable with the hdmi to dvi ends, will be ok with no problems?

CD_14

04-15-06, 02:37 AM

One sec...

480p

When I try to change the resolution any higher on DVD it says High resolution output is Prohibited with this contet.

I guess the DVD ICT flag is set to down-rez the content through analog connections. Does the DVD packaged say anything about that?

Robert D

04-15-06, 02:43 AM

My hitachi only has dvi, buying a cable with the hdmi to dvi ends, will be ok with no problems?

Should be fine imo. Here is a good place to buy that hdmi to dvi cable and cheap.
http://www.cablewholesale.com/catalog/hdmianddvicable.htm

rdjam

04-15-06, 02:47 AM

Should be fine imo. Here is a good place to buy that hdmi to dvi cable and cheap.
http://www.cablewholesale.com/catalog/hdmianddvicable.htm
Dammit Man - run, don't walk, to your nearest shop! :D

By the way, could any of you EXCEPTIONALLY lucky folks compare the manual for the A1 with this XA1 translation? :D

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/2903/audio5rb.gif (http://imageshack.us)

absolutic

04-15-06, 02:48 AM

Frys sells dvi-to-hdmi cable for under $15. I just bought one on fleebay - was less than 7$, great quality, and delivery took 2 days! I think IMHO for cables nothing beats fleebay.

Spizz

04-15-06, 03:01 AM

http://www.soulfulsunday.com/IMG_2457.jpg

WiFi Spy. You are one lucky guy. Now where is your review on the Player, the HD-DVD's and everything in between? :)

Robert D

04-15-06, 03:03 AM

No one deserves to look that happy.

Rockokma

04-15-06, 03:04 AM

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2127.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2131.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2132.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2127.jpg

amirm

04-15-06, 03:05 AM

I guess the DVD ICT flag is set to down-rez the content through analog connections. Does the DVD packaged say anything about that?
There is no ICT flag on current DVDs. Current DVD license does not allow CE equipment to output analog signal higher than 480. You must use a copy protected digital output such as DVI/HDMI.

Amir

Rockokma

04-15-06, 03:06 AM

2135-2149 are coming one by one if you want to enter the last 4 numbers in the link 1 by 1

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2136.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2137.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2138.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2139.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2140.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2141.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2142.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2143.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2144.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2145.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2146.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2147.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2148.jpg

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2149.jpg

absolutic

04-15-06, 03:12 AM

Thank you Rockokma for the pics, they are very informative

madshi

04-15-06, 03:13 AM

Does it support YCbCr colorspace output over HDMI?

rdjam

04-15-06, 03:14 AM

There is no ICT flag on current DVDs. Current DVD license does not allow CE equipment to output analog signal higher than 480. You must use a copy protected digital output such as DVI/HDMI.

Amir
How about if one burns a DVD-R DL disc without CSS, will that scale up for a test?

George Montemayor

04-15-06, 03:15 AM

By the way, could any of you EXCEPTIONALLY lucky folks compare the manual for the A1 with this XA1 translation? :D
I would like to know if the A1 has the wonderful cartoons found in the Japanese XA1 manual. :D

Rockokma

04-15-06, 03:16 AM

Does it support YCbCr colorspace output over HDMI?

how can I tell, I am very uneducated when it comes to all this, sorry there is'nt any one else w/ one in front of them who could go more in depth with it but I'll try to answer what I can :)

George Montemayor

04-15-06, 03:18 AM

Art, weren't you the one disappointed when the A1 was believed to have a non-detachable power cord? Guess again. ;)

WiFi-Spy

04-15-06, 03:18 AM

5.1 analog setup screen!

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/1874/p41400449pj.jpg

Rockokma

04-15-06, 03:19 AM

Any other Pics you guys want a close up of or anything?

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2133.jpg

madshi

04-15-06, 03:20 AM

how can I tell, I am very uneducated when it comes to all this, sorry there is'nt any one else w/ one in front of them who could go more in depth with it but I'll try to answer what I can :)
Well, in the menus where you can switch between 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. Are there more settings than just the resolution? Is there something named "colorspace"? Or do you see something like "RGB", "YCbCr" or "YPbPr" there?

Thanks!

madshi

04-15-06, 03:21 AM

Any other Pics you guys want a close up of or anything?

http://members.cox.net/znasouri/hddvd/100_2133.jpg
I'd love to have a shot of the setup screen where you can set the HDMI video output formats. Thanks a bunch!

Rockokma

04-15-06, 03:21 AM

Well, in the menus where you can switch between 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. Are there more settings than just the resolution? Is there something named "colorspace"? Or do you see something like "RGB", "YCbCr" or "YPbPr" there?

Thanks!

No sir, I remember in my Sony there was an option to switch from RGB to YCbCR but in this there is not, sorry if that is bad news...

SurfingMatt27

04-15-06, 03:25 AM

Rockokma

04-15-06, 03:27 AM

I'd love to have a shot of the setup screen where you can set the HDMI video output formats. Thanks a bunch!

It only gives you TV Shape through any output. You change rez through remote only.

mcs921

04-15-06, 03:28 AM

Oh my garsh!!!!!!! I want one so bad now.

Rockokma

04-15-06, 03:29 AM

Just curious, i noticed in the second picture you have there that there is a picture mode with choices of either FILM,VIDEO,AUTO i suspect this is for regular DVD's correct?

From the manual it says

"There are two types of source content in pictures recorded in DVD video discs: film content (pictures recorded from films at 24 frames per second) and video content (video signals recorded at 30 frames per second). Make this selection according to the type of content being viewed.

Rockokma

04-15-06, 03:33 AM

And just to give you guys a heads up, the logitech remote's page has the player on its website but none of the buttons work right atm. This is using the 880.

Rockokma

04-15-06, 03:40 AM

It could output 480i/480p through component if the DVD does not prohibit the output of the resolution, that's what it says in the manual.

lymzy

04-15-06, 04:08 AM

What does that "NTP server" in the ethernet menu mean?

loggiestar

04-15-06, 04:38 AM

It's Network Timing Protocol, a protocol to sync the clock over the 'Net.

Apparently this player can sync up its ticking with some external sources. Dunno for what? Maybe for future pay-by-minute content vendoring. :D

What does that "NTP server" in the ethernet menu mean?

s.morris

04-15-06, 04:45 AM

Well damn... Ron is first. But without the movies ;)

You are wicked :D

Steve
.
.

Sirluckyj

04-15-06, 05:13 AM

I have two questions:

1. How is the PQ on regular DVD's compare with your old player?

2. What is the difference between the HDA1 and HDXA1? Is the $300 extra just for the motorized door?

Jim

Likvid

04-15-06, 05:23 AM

Oh my god, look at the details of the chassi, it's like old school quality, great!

LordofDoubleD

04-15-06, 05:54 AM

Hey Everybody!!! My wife and I just finished watching The Last Samurai and let my tell you it looked so good. I was watching it on a 46" Samsung DLP which has 720p native resolution. I did my calibration of the display using the THX optimizer on the SD DVD - SW EPIII. It was connected to the TV via HDMI and I sent the audio to my receiver using the Toslink out to the receiver. Tomorrow I'm going to unhook my DVD-A player and hook up the analog outs so I can experience DD+.

PQ
I have to say that this is the best HD footage I have ever watched. Both my wife and I commented over and over again about how there was no visible pixelation (macro blocking?). When I watch shows like LOST it looks great but there is always some level of blocking during the night and/or dark shots. I saw none of that on this DVD. Also there were no jagged edges - It simply looked superb. We kept saying how clean and finely detailed everything looked. The picture was just stunning. Ultimately I felt like this is what I had been looking for - namely HD without all of the artifacts and problems that I constantly see when watching HD over cable. Unfortunately I don't have D-theater or OTA HD-DVD but it looks a lot better than the HD that I get from Time Warner.

Upconverting
I watched just a little of SW EPIII and I feel like it does a good job of upconverting but after watching an actual HD-DVD it's going to be hard to go back SD DVD's.
I'll need to watch a whole movie upconverted before I can make a lot of detailed observations.

Audio
I used the toslink out to my Kenwood reciever. This is a very consumer level receiver but I play music for a living and I feel like I've spent a lot of time making my system sound as good as it possibly can. I thought the audio sounded great (Dolby DD) but I'm looking forward to hearing DD+ through the 5.1 analog outs.

The Player
It's big :) Seems very solidly built. Remote is nice. Took me a while to get the hang of the remote. It seems silly but it only needs a gentle touch. Once I figured that out and turned on the sound for the remote (soft beep) it was working pretty well for me. The setup menu is simple and easy to navigate. I did notice a some fan noise while I was going through the setup menu (silent room - no audio through the system). Once I closed the glass door on the entertainment center and started the movie I could not hear any fan noise. This is not the fatest player I've dealt with - everything kind of takes a second to get going: reading the disc, starting to play etc., it's not a big deal at all but you definitely get the feeling that this is a 1st gen player and as time goes on all of these little details will be totally smoothed out.

Misc.
There is an "HD-DVD Introduction" commercial from WB at the beginning of TLS about HD-DVD: it's features, benefits, upcoming titles, etc. and honestly it was really cool. My wife is interested in this stuff but she is more of an average consumer when it comes to home theater. It made her go "now I get why you're into this". It really gives the average person on the street a great demo of why HD-DVD is so much better than SD DVD. I thought it was awesome. Also, in this commericial, there are clips of HP, Matrix, Batman Begins and ,oh my goodness, I can not wait to watch these movies on HD-DVD. They look so amazing.

Final Thoughts
I can not wait for all of you to get your players/movies. I have learned so much about home theater by being a member of AVS forum and I can't wait until we can all geek out together about our HD-DVD players!!!

p.s.
Someone asked how I got the movies today. Honestly I was all ready to pay - I was not going to even ask about the movies because I know they are not supposed to release them before the street date - and the guy helping me asked If I wanted some movies to go with my player. Obviously I said of course - if they have them - (I was assuming they would be SD DVD's) and he pulls out TLS and Phantom in HD-DVD. At that point I said sure and paid for them and got out of there before someone told this guy that they weren't allowed to do that. I know that I completely lucked out. It was pretty exiciting.

More info to come,
DD

darinp2

04-15-06, 06:53 AM

I haven't opened mine yet, but did get a look at a friends. I was happy to see that with a disk he mastered the fast forward control worked very well. I think it was going at 10x on one setting and had a speed even higher than that. Limited fast forwarding is one reason I dislike using an HTPC in general. Also, the pause just put a little symbol in the upper left corner that disappeared quickly. This will be great for doing calibrations where having extra things on the screen can throw things off or just for looking at certain images and not wanting extra things on the screen at the time.

I'm hoping I can get some movies tomorrow, but for now I want to figure out how to master some of my own disks. And then there are the family obligations for Easter weekend. :)

Also, sorry if this has been posted as I don't have time to read the whole thread right now, but the player comes with a month of free Netflix (even for existing customers) and there is a flyer about firmware upgrades. We can either hook into the internet or send in a card and when there is a firmware disk update available they will send it to the address on there.

--Darin

quickfire

04-15-06, 07:42 AM

One sec...

480p

When I try to change the resolution any higher on DVD it says High resolution output is Prohibited with this contet.
PLEASE tell us you haven't turned something on in menu to allow FULL HD resolution thru Component.......You did say that you have a NON HDTV correct?I'm starting to get worried:(

rlhjr34

04-15-06, 08:10 AM

I noticed on the audio a setup screen shots settings for a 5.1 system. Is there an option on the menu to setup a 7.1 system?

rlhjr34

04-15-06, 08:11 AM

I guess that setup for 5.1 is for the 5.1 analog outs on the back?

Y2JDMBFAN

04-15-06, 08:25 AM

Can someone with the actual HD-DVD movies try and output 1080i over component? I know he said you couldn't do it with a regular DVD, but possibly you can with the HD-DVD?

Tom Bley

04-15-06, 08:34 AM

PLEASE tell us you haven't turned something on in menu to allow FULL HD resolution thru Component.......You did say that you have a NON HDTV correct?I'm starting to get worried:(

So Warner is already using ITC on there titles....Idiots!! :mad: Can any of you with the Warner movies hook up via component and see if it is HD or not...please?

darinp2

04-15-06, 08:34 AM

So far I've only been able to get 480p, 720p, and 1080i over HDMI. I'm not sure if there is something else I'm supposed to be doing to get 480i.

--Darin

quickfire

04-15-06, 08:43 AM

Darin....do you have a HD disk?If so will you or someone try to see if it will pass full resolution over component?If it doesn't then we all have been LIED to!

darinp2

04-15-06, 08:47 AM

Darin....do you have a HD disk?If so will you or someone try to see if it will pass full resolution over component?If it doesn't then we all have been LIED to!I don't have any official ones (just HD stuff a friend mastered on HD).

But please settle down. Rockokma clearly said 480p with DVD, so you seem to be jumping to a conclusion that is incorrect based on the information he provided. A limit of 480p for DVDs wouldn't tell you anything about ICT or not with HD material. There are different rules for DVDs than HD DVDs.

--Darin

Don H

04-15-06, 08:51 AM

Reading reviews on new equipment makes AVSFORUM worth its weight in gold.

I'll wait for my Pioneer BD.

darinp2

04-15-06, 08:54 AM

As far as DVD playback, I didn't compare to my Momitsu V880 directly and it is early in the morning with my eyes being a little tired, but I was pretty impressed with the images I got from "The Two Towers" DVD out of the HD-A1 at 1080i over HDMI into the Sony Ruby. My guess is that it will turn out to be a pretty good upscaling player. Really should compare it to my Panasonic 77S, but I'm not sure when I'll get time for that.

A couple of other things. One hopefully doesn't relate to others. The down button my remote seems to work about 2% of the time. So far I've been able to use up and the side to side spots to get where I wanted to go.

The other one I don't consider a huge deal, but it would be nice if it wasn't there. Looks like the HDMI output doesn't pass blacker-than-black (things below video 16 look like they get set to 16), but does pass whiter-than-reference-white (so things above video 235 still come through). The white one is the one I care about more as I set video 16 to the minimum my digital projectors can do, but the player really should pass blacker-than-black correctly. Looks like it does over component.

--Darin

benthx

04-15-06, 09:00 AM

Well talk about the great Easter Egg hunt! Looking for hidden Easter Eggs...... Oh I mean HD DVDs :p

Hey Spizz isnt it past your bed time over east :D

Ben

jedilips

04-15-06, 09:01 AM

anyone have non-region 1 dvds to confirm region coding?

private Angus

04-15-06, 09:10 AM

hi...i'm from europe and i can only agree, please can anyone try a rc2 disc if it works
...thanks...
if doesn't work for now, there probably will be a cheat soon, hopefully ;)

khoyme

04-15-06, 09:12 AM

So here's a tougher one -- can anyone determine if the Toshiba supports discrete power-on/power-off commands. I want to integrate everything into an easy-to-use remote (WAF - you know). My Oppo doesn't support these, which is a pain. If the Toshiba does, it would be a no-brainer to get it just for a better integrated up-converting player.

Ken

thebland

04-15-06, 09:20 AM

I'd like to know what the MAXIMAL distance allowed for SPEAKER DISTANCE set up in the audio set up menu??? How many feet max? 20 ft? 30 ft??

Thanks!!!!

rezzy

04-15-06, 09:23 AM

Heh that would be lordodoubled.More likely, WiFi. He did have 3 in the picture, or were they Photoshopped in? :p

quickfire

04-15-06, 09:43 AM

e_professor

04-15-06, 10:04 AM

Can someone with the HD DVD movies confirm whether or not they have the SD version on the disk also??There is a thread somewere on the board that stated this to be a fact! Is it true???It would make logical sense....that way WE could play HD DVD disc in a SD DVD player as well!

All HD DVD discs to be released this month Apr and May by Warner and Universal does not have a SD (480i) version of the film. The 480i video specification is meant for the bonus materials (featurettes, documentaries). Warner's 1st 3 HD DVD releases have their bonus materials ported directly from DVD, hence they are presented in 480i video.

The only time you will be able to play both HD and SD versions of the same film is when the titles are released on what is called a Twin Format (Hybrid) discs. Twin Format discs can store a HD movie on one side (or layer) and SD version on the other. The DVD-ROM portion (layer or side) of the Twin Format discs will play on your normal DVD player. Titles released on such hybrid discs will feature the HD DVD and DVD logo. Until now, Warner seems to be the only one interested in releasing new titles on Twin Format discs on top of HD DVD releases, although they will be slightly steeper in retail price.

Ron-P

04-15-06, 10:12 AM

Hey Everybody!!! My wife and I just finished watching The Last Samurai and let my tell you it looked so good. I was watching it on a 46" Samsung DLP which has 720p native resolution. I did my calibration of the display using the THX optimizer on the SD DVD - SW EPIII. It was connected to the TV via HDMI and I sent the audio to my receiver using the Toslink out to the receiver. Tomorrow I'm going to unhook my DVD-A player and hook up the analog outs so I can experience DD+.

PQ
I have to say that this is the best HD footage I have ever watched. Both my wife and I commented over and over again about how there was no visible pixelation (macro blocking?). When I watch shows like LOST it looks great but there is always some level of blocking during the night and/or dark shots. I saw none of that on this DVD. Also there were no jagged edges - It simply looked superb. We kept saying how clean and finely detailed everything looked. The picture was just stunning. Ultimately I felt like this is what I had been looking for - namely HD without all of the artifacts and problems that I constantly see when watching HD over cable. Unfortunately I don't have D-theater or OTA HD-DVD but it looks a lot better than the HD that I get from Time Warner.

Upconverting
I watched just a little of SW EPIII and I feel like it does a good job of upconverting but after watching an actual HD-DVD it's going to be hard to go back SD DVD's.
I'll need to watch a whole movie upconverted before I can make a lot of detailed observations.

Audio
I used the toslink out to my Kenwood reciever. This is a very consumer level receiver but I play music for a living and I feel like I've spent a lot of time making my system sound as good as it possibly can. I thought the audio sounded great (Dolby DD) but I'm looking forward to hearing DD+ through the 5.1 analog outs.

The Player
It's big Seems very solidly built. Remote is nice. Took me a while to get the hang of the remote. It seems silly but it only needs a gentle touch. Once I figured that out and turned on the sound for the remote (soft beep) it was working pretty well for me. The setup menu is simple and easy to navigate. I did notice a some fan noise while I was going through the setup menu (silent room - no audio through the system). Once I closed the glass door on the entertainment center and started the movie I could not hear any fan noise. This is not the fatest player I've dealt with - everything kind of takes a second to get going: reading the disc, starting to play etc., it's not a big deal at all but you definitely get the feeling that this is a 1st gen player and as time goes on all of these little details will be totally smoothed out.

Misc.
There is an "HD-DVD Introduction" commercial from WB at the beginning of TLS about HD-DVD: it's features, benefits, upcoming titles, etc. and honestly it was really cool. My wife is interested in this stuff but she is more of an average consumer when it comes to home theater. It made her go "now I get why you're into this". It really gives the average person on the street a great demo of why HD-DVD is so much better than SD DVD. I thought it was awesome. Also, in this commericial, there are clips of HP, Matrix, Batman Begins and ,oh my goodness, I can not wait to watch these movies on HD-DVD. They look so amazing.

Final Thoughts
I can not wait for all of you to get your players/movies. I have learned so much about home theater by being a member of AVS forum and I can't wait until we can all geek out together about our HD-DVD players!!!

p.s.
Someone asked how I got the movies today. Honestly I was all ready to pay - I was not going to even ask about the movies because I know they are not supposed to release them before the street date - and the guy helping me asked If I wanted some movies to go with my player. Obviously I said of course - if they have them - (I was assuming they would be SD DVD's) and he pulls out TLS and Phantom in HD-DVD. At that point I said sure and paid for them and got out of there before someone told this guy that they weren't allowed to do that. I know that I completely lucked out. It was pretty exiciting.

More info to come,
DD

Good to hear DD, about how good the HD titles look. I cannot wait to get my hands on a few. Looks like your findings with the upconversion, remote and player itself are about the same as mine.

On thing I noticed with the HDMI connection, it's not very solid feeling, there's a bit of play in it. Did you notice this as well? I thought once plugged in it would be a bit more of a tight connection.

Eddie Wan

04-15-06, 10:21 AM

Darin....do you have a HD disk?If so will you or someone try to see if it will pass full resolution over component?If it doesn't then we all have been LIED to!

Can anyone shed some light on this important question? Many thanks.

amirm

04-15-06, 10:24 AM

I don't have any official ones (just HD stuff a friend mastered on HD).

But please settle down. Rockokma clearly said 480p with DVD, so you seem to be jumping to a conclusion that is incorrect based on the information he provided. A limit of 480p for DVDs wouldn't tell you anything about ICT or not with HD material. There are different rules for DVDs than HD DVDs.

--Darin
Darin is very much correct. DVD and HD DVD rules are VERY different. Here are a two differences that are the opposite of what some folks think (that new formats are more restrictive):

1. HD DVD currently does not have region coding. So you can play Japanese titles on your US player and vice versa for example (as I have done). Region coding however, is enfored on DVD discs however.

2. HD DVD allows at least one mandatory recording/copying/moving of the content from the disc to another. Currently DVDs are not authorized for any form of copying/moving. And no, Toshiba doesn't support this since it has no place to put the copy. You would need a home server or a PC to make such recordings.

And clarifying yet again, the rules for upsampling DVDs is that non-computer devices are not allowed to output more than 480p on their analog connections. Instead, you must use a digital, copy protected output such as HDMI or DVI+HDCP. This has nothing to do with ICT flag which does not exist on DVDs anyway. Unlike ICT, no studio has a choice. It is a licensing thing for the player itself.

ALL the HD DVD titles I have played output at full resolution at 1080i with component on my Japanese player. I am 99.9999% sure that the same of the US model. So please don't get concerned unless you hear otherwise.

Amir

e_professor

04-15-06, 10:31 AM

Thanks for the clarification, amirm.

thaxx

04-15-06, 10:35 AM

I found this thread about a hour ago, so I drove to my Best Buy® and they had 2 players and all three movie out on display (about 10 of each) I just picked up Last Samurai and Serenity.
I was going to wait for the BR, DVD-HD to sort itself out first, but I couldn't resist.
I was really surprised my Best Buy even had this at all, because I'm in a sleepy little college town that is behind the curve in almost everything.
This whole town revolves around the Gators.
Anyway I will report back later. My display is a Panasonic AE-900, on a 114" wide 2:35 screen.

Eddie Wan

04-15-06, 10:35 AM

ALL the HD DVD titles I have played output at full resolution at 1080i with component on my Japanese player. I am 99.9999% sure that the same of the US model. So please don't get concerned unless you hear otherwise.

Amir

Amir,

Thanks. Your confirmation is good enough for me. I can forgo the pleasure of upscaling SD DVDs, but output full resolution at 1080i with component outputs are of paramount importance as I have an "older" CRT HDTV.

J.H.

04-15-06, 10:40 AM

I'm getting in late here on this thread but at least we know the HD-A1 has bass management and that is very cool! J.H.

larrimore

04-15-06, 10:56 AM

Just wondering as I have two displays in my media room. I could send HDMI to the projector and component to the flat panel.

amirm

04-15-06, 11:09 AM

Just wondering as I have two displays in my media room. I could send HDMI to the projector and component to the flat panel.
Unfortunately not. You have to select one or the other.

Amir

quickfire

04-15-06, 11:12 AM

Unfortunately not. You have to select one or the other.

Amir
Thats not good.....can you atleast switch HDMI/Component with remote?If so I can live with it.

barhoram

04-15-06, 11:14 AM

So currently, the best sound option for a theater with a 7.1 setup (w/o HDMI on their Pre-Amp) for a HD-DVD would be:

1) connect the 5.1 analog ouputs of the Toshiba to PreAmp's analog in
2) Have the Toshiba covert the DD+ soundtrack
3) Have Pre-Amp digitize that incoming 5.1 DD+ and layer DDPLIIx over (for 7.1)?

Lou Sytsma

04-15-06, 11:16 AM

And clarifying yet again, the rules for upsampling DVDs is that non-computer devices are not allowed to output more than 480p on their analog connections. Instead, you must use a digital, copy protected output such as HDMI or DVI+HDCP. This has nothing to do with ICT flag which does not exist on DVDs anyway. Unlike ICT, no studio has a choice. It is a licensing thing for the player itself.
Forgive my confusion but I thought this limitation was imposed by copy-protection on SD-DVDs. Is that not why with current upscaling DVD players only some SD-DVDs will upconvert past 480p?

Also, if one were to copy a SD-DVD and play the copy, could this allow for upconversion past 480p?

barhoram

04-15-06, 11:50 AM

Jeff,

Did you consider the A1 model instead for it's rs-232 connection? (thought I read you were going to a Crestron control system).

blake18

04-15-06, 11:53 AM

Wow, no HD-DVD movie screenshots? Very dissappointing. :(

longshot

04-15-06, 12:00 PM

I'm really anxious to hear reviews rom three members:

Darin- I believe he has the Sony Ruby
Jeff- Sony Qualia
Art- Stacked G90's

All three have reference systems, have been forum members for a long time and are not strictly fanboys. They also will be projecting on a screen at least 100" diagonal if not bigger.

Gentleman, get to work!

Ron-P

04-15-06, 12:02 PM

Wow, no HD-DVD movie screenshots? Very dissappointing.
No movies yet, not until Tuesday. A few have gotten lucky but the stores that are putting them out could get in serious trouble.

vinodk

04-15-06, 12:05 PM

I am anxious to hear how it performs with 720p DLP front projectors outputting @ 720p as good number of us have this setup.

Ron-P

04-15-06, 12:11 PM

I am anxious to hear how it performs with 720p DLP front projectors outputting @ 720p as good number of us have this setup.

I've got a Z3 (LCD) and I can say the image is all around better upscaling to 720p over 480p. I commented on it back on page 2. It's not a huge leap in PQ but it's noticeable.

Ron-P

04-15-06, 12:12 PM

Can't wait to hear your thoughts Robert. Congrats on the purchase!

Lou Sytsma

04-15-06, 12:14 PM

Can't wait Obi. Anything that gets you to do a review is always something to look forward to.

thaxx

04-15-06, 12:28 PM

This is a preveiw/ preveiw..
The remote needs major work, it is very much like the Oppo DVD players remote (the first one) I need my +40 reading glasses to read it. no back-lit feature.
I first tried Serenity movie, the splash screen and FBI warning and begining Universal logos are in 16X9. ( I was hoping they would change this on 2:35 movies) The picture quality is good, but I would of thought it would be better. (Not fimilar with this movie) I think the best my Panny 900 has shown me was The Masters on CBS OTA and HDNET World report, and some of their boxing.
It is of course better than SDDVD, just not the WOW I was hoping for.
I'll try the other movie, and report back later.
Oh, and any questions on the sound quality are going to have to wait, as I just hooked it up, and haven't even connected audio yet.

Ron-P

04-15-06, 12:31 PM

I doubt anyone will get in trouble for that. What kind of trouble? From who?

The studios, they are very strict on release dates. I don't recall any retailer getting in actual trouble but it can happen.

thaxx

04-15-06, 12:38 PM

WiFi-Spy

04-15-06, 12:51 PM

Make sure you do the same thing with the movies when they come out.... :rolleyes:

:rolleyes:

Tom Bley

04-15-06, 12:55 PM

I've tried all of the resolution outputs on the HD movie. and at the least, the lettering in the 1080i output is very noticable better than 720p. The 720p showed jagged edges,where the 1080i was smooth. more to follow.....

How do you have it connected thaxx? Can you please check via component connection weather it will pass an HD signal?

thaxx

04-15-06, 01:07 PM

thaxx

04-15-06, 01:09 PM

How do you have it connected thaxx? Can you please check via component connection weather it will pass an HD signal?
It's connected HDMI to HDMI 15`cable.
I'll get back with you latter on the component connection.

Ken H

04-15-06, 01:10 PM

Going forward from this post, this topic is for end user reports, questions, etc.

All posts relating to retail sightings go here:

Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD - First Retail Sightings! (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=667179)

LordofDoubleD

04-15-06, 01:11 PM

A couple of other things. One hopefully doesn't relate to others. The down button my remote seems to work about 2% of the time. So far I've been able to use up and the side to side spots to get where I wanted to go.

The other one I don't consider a huge deal, but it would be nice if it wasn't there. Looks like the HDMI output doesn't pass blacker-than-black (things below video 16 look like they get set to 16)

--Darin

I had the same trouble with the remote. While using the on-screen menus (which rock!) durning TLS there was a time when I simply could not move down to select an item. I found that during on remote sound (quiet beep) and a using a gentle touch seemed to help a lot.

I also noticed the lack of blacker than black using the THX optimizer.

DigitalfreakNYC

04-15-06, 01:11 PM

Anyone try a DVD-R or Dual-Layer DVD+R on it yet? I'd love to know how they work.

absolutic

04-15-06, 01:13 PM

Well , unless I'm missing something, I'm not impressed. I sure hope for HDDVD sake these movies aren't a example of things to come.
Yes, it's better than most SD-DVD, but for example ,The Fifth Element is better, to me, than both of these movies pq.
My display has shown better pq on number of different HD programing, including, believe it or not Directv.
Maybe you folks with your Rubys will get better results than me.
Like I said, it is better than most SD, but it isen't as big a jump in pq than it was going from VHS to DVD, at least not on a large display.
Mine is going back, unless there are other facts that come about, or better pq movies are released soon.

thaxx, thanks for your honest, not hyped, review. Did you use component or hdmi/dvi to connect the player?

WiFi-Spy

04-15-06, 01:14 PM

Anyone try a DVD-R or Dual-Layer DVD+R on it yet? I'd love to know how they work.

DVD-R and DVD+R have worked for me

WiFi-Spy

04-15-06, 01:15 PM

I had the same trouble with the remote. While using the on-screen menus (which rock!) durning TLS there was a time when I simply could not move down to select an item. I found that during on remote sound (quiet beep) and a using a gentle touch seemed to help a lot.

I also noticed the lack of blacker than black using the THX optimizer.

did you enable the enhanced black ?

thaxx

04-15-06, 01:15 PM

thaxx, thanks for your honest, not hyped, review. Did you use component or hdmi/dvi to connect the player?

see above.
This thread is going so fast, it's easy to miss posts.

thebland

04-15-06, 01:17 PM

Just got mine home.

Have Phantom HD DVD

I will be able to do a full analog pass through on my processor so as to get the best sound from the analog outputs!

Does anyone know what Phantom will pass (DD PLUS?).

Ready to feed my Qualia some real 1080 material.

trickdaddy

04-15-06, 01:22 PM

Not sure if this was mentioned; and, if so, my apologies, but is this new player backwards compatible with the current s-dvd catalog?

Ron-P

04-15-06, 01:25 PM

Yes, trickdaddy, it is. It will also upscale the SD-DVDs to 720p.

DigitalfreakNYC

04-15-06, 01:26 PM

DVD-R and DVD+R have worked for me

Have any DL ones? That's the real test.

LordofDoubleD

04-15-06, 01:26 PM

did you enable the enhanced black ?

Yes I did. I actually did that before using the optimizer.

mauricef

04-15-06, 01:29 PM

I got mine as well from Best But but the woman in charge of the media section would not sell me any HDDVDs until Tuesday. Maybe I'll try another store. She said they did not receive many discs so get there early on Tuesday. She said she knew other stores were selling early but she was going to follow the rules. Why do I always get the person who follows the rules!

Maurice

RussTC3

04-15-06, 01:30 PM

Well , unless I'm missing something, I'm not impressed. I sure hope for HDDVD sake these movies aren't a example of things to come.
Yes, it's better than most SD-DVD, but for example ,The Fifth Element is better, to me, than both of these movies pq.
My display has shown better pq on number of different HD programing, including, believe it or not Directv.
Maybe you folks with your Rubys will get better results than me.
Like I said, it is better than most SD, but it isen't as big a jump in pq than it was going from VHS to DVD, at least not on a large display.
Mine is going back, unless there are other facts that come about, or better pq movies are released soon.
Are you sure you didn't put in the SD-DVD side of Serenity. ;)

I ask only because I find it hard to believe two people can use the unit and get a completely different reaction to the content.

I'd like to read unbiased opinions of the quality and when one says it looks unbelievable and another says it looks slightly better than SD-DVD, something is wrong here.

thaxx

04-15-06, 01:34 PM

Are you sure you didn't put in the SD-DVD side of Serenity. ;)

I ask only because I find it hard to believe two people can use the unit and get a completely different reaction to the content.

I'd like to read unbiased opinions of the quality and when one says it looks unbelievable and another says it looks slightly better than SD-DVD, something is wrong here.
I missed that one, who said it looked unbelievable?

WiFi-Spy

04-15-06, 01:34 PM

see above.
This thread is going so fast, it's easy to miss posts.

what is your display device? :)

Lou Sytsma

04-15-06, 01:35 PM

Like I said, it is better than most SD, but it isen't as big a jump in pq than it was going from VHS to DVD, at least not on a large display.Which is the reaction the average viewer is going to have I fear. This will also be the main reason why the next gen of DVD players will not be adopted nearly as fast as DVD.

Right now it sounds like HD-DVD upconversion is similar to that of existing SD Zenith, LG, or whatever upconverting player, and those players will upconvert everything protected or not. Hopefully there will be more excitement as more HD DVDs are viewed but right now the overall response seems fairly mute.

williamtassone

04-15-06, 01:36 PM

Well , unless I'm missing something, I'm not impressed..

What was your display?

RussTC3

04-15-06, 01:39 PM

I missed that one, who said it looked unbelievable?
The following makes it sound like the quality is amazing:

Hey Everybody!!! My wife and I just finished watching The Last Samurai and let my tell you it looked so good. I was watching it on a 46" Samsung DLP which has 720p native resolution. I did my calibration of the display using the THX optimizer on the SD DVD - SW EPIII. It was connected to the TV via HDMI and I sent the audio to my receiver using the Toslink out to the receiver. Tomorrow I'm going to unhook my DVD-A player and hook up the analog outs so I can experience DD+.

PQ
I have to say that this is the best HD footage I have ever watched. Both my wife and I commented over and over again about how there was no visible pixelation (macro blocking?). When I watch shows like LOST it looks great but there is always some level of blocking during the night and/or dark shots. I saw none of that on this DVD. Also there were no jagged edges - It simply looked superb. We kept saying how clean and finely detailed everything looked. The picture was just stunning. Ultimately I felt like this is what I had been looking for - namely HD without all of the artifacts and problems that I constantly see when watching HD over cable. Unfortunately I don't have D-theater or OTA HD-DVD but it looks a lot better than the HD that I get from Time Warner.

SurfingMatt27

04-15-06, 01:44 PM

Not surprising that the Toshiba does'nt pass BTB,i never really scene a Toshiba player that could to be honest.

To those that have watched "the last samurai" how sharp are the colors compared to the original DVD.I mean the original DVD was very good in PQ by it's own merit,just curious to see how much an improvement there was in color sharpness,generally the quality of the colors.

Alan Gouger

04-15-06, 01:45 PM

A buddy in Florida saw the fed guy unloading 5 and he ran inside. He bought two one for himself and one for me. I will have it on Tuesday:) Were like little kids but its fun:)

jones07

04-15-06, 01:46 PM

=Originally Posted by LordofDoubleD
PQ
I have to say that this is the best HD footage I have ever watched. Both my wife and I commented over and over again about how there was no visible pixelation (macro blocking?). When I watch shows like LOST it looks great but there is always some level of blocking during the night and/or dark shots. I saw none of that on this DVD. Also there were no jagged edges - It simply looked superb. We kept saying how clean and finely detailed everything looked. The picture was just stunning. Ultimately I felt like this is what I had been looking for - namely HD without all of the artifacts and problems that I constantly see when watching HD over cable. Unfortunately I don't have D-theater or OTA HD-DVD but it looks a lot better than the HD that I get from Time Warner.:

Now that's what I want to hear :)

Larry Sutliff

04-15-06, 01:49 PM

Which is the reaction the average viewer is going to have I fear. This will also be the main reason why the next gen of DVD players will not be adopted nearly as fast as DVD.

Right now it sounds like HD-DVD upconversion is similar to that of existing SD Zenith, LG, or whatever upconverting player, and those players will upconvert everything protected or not. Hopefully there will be more excitement as more HD DVDs are viewed but right now the overall response seems fairly mute.

I've seen two opinions on the picture quality, one that says the picture isn't as good as he thought it would be, the other that it's amazing. Most people don't even have HD-DVD's yet, even those that purchased the player, so we should wait until more software is in peoples players before we start to say that the "overall response" is "fairly mute".

thaxx

04-15-06, 01:49 PM

Well my screen is 114" wide on a Panasonic 900. But it was 114" on everything else I have wached prior to today.
I'm just trying to give comparisons, so you might have a idea of the differences.
I know it would look much better on a smaller display, but i'm not going to shrink my screen to accomodate HD-DVD.
Remember I haven't seen these movies in SD, but I was expecting HD DVD to be at least as good as any source I have seen on my display up till now.
That is why I'm dissaponted, because I have seen better HD on my Projector.
Maybe "The Bland" will have better results with his Qualia.

SurfingMatt27

04-15-06, 01:51 PM

A buddy in Florida saw the fed guy unloading 5 and he ran inside. He bought two one for himself and one for me. I will have it on Tuesday:) Were like little kids but its fun:)

Congrats Alan:)

The dvd player will probably take you away from your MOD time here at the forums :D

RWetmore

04-15-06, 01:53 PM

I got mine up and working now. I had some trouble figuring out how to get it to output via HDMI, but eventually figured it out.

The PQ on Last Samurai is very good, but does not blow me away compared to the regular DVD upconvered on my Sony 3100ES player.

Larry Sutliff

04-15-06, 01:53 PM

Eddie Wan

04-15-06, 01:54 PM

Which is the reaction the average viewer is going to have I fear. This will also be the main reason why the next gen of DVD players will not be adopted nearly as fast as DVD.

Right now it sounds like HD-DVD upconversion is similar to that of existing SD Zenith, LG, or whatever upconverting player, and those players will upconvert everything protected or not. Hopefully there will be more excitement as more HD DVDs are viewed but right now the overall response seems fairly mute.

When I upgraded from VHS to DVD, the change was very noticeable even with normal TVs. From SD DVD to HD-DVD or Blu-ray, many people just do not have a good HDTV or HDTV Ready TV to see the difference.

sspears

04-15-06, 01:54 PM

I just picked up a player along with Last Samurai, Phantom and Serenity at a local Best Buy. Here are the specs on the three titles:

Last Samurai:
VC-1: 1080P, 18 Mbps avg, 24 Mbps peak
Dolby Digital-Plus: English 5.1, 640 Kbps 16 bit/48 kHz

Phantom:
VC-1: 1080P, 15 Mbps avg, 21 Mbps peak
Dolby True HD: English 5.1, 1.6 Mbps average and 3 Mbps peak, 16 bit/48 kHz
Dolby Digital-Plus: English 5.1, 640 Kbps 16 bit/48 kHz

Serenity:
VC-1: 1080p, 16 Mbps avg, 24 Mbps peak
Dolby Digital Plus: English 5.1, 1.5 Mbps, 16 bit/48 kHz

WiFi-Spy

04-15-06, 01:55 PM

thaxx

04-15-06, 01:55 PM

Hooked up the audio analog 5.1, sounds very very good.

SurfingMatt27

04-15-06, 01:57 PM

WiFi-Spy

04-15-06, 01:58 PM

Perhaps this is where 1080p will be needed.

but he has a 720p PJ

dts.fan

04-15-06, 01:59 PM

Hooked up the audio analog 5.1, sounds very very good.

But is it DD+/DTS-HD or just standard DD/DTS?

thaxx

04-15-06, 02:01 PM

But is it DD+/DTS-HD or just standard DD/DTS?
standard DD, but it really is good.

dts.fan

04-15-06, 02:02 PM

standard DD, but it really is good.
Are you able to get DD+/DTS-HD using the 5.1ch analog outputs?

SurfingMatt27

04-15-06, 02:02 PM

but he has a 720p PJ

I'm talking 1080p in general for bigscreens, this is where 1080p really shines.

Penton-Man

04-15-06, 02:03 PM

I just picked up a player along with Last Samurai, Phantom and Serenity at a local Best Buy. Here are the specs on the three titles:

Phantom:
VC-1 1080P
15 Mbps avg, 21 Mbps peak

Dolby True HD:
English 5.1, 1.6 Mbps average and 3 Mbps peak, 16 bit / 48 kHz

Dolby Digital-Plus:
English 5.1, 640 Kbps 16 bit / 48 kHz

Thanks !

Now somebody should call Jeff as I don't see his little green lightee on and tell him to get to work with the hook-ups and review! :D

DavidHir

04-15-06, 02:03 PM

thaxx

04-15-06, 02:04 PM

You know, earlier I said I would be returning this unit, but the more I think about it, I'm looking for any improvment in pq that I can get, so if HD DVD or BR turns out to be just a bit better than SD, and software prices come down in price,thats still a improvment, even if it doesn't turn out to be as good as the hype, that I thought it would be.

Art Sonneborn

04-15-06, 02:07 PM

Art, weren't you the one disappointed when the A1 was believed to have a non-detachable power cord? Guess again. ;)

George,
I was just joking. I was trying to see if I could bait a few to start talking about video qulity the MRI treated power cords etc. I think most of the cable stuff is BS.Sorry if you didn't see later that I said it was in jest.

Art

thaxx

04-15-06, 02:09 PM

All be back later, I want to watch some more.
The Bland can answer some questions for a bit.

Grubert

04-15-06, 02:10 PM

RWetmore

04-15-06, 02:12 PM

How does the Toshiba upconvert SD compared to your 3100ES? My guess is the Sony will blow it away.

I haven't tried that out yet, but I doubt it will be as good as the 3100ES, which as you seem to know, produces a top notch upconverted picture.

sspears

04-15-06, 02:12 PM

Grubert,

I don't know the total disc space but I can tell you that the Phantom VC-1 video takes ~15 GB and Last Samurai VC-1 takes ~20 GB.

Aaron Davis

04-15-06, 02:13 PM

Serenity:
VC-1: 1080p, 16 Mbps avg, 24 Mbps peak
Dolby Digital Plus: English 5.1, 1.5 Mbps, 16 bit/48 kHz

1.5mbps... nice.

I have a feeling like its going to be how DVD was, some titles are great PQ, some arent so good. It will vary from title to title.

EchoBaseGeek

04-15-06, 02:15 PM

Just picked up mine from my local HT shop for anyone with DVI input I am running HDMI-DVI and it works just fine...

My impressions so far, Kong upconverting to 1080i is very nice.....for reference I was using a Denon 1910 over DVI

now to go play....

more later

Echo

TTahiti

04-15-06, 02:15 PM

Congrats Ron.

I can't wait to see how SD DVDs look and also the HD DVDs. I love that I can still play my standard definition DVDs and CDs too!

I hear HD DVDs will be on sale on Tuesday in stores, did you hear that too? My friend says they're on sale on-line. And they're within a few dollars of an SD - that's great!

Finally HD quality at home. Can't wait to find it in my local store.

Jon_W

04-15-06, 02:15 PM

RWetmore

04-15-06, 02:16 PM

Does anyone know if Last Samurai was shot on film or digital? I see what appears to be some fine film grain, but I recall reading somewhere that this was shot digitally.

Aaron Davis

04-15-06, 02:18 PM

So if DD+ is outputting 640kbps and the DD is also outputting that bit rate then there should not really be a difference in sound quality if you listen to TLS via spdif or via the 6 channel analog outputs, right? Where as DD+ will sound better than DD when listening to Serenity because DD+ is 1.5mbps, correct?

Yes, it will depend on what the studios give the DD+ for bitrate, but analog connections is a safe bet since it will output whatever is decoded, not just a standard stream.

TLS was filmed on 35mm film according to IMDB.

Larry Sutliff

04-15-06, 02:22 PM

Does anyone know if Last Samurai was shot on film or digital? I see what appears to be some fine film grain, but I recall reading somewhere that this was shot digitally.

I'm 99.9% sure that it was shot on film.

Hyabusha

04-15-06, 02:22 PM

Anyone hooked up the HDMI thru thier audio reciever? Is DD+ being passed thru?

ball3r

04-15-06, 02:22 PM

Alan Gouger

04-15-06, 02:29 PM

I will not have mine until Tuesday. I know viewing time must be limited so far but anyone noticing any EE with these titles, thank you.

Bill

04-15-06, 02:30 PM

Have mine waiting on hold at Best Buy for me, I'm off to get it! :)

grinchy

04-15-06, 02:31 PM

I think the PQ difference depends on what you're used to (conjecture, I haven't seen it). I do know that OTA-HD, which the original poster had not seen, is superior to Cable or DTV HD; so much so that I cancelled my cable and watch OTA HD only.

I would not expect much PQ difference between OTA HD and this player. However, I would expect a good step up from up-converted 480i/p material.

Worse, I live in "surf city" and am having a very hard time resisting a trip up to the BB. If they were selling SW I might not be able to resist.

MrBigglesworth

04-15-06, 02:33 PM

So is DD+ only available on the Analog out? It wont work on Digital Coax or SPDIF at all? I need to check my receiver, as I cannot remember if it even has 6ch analog inputs. Ive been using a Coax or SPDIF for so long.

HDTVwannabe

04-15-06, 02:37 PM

Really hoping we'll see plenty of screenshots of the players/HD-DVD movies in action between today and end of the weekend......... *hint, hint!* :)

boo

04-15-06, 02:37 PM

Jon_W

04-15-06, 02:39 PM

DD+ might also be avaliable via HDMI as well, but I think it is turned into LPCM

wildland1

04-15-06, 02:41 PM

WHat setting works best with HDMI... I heard it gets grainy...i have a Zenith 50 plasma....sugesstion 480..720...1080

Hyabusha

04-15-06, 02:44 PM

I do have a HDMI reciever, so I should use analog 5.1 anyway?

Jon_W

04-15-06, 02:46 PM

With a Denon 5805 I would try it out via HDMI to see if your receivers can do 6 channel PCM via HDMI

MarkZ

04-15-06, 02:47 PM

And clarifying yet again, the rules for upsampling DVDs is that non-computer devices are not allowed to output more than 480p on their analog connections. Instead, you must use a digital, copy protected output such as HDMI or DVI+HDCP. This has nothing to do with ICT flag which does not exist on DVDs anyway. Unlike ICT, no studio has a choice. It is a licensing thing for the player itself.

ALL the HD DVD titles I have played output at full resolution at 1080i with component on my Japanese player. I am 99.9999% sure that the same of the US model. So please don't get concerned unless you hear otherwise.

Amir

I'm still a tad confused. I have a Momitsu V880 that supposedly upconverts SD DVDs to 480p,720p, and 1080i over component. Am I just deluding myself that that's what's happening? Or is the Toshiba unit different? Should I hang onto the Momitsu for SD DVDS?

04-15-06, 02:47 PM

Until this morning, I had no intention of buying an HD DVD player -- I was just going to sit and wait until the Sony Blu-Ray player hit in August. That all changed when I read this thread! Seeing all the pics, especially LordofDoubleD's shot of him standing outside Best Buy with his player and movies, was just too much.

I jumped in the car, drove to the Valencia, CA Best Buy and I now have a HD-A1 sitting in my living room. This is an addictive hobby we have, huh? I'll still get the Blu-Ray, but this will make the wait a lot more bearable. I've already changed my Netflix preferences.

As much as I begged and cajoled, the BB salesman claimed not to have any of the titles in store. I envy you guys who already have movies to play with!

Thanks to all for the pics and reports...

Roy

Ken H

04-15-06, 02:48 PM

WHat setting works best with HDMI... I heard it gets grainy...i have a Zenith 50 plasma....sugesstion 480..720...1080There is no universal correct answer. Try them all. See what looks best.

jack007

04-15-06, 02:48 PM

I just picked up mine at BB in Mission Viejo, CA. They had the Phantom and Samurai and I got them both, HECK YEAH!!! I have a Sharp 12k (110" silverstar) being fed via HDMI/DVI. I currently have a Pioneer Elite upconverting to my projector's native 720p resolution which I will compare the new Toshiba HD-DVD against. I will post a full review and comparison as soon as I can get it all hooked up and calibrated.

By the way, anyone picking up more than one of these with plans to sell them on EBAY should be ashamed of themselves. A guy came in to the store when I was walking with mine to the register and his eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store, priceless. Had I bought all 3 of them. like some people did, it would have been selfish on my part and I would have deprived 2 other guys of that great elation I felt when I found one. Any way, that is just my humble opinion. Buying them for a friend is one thing, but for personal gain on EBAY is another. Let as many guys as possible have that wonderful feeling of finding one of these at Best Buy on the shelves. I felt like a kid on XMAS morning again. I will get off my soap box now.

Review will follow shortly...

Jack

Hyabusha

04-15-06, 02:49 PM

With a Denon 5805 I would try it out via HDMI to see if your receivers can do 6 channel PCM via HDMI

I guess I'll have to wait till tues for some movies. :(

Ken H

04-15-06, 02:51 PM

I'm still a tad confused. I have a Momitsu V880 that supposedly upconverts SD DVDs to 480p,720p, and 1080i over component. Am I just deluding myself that that's what's happening? Or is the Toshiba unit different? Should I hang onto the Momitsu for SD DVDS?The Toshiba will only output SD DVD at 480p over component, according to amirm. The Momitsu will upconvert to your choice of 480p, 720p, 1080i. You'd have to see both to know for sure, but depending on the display, the Momitsu may look better.

highvista

04-15-06, 02:52 PM

thaxx

04-15-06, 02:56 PM

Here's a good comparison for ya.
School Ties on HDNet movies right now, has a small pq improvment over Serenity HD DVD.
Hbo.. House Arest is about the same as Serenity.
TNT.. The Avenger looks better than all of the above .
All being watch on Directv
So now you know how I see.
All of these differences are pretty small.

dts.fan

04-15-06, 02:57 PM

Thaxx, are you able to get DD+ using 5.1ch analog outputs?

thaxx

04-15-06, 02:59 PM

Thaxx, are you able to get DD+ using 5.1ch analog outputs?
No

MrBigglesworth

04-15-06, 02:59 PM

Anyone know if the manual is online yet at TACP? I can't seem to find it

Hyabusha

04-15-06, 03:00 PM

No

Why

Aaron Davis

04-15-06, 03:01 PM

No

That should work fine, DD+ is decoded to 5.1 analog, Amir confirmed with Dolby.

Ken H

04-15-06, 03:03 PM

Anyone know if the manual is online yet at TACP? I can't seem to find it

http://www.*********************/images/pdf/HD-A1SN%20Manual.pdf

Thanks to Robert, at Value Electronics.

thaxx

04-15-06, 03:04 PM

That should work fine, DD+ is decoded to 5.1 analog, Amir confirmed with Dolby.
Tell me how I would be able to tell if it's DD or DD+

Larry Sutliff

04-15-06, 03:07 PM

thaxx

04-15-06, 03:08 PM

Thanks for the comparisions, thaxx. Do you have any other software available, or just SERENITY?\
I've got Last Samurai too, I'll take a look at it again.

thebland

04-15-06, 03:10 PM

Thanks !

Now somebody should call Jeff as I don't see his little green lightee on and tell him to get to work with the hook-ups and review! :D

Got the player! Got Phantom (DD TrUE) Got things set up in a true analog pass through on my MC-12, my calibrator is emailing down a custom bass software file to input into my DSP for this player. Set up should be ideal for audio and video! Can't wait to run it!!

pclausen

04-15-06, 03:10 PM

I picked up a HD-A1 at the local BB (Charlottesville, VA) but unfortunately there were no titles to be found.

Anyway, I set it up on my "bench" as follows:

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/hda1bench.jpg

Turned on DHCP and it immediately came up on my LAN:

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/hda1dhcp.jpg

Close up of the main PCB, looks identical to the XA1, in fact the board is called PC-DIGITAL-XA1:

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/hda1pcb.jpg

I also popped the front cover and it looks like they are using an internal PC HD-DVD drive. It appears to have a regular power connector and IDE interface on the back.

http://www.cstone.net/~dk/hda1drive.jpg

thaxx

04-15-06, 03:12 PM

I need to back track on the audio part, I'm using coax for 5.1, not the analog.
Sorry

cooldjryan

04-15-06, 03:18 PM

Thaxx, are you able to get DD+ using 5.1ch analog outputs?
I was able to get DD+ using the 5.1 outs to a Yamaha 5890.

I just spent the first two hours of my shift (Best Buy employee) messing with the Toshiba hd-a1 and a Sony 50a10. My manager called me last night at closing to let me know they hooked it up, so I was very excited to come in today and check it out.

I started with The Last Samurai. As another poster has said, I wasn't blown away by the picture quality like I thought I was going to be. Was it a great improvement over sd-dvd? Yes. Was it identical to the HD I've been watching on DirecTV here at work and Adelphia Cable at home? No. The colors were much better than the sd-dvd version of the film. There are a few specific things on DirecTV that looked better to me (on this TV) such as the drifting car show on Discovery (the name escapes me right now) and a few other movies have more of a "wow" factor then the media I've seen so far on the hd-a1.

I'm gonna hookup the hd-a1 to a 60xbr1 and hopefully it will have a better chance to shine. :D

sjhu77

04-15-06, 03:22 PM

Posted earlier in the other thread. These are some of my initial thoughts/findings. The only HD-DVD title I bought was The Last Samurai. Through HDMI, 1080i produces a better picture than 720p into my Toshiba MT700. The unit wouldn't play non-R1 SD-DVDs, the front panel would say "Error". For Upconverting SD-DVD I still like my Oppo@720p better. With SD-DVD changing resolutions can be done on the fly, but with HD-DVD you have to start over at the beginning. The load time for HD-DVD was about 1 minute while SD-DVD was about 25 seconds. One weird thing though, currently I am using optical out and my Yamaha HTR-5490 is saying that the 5.1 track is DTS.

RWetmore

04-15-06, 03:25 PM

By the way, anyone picking up more than one of these with plans to sell them on EBAY should be ashamed of themselves. A guy came in to the store when I was walking with mine to the register and his eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store, priceless. Had I bought all 3 of them. like some people did, it would have been selfish on my part and I would have deprived 2 other guys of that great elation I felt when I found one. Any way, that is just my humble opinion. Buying them for a friend is one thing, but for personal gain on EBAY is another. Let as many guys as possible have that wonderful feeling of finding one of these at Best Buy on the shelves.

Ditto this. People who bought all three from their store should be ashamed. As soon as I had mine up and running, I cancelled both my preorders - one was from vanns.com for only 449.00. I could have made a profit selling it on ebay, but that just didn't seem ethical.