Ok I just got a Panny 50" 1080P plasma...I am wondering an Oppo upconverter or the 360 HD add on? I am not a huge movie fanatic...I watch randomly at best. They are both priced the same BUT the add on has the 8 movie deal(see other thread).I feel with the converter I could use some of the movies I have without choosing a side in the format war...just wondering what everyone would do in this situation??? TIA...

-Rob

HD DVDs will look WAY better than any upconverted DVD so if you plan on getting one I would pick the addon, but the HD DVDs cost more than regular DVDs (unless you are renting).

I'd get a HD-A2 stand alone player for only slightly more and you get the eight movies still and you have way more features. But the HD add on is a good deal too, I'd get a HD DVD player before an oppo if they cost the same. The HD DVD players upconver better from what I have read.

Depends on whether you plan on using the audio features of the HD DVD player too. The 360 addon (even with HDMI) will not do TrueHD, so you may as well just buy an HD-A2 or A20 since your TV is 1080p. I'd personally go with a standalone, but it's your call.

Well I am just trying to keep it under $200.00...and I thought the add-on would provide the best option to maximize my TV's capabilities. I realize that the best picture that I will get is 1080i with the the options I have presented.

The 360 addon does ZERO upconverting....none, nada, zip, not one little teenie tiny bit.

The Xbox 360 however does do upconverting. If your 360 is not upconverting now (because it's attached via Component connections) it will not upconvert by adding the HD DVD addon. If you are using a VGA or HDMI connection from your 360, then you are getting all the upconverting ability that the Xbox 360 can do...with or without the addon.

The addon is for playing HD DVD's. It is allowed over component connections for HD DVDs to output at 1080i. It is not allowed for DVDs to output higher than 480p over component connections.

So the moral of the story.....if you are currently using VGA or HDMI for your connection....you are already seeing upconversion. If you are using component...buying the HD DVD addon does nothing for you in that regard....howerver HD DVD's look so much better than upconverted DVD anyway (1080p vs. 480i encodes).

I am not using VGA or HDMI now...as I have a 27" CRT. When I get the plasma I will connect by component...

I am not using VGA or HDMI now...as I have a 27" CRT. When I get the plasma I will connect by component...

Even stand alone units will have to connect via HDMI to upconvert.

The 360 can do it over VGA or HDMI.

Again....it's the organizations behind DVD and HD DVD.

HD DVD is allowed to be carried over component up to 1080i.

DVD is allowed to be carried over component up to 480p.

HDMI is allowed to carry the full 1080p of HD DVD and allows upconversion of DVD to 1080p.

Keep in mind.....DVD's are encoded at 480i and HD DVD's are encoded at 1080p. "Real" 1080p will blow away "enhanced" 480i every time.

I think your choices should be either the HD DVD addon or an HD DVD stand alone, forget just an upconverting DVD player. You still need HDMI for upconversion and the HD DVD players do both upconverting and playing of HD DVD's. If you can use VGA from your Xbox the HD DVD addon will give you both options (upconverting DVD and playing HD DVD).

HD DVD add-on - $179
HD DVD stand alone - $299 ($250 if you look around).

The 360 addon does ZERO upconverting....none, nada, zip, not one little teenie tiny bit.

The Xbox 360 however does do upconverting. If your 360 is not upconverting now (because it's attached via Component connections) it will not upconvert by adding the HD DVD addon. If you are using a VGA or HDMI connection from your 360, then you are getting all the upconverting ability that the Xbox 360 can do...with or without the addon.

The addon is for playing HD DVD's. It is allowed over component connections for HD DVDs to output at 1080i. It is not allowed for DVDs to output higher than 480p over component connections.

So the moral of the story.....if you are currently using VGA or HDMI for your connection....you are already seeing upconversion. If you are using component...buying the HD DVD addon does nothing for you in that regard....howerver HD DVD's look so much better than upconverted DVD anyway (1080p vs. 480i encodes).


Yes

the 360 will upconvert your existing DVD collection without the add-on.
to the OP, I would get the optional HD-DVD ad on.

If you want to upscale DVDs on the cheap, get the MS VGA cable for US$40.
If you want to upscale DVDs *and* watch HD-DVDs and stay under $200 either get the HD-DVD drive or wait two months for the next round of standalone player price cuts. (If a Toshiba + eight movies for $240 isn't enough value for you, that is. ;-) )

Bear in mind also that the XBox is not the best player at deinterlacing. I seem to recall reading that it's primarily flag-based (someone correct me if I'm wrong), so if you have a lot of older titles or titles with mastering issues in the 480i domain, you might be better off getting a standalone player, or else you'll be scaling up reconstructed frames with nasty combing artifacts.

my quandry is whether hd dvd will look much better than upconverted on my mitsubishi hd1000. I'm thinking of waiting on the hd dvd issue until 3 things happen:
1. a clear winner is decided in format wars
2. I get a 1080 projector in a few years when they are brighter and cheaper
3. the hd dvd players drop in price.

All should be achieved within my 2 year time frame, but I still am curious as to how hddvd would look on my pj now

I still am curious as to how hddvd would look on my pj now

1- Download 1080p WMV trailers for the HD-DVD of your choice from here:
http://www.drfoster.f2s.com/trailers_hd-dvd.shtml

2- Play them on your setup

That's how HD-DVD will look.

Does anyone have the link that offers the HD-A2 with the 8 free movies as well??

Does anyone have the link that offers the HD-A2 with the 8 free movies as well??

that deal is gone(exp 29 aug), only the 360 add-on remains.

I see thanks anyway...I was reading that the stand alone players are expected to drop and maybe right after Thanksgiving I may be able to cash in on a stand alone player..I may just wait till then...plus with hockey/football season...Halo 3....CoD4...not sure how many movies I would be watching anyeway...appreciate all the input from everyone....the big question is who will be victorious in the format war???

I see thanks anyway...I was reading that the stand alone players are expected to drop and maybe right after Thanksgiving I may be able to cash in on a stand alone player..I may just wait till then...plus with hockey/football season...Halo 3....CoD4...not sure how many movies I would be watching anyeway...appreciate all the input from everyone....the big question is who will be victorious in the format war???
I would definitely recommend a stand-alone HD DVD unit, A2 or A3. The A2 does a very good job at playing HD DVD's and upconverting SD DVD's.

the big question is who will be victorious in the format war???

Oh, you hadn't heard?
BluRay won the war back in 2003 before shipping a single unit. :cool:

Of course, 'round these parts we believe in letting the price war settle the issue instead of awarding the title to whoever claims victory the loudest. In other words; let the two sides bleed each other to death and jump in when the investment makes sense to you. With any kind of luck both formats will get 50% and consumers will be the only winners.

So if I have the HD DVD ADD ON connectected through HDMI, there is no need for my Phillips up converting dvd player? I should just play all my sd dvds through the add on and I will get the same end reuslt as playing them through the phillips upconverting dvd player?

So if I have the HD DVD ADD ON connectected through HDMI, there is no need for my Phillips up converting dvd player? I should just play all my sd dvds through the add on and I will get the same end reuslt as playing them through the phillips upconverting dvd player?

If you have your Xbox 360 connected through HDMI you have no need of either the HD DVD addon or the Phillips upconverting DVD player.

The 360 upconverts, not the addon. The Addon just plays HD DVD's.

So if I have the HD DVD ADD ON connectected through HDMI, there is no need for my Phillips up converting dvd player? I should just play all my sd dvds through the add on and I will get the same end reuslt as playing them through the phillips upconverting dvd player?

Pretty much. You don't need the add on to upconvert DVDs, of course.

OK, so I play regular DVDS through the sbox and hd dvds through the add on and get rid of the phillips

OK, so I play regular DVDS through the sbox and hd dvds through the add on and get rid of the phillips

yes, or you can play regular DVD's through the add on as well. All it does (HD DVD or DVD) is send the data to the 360 and the 360 processes it all and sends it to your receiver/tv.

You can play DVD's in either, and HD DVDs only in the addon. You can only play games on the internal DVD drive.

I'll add that in my experience the Xbox 360 does a very good job upconverting DVDs. They really look fantastic. I use VGA.