Didn't see this posted anywhere.


http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=23919

"Strategic reduction" sees prices drop to $399

Toshiba has slashed the price of its HD-DVD players in the US, effective immediately, in a move it labelled a "strategic reduction."

The manufacturer is dropping prices of its entire HD-DVD line of players, with the entry level HD-A2 reduced to USD 399 (EUR 299 / GBP 203) and the newly released HD-A20 model coming to market at USD 499 (EUR 374 / GBP 254).

The HD-DVD format features in Microsoft's Xbox 360 console while Sony's rival Blu-ray format is a key element of the PlayStation 3.

Supporters of the HD-DVD format, including Warner, Paramount and Eagle Rock have welcomed the move.

"The spring is ramping up well for HD-DVD, with an incredible list of movies and the best priced hardware on the market," commented Ken Graffeo, executive VP of marketing at Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Kev... it's all over the forums. Why would it be here?

Kevmann is just trying to contribute. For some of us, like me, that don't read the other forums, that's new news.

Madpoet,
Sorry, as Phil said, I don't really read the other forums very much.

Me neither, so thanks for that. I guess the BR Sony player on Craigslist for $900 locally isn't a great deal then? ;)

Me neither, so thanks for that. I guess the BR Sony player on Craigslist for $900 locally isn't a great deal then? ;)

Here is an easy tip, no BD player is a great deal! ;)

What is the difference/advantage of the HD-A20?

What? there are other forums?

What is the difference/advantage of the HD-A20?

Basically, it is an A2 with 1080p output.

Dave

All Sony requires is a simple token of earth and water.

Basically, it is an A2 with 1080p output.

Dave

Real 1080P or upconverted 1080P?
I haven't kept up. The last I read a few months ago was there were no players that output native 1080P. Has this changed?

Real 1080P or upconverted 1080P?
I haven't kept up. The last I read a few months ago was there were no players that output native 1080P. Has this changed?

What about refresh rate? 1080p @ 60Hz only? If so I'll just stick with my lowly HD-A1 feeding my VisionHDP 1080i @ 60Hz so I can turn it into 1080p @ 48Hz or some lower rez @ 72Hz. The whole 1080p "feature" on the player seems to be pointless if you have a nice scaler. Chances are that if you have a nice 8" or 9" set then you probably have a nice scaler or HTPC and wouldn't have any need HD DVD standalone player. It would seem that adding the capability to run different refresh rates on the player wouldn't be that hard for Toshiba to implement. Maybe us CRT FPTV guys are just a blip on their radar.

Real 1080P or upconverted 1080P?
I haven't kept up. The last I read a few months ago was there were no players that output native 1080P. Has this changed?

There is no upconverting involved at all--no HD DVD player has ever used upconverting on HD discs. The disc has 1080p/24 on it. When converted to 1080i/60 then to 1080p/60, there is no upconverting as DVDO processors and many displays do (upconverting each 540 field to 1080p. They do only deinterlacing which is trivially easy to do in the device with a fixed cadence progressive source as they have.

So, you would not be able to tell the difference between 1080p/24 -> 1080p/60 and 1080p/24 -> 1080i/60 -> 1080p/60. So why does it matter?

Dave

What about refresh rate? 1080p @ 60Hz only?

How many consumer product sources do you know that allow different refresh rates (other than 50 and 60? I only know of the momitsu that ever did that and its quality was never that impressive.

It would seem that adding the capability to run different refresh rates on the player wouldn't be that hard for Toshiba to implement. Maybe us CRT FPTV guys are just a blip on their radar.

Since a CRT PJ is pretty much the only display we could be using that could handle this, what percentage of users you think need this feature? 0.001%? I'm betting they have higher priority features to add. And no, we are not even ON the radar.

Dave

There is no upconverting involved at all--no HD DVD player has ever used upconverting on HD discs. The disc has 1080p/24 on it. When converted to 1080i/60 then to 1080p/60, there is no upconverting as DVDO processors and many displays do (upconverting each 540 field to 1080p. They do only deinterlacing which is trivially easy to do in the device with a fixed cadence progressive source as they have.

So, you would not be able to tell the difference between 1080p/24 -> 1080p/60 and 1080p/24 -> 1080i/60 -> 1080p/60. So why does it matter?

Dave

Dave -

Maybe what Mike and Eddie are asking is what my question has been: Is there any advantage (to us CRTers) to a player that outputs 1080p/24 if you are going to use a processor (that accepts 1080p/24) to change the refresh rate to a multiple of 24? In other words, is there a difference between 1080p/24 to 1080p/48, and 1080p/24 to 1080i/60 to 1080p/48? - Pat

Pat, my answer would be possibly yes. If there is no processing involved and it is outputting the pure 1080p@24 signal, your external scaler might do a better job of handling it.

Pat, my answer would be possibly yes. If there is no processing involved and it is outputting the pure 1080p@24 signal, your external scaler might do a better job of handling it.

This is an unknown. There does not have to be any difference in processing to output 1080p/24 and 1080i/60.

Yes, the processor "works" less with 1080p/24 since it only changes the frame rate, but I'm willing to bet if you grabbed a pioneer BD player and fed a Lumagen HDP 1080p/24 and 1080i/60 from it to output 1080p/48, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference in a single or double blind test.

Dave

There's a small but increasing number of players that do direct 1080p24 decoding (rather than indirect 1080i60 decoding, followed by de-interlacing). There are several accounts of how direct decoding results in a better picture, or how different processing architectures give different results, suggesting that the process is not perfect. Crossing your fingers that 1080i60 decoding is going to give you the best result possible is hopeful at best.

Nick