PinkSplice
05-10-07, 05:51 PM
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8251429&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat83900050016&id=1169857843194
$330.00 at Best Buy.
This unit has a 480p (EDTV) ATSC tuner, which upconverts over an HDMI cable to 1080i display. Tuner performance was good; it was definitely superior on analog to the RCA and Magnavox combo's I have reviewed before. Video quality through the upconvert was slightly softer, and less detailed than the native HD of my three sets I tested the unit on. Menuing and controls were far superior to the RCA, and the remote was better laid out and sized than the RCA or the Magnavox. There was only a slight improvement in video quality from component when using the HDMI interface. HDMI contols allowed setting outputs to the native resolution of the set, an excellent feature.
There is no EPG. Programming the timer is straightforward and simple. Recording modes allow dual-layered disks, and a mode where the record time can be adjusted to disk capacity for maximum quality. Behind the door on the front is a Firewire interface, and a memory card slot.
I therefore programmed several HD, SD, and analog events, and went joyously out the door to my poker tournament.
Jane Eyre's Revenge:
The Magnavox had been sitting on the side, like an ill used governess in a romance novel, watching her trophy wife replacement preparing to snatch her master away.
When I returned from the tournament (having won enough to buy the unit), I found that the recordings had occurred as scheduled. Finalizing was rapid, and I looked forward to near HD playback goodness.
Imagine Jane's face when the sex didn't work out with the blonde.
The unit didn't record the HD sound properly. All the SD and analog sound worked out fine, but only the secondary sound channels were passed to the recording. I tried the disk in several other DVD players, and several other sets: Same result. Checked recoring settings: All correct. Checked HDMI and components connections and settings: All correct. Video playback in HD was 16:9, but the sound was absent.
Tried it again. Same results. Anything 720p or above had the center/primary channel for sound blocked gone.
If I can't hear the House/Wilson dialog in House MD, life has no meaning.
Jane was laughing her ass off as I reconnected her to my primary set. The blonde got returned to Best Buy today. Jane was $150 cheaper, and did everything she promised; the expensive blonde failed to put out.
I'm more than willing to have any mistakes I made pointed out to me if I missed anything in setting up the recordings. I just don't think that the unit is worth an 83% price premium for HD-Lite. I can live with SDTV for my time shifting. Especially if there's no sound with the sex...
$330.00 at Best Buy.
This unit has a 480p (EDTV) ATSC tuner, which upconverts over an HDMI cable to 1080i display. Tuner performance was good; it was definitely superior on analog to the RCA and Magnavox combo's I have reviewed before. Video quality through the upconvert was slightly softer, and less detailed than the native HD of my three sets I tested the unit on. Menuing and controls were far superior to the RCA, and the remote was better laid out and sized than the RCA or the Magnavox. There was only a slight improvement in video quality from component when using the HDMI interface. HDMI contols allowed setting outputs to the native resolution of the set, an excellent feature.
There is no EPG. Programming the timer is straightforward and simple. Recording modes allow dual-layered disks, and a mode where the record time can be adjusted to disk capacity for maximum quality. Behind the door on the front is a Firewire interface, and a memory card slot.
I therefore programmed several HD, SD, and analog events, and went joyously out the door to my poker tournament.
Jane Eyre's Revenge:
The Magnavox had been sitting on the side, like an ill used governess in a romance novel, watching her trophy wife replacement preparing to snatch her master away.
When I returned from the tournament (having won enough to buy the unit), I found that the recordings had occurred as scheduled. Finalizing was rapid, and I looked forward to near HD playback goodness.
Imagine Jane's face when the sex didn't work out with the blonde.
The unit didn't record the HD sound properly. All the SD and analog sound worked out fine, but only the secondary sound channels were passed to the recording. I tried the disk in several other DVD players, and several other sets: Same result. Checked recoring settings: All correct. Checked HDMI and components connections and settings: All correct. Video playback in HD was 16:9, but the sound was absent.
Tried it again. Same results. Anything 720p or above had the center/primary channel for sound blocked gone.
If I can't hear the House/Wilson dialog in House MD, life has no meaning.
Jane was laughing her ass off as I reconnected her to my primary set. The blonde got returned to Best Buy today. Jane was $150 cheaper, and did everything she promised; the expensive blonde failed to put out.
I'm more than willing to have any mistakes I made pointed out to me if I missed anything in setting up the recordings. I just don't think that the unit is worth an 83% price premium for HD-Lite. I can live with SDTV for my time shifting. Especially if there's no sound with the sex...