I have a Panny ae900 and an oppo 970 upconverting dvd player.

Will I notice a big dif or should I wait til I can get a 1080p projector?

I'm tempted because we are blockbuster total access users and my local store rents blu ray.Of course it turns out blockbuster does hd dvd by mail too.
Same price to rent hd discs.

I'm on the fence because of my 720p display and all the issues with the players.

My concerns:
Load times
1080p 24p support (future display)
decoding the new audio formats in player
passing new audio formats to reciever as 7.1 (will upgrade reciever eventually)
possible future incompatibilities (blu ray profiles)
new player better rock the oppo on upcoverting standard dvd

Should I wait or enjoy my setup?
Those discs tempt me so

I have an Optoma HD72 (720p) projected onto a 100" screen. It is a night and day difference between the upconvert (even on superbit discs) and HD DVD (only HD media player I have now).

I wouldn't wait, enjoy the full potential of your current setup (720p) now....you won't regret it.

Upconversion is not in the same league... Whether BD or HD DVD... it looks fantastic at 720P. I am using a 58" Panny Plasma 1366x768 I feed it 1080I out the D2, and 1080P out of the PS3... HD is fantastic. There is some overlap.. the best SD upconverted will be similar to the worst high definition content.

I think you're seeing "a lot of issues" because people only post when they have bad issues. I've had an A1, an A2, and an XA2. The A1, I did have some issues, but sent it back within the 30 day time-frame because I had the A2 coming. The A2 and XA2 each have been rock-solid for me.

I'm running the XA2 on a 52" DLP 720p monitor, and the picture is fantastic. I do plan on acquiring a 1080p front projector within the next year or two, at which point the XA2 will go with the projector, and the A2 will be reinstated for the 720p. That being said, both the A2 and XA2 look fantastic on my display, and also upconvert SD-DVDs nicely (the XA2 moreso). With a 720p projector, I think the XA2 would look great, and would carry-over if you upgrade to 1080p. Toshiba is very good about upgrading firmware, and 1080p24 is supposedly coming in a September upgrade. Hope is also being held out that new audio codecs will also be upgradeable via firmware updates.

In other words, I think with the price drops on the XA2, or holding out for the 3rd generation players coming out soon, you'll see a substantial difference between HD-DVD and your Oppo.

I've got both HD-DVD and PS3, and am so glad I haven't "waited" to see who will "win". The whole family has immensely enjoyed movies in high-def. Take the jump, rent the HD-DVDs (even better, add Netflix to your plans in addition to Blockbuster), and enjoy your setup now and in the future.

Based on what I have said.
Which player would be best suited for me. I know there is a war going on but based on my renting and my concerns.

Whats the least of the evils?

It is worth it to upgrade to HD for sure. On my 720p Plasma BR looks much better then upscaled DVD. The sound is also better. If you use Blockbuster total access and your local rents BR it kinda a no brainer what format to go for if you want easy access to movies. PS3 is still the best player out there for future proofing in addition it is a fantastic upscaler for SD-DVD. I think most of the players upscale good but i dont have any experience with them.

It's really a no-brainer. Even on my "small" 42" plasma, the HD simply outshines any upconverted DVD. It's really quite amazing. Also, remember that video is only half of what HD offers. The lossless soundtracks are wonderfully immersive. You won't be able to go back. :)

Load times -- these are computers, so fast load times are still a few years off (although 30 seconds or less isn't bad in my opinion)

1080p 24p support (future display) -- BD and HD DVD can do this

decoding the new audio formats in player -- I know HD DVD can, some older (current) BD players can't hand a few of the "HD" (I.e. Dolby TrueHD) formats

passing new audio formats to reciever as 7.1 (will upgrade reciever eventually) -- honestly how many titles are encoded in 7.1?? Maybe half a dozen??

possible future incompatibilities (blu ray profiles) -- So they say, I haven't researched this.

new player better rock the oppo on upcoverting standard dvd -- The HD-XA2 with a Reon chip has been said to better the OPPO on upconverting. (and will meet all of your other specification needs) Not sure if the new HD-A35 uses this chip or not.

Sorry ,I replied too soon.

Leaning towards the a2...becasue of price and the nice updates from toshiba.
Or the new a35!

only downside is I cant exchange for a new disc in store at BBuster..which we do alot with dvd.And I worry about them pulling the plug altogether in favor of blu.

So, right now as far as a SAFE bet ,blu ray seems to dominate now.
But I like the price and extras of hd dvd.like the combo concept.

To buy a pricey player though...I dont want to upgrade next year.I want a new pj and reciever then. Scary business. Sadly its looking likely that sony will dominate.

Did i mention that my oppo does sacd and dvd audio and I ahvent bought one disc yet?
Why does this always happen? Did they learn nothing? Sony & Tosh could be getting a piece of every hd disc sold. geez

If I was you i'd opt for the Toshiba HD-A2 or wait a couple of weeks and see what the HD-A3 reviews are like. Either way $250 will get you into the HD realm and you'll throughly enjoy it.

only downside is I cant exchange for a new disc in store at BBuster..which we do alot with dvd.And I worry about them pulling the plug altogether in favor of blu.

Sure, you can exchange an HD DVD for a SD DVD....there must be plenty of older titles not yet on BD / HD DVD that you haven't seen. With only 500 titles on HD media, there are still plenty of unexplored SD DVD.

When I used my BB access, I did in-store for TV series that I missed (I.e. I don't pay for TV through a monthly service)

Go for it, once you start watching HD movies on a regular basis anything less becomes simply unaccptable..... at least for the most part. :)

720p is a perfect HD resolution and looks fantastic.

:D

Before this war I never had a clue which studio did what.

The PS3's functionality as a BD player is unsurpassed right now. The disc loads up immediately, fast-foward/rewind are perfectly smooth and responsive. There are some nice-looking features built into the player and bluetooth remote as well, such as a cool movie timeline/info display. You are also very likely to see updates to profile 2.0 and you get a game machine - so its future-proof w/good resale value regardless. Sometimes you can find very cheap Japanese 20GB PS3s on eBay to get started.

The HD-A2 takes some time to load a disc, but what annoys me more is the clunky fast-forward/rewind controls. The video displayed when rewind/FF is pushed is unclear and jerky in motion and it is hard to tell where the movie will resume play when you do eventually hit play because the stop/start of the rewind/FF is jerky as well. This aspect of the player is much more annoying to me than the inital load time. I don't know about you, but when I watch a movie I use rewind/FF VERY often to see cool scenes or dialogue I missed again real quick, to FF through slow parts while reading the subtitles just to get through the movie, etc.

So I would wait to see if this issue is solved in the A3 players, if it is something that might concern you. To be clear though, the A2, as it stands - is fine IMO - but for me, I think it should be a player to own only temporary while waiting to upgrade because looking at it versus a very smooth-running player (i.e. the PS3) definitely makes you wish the things I mentioned were improved.

The new A3 line comes out in Oct. So does the Samsung dual-format player, which looks great and ready to set sort of the new standard as the "ultimate" player to get - if you can afford it early on.


EDIT: P.S. - 1) Do not worry about not having a 720p set vs a 1080p, at all. You will see a HUGE improvement when you upgrade to a high-def source player and IMO 720p vs 1080p is generally meaningless for most users. Resolution is one of the least important things that actually determine how good a picture on a display looks to the human eye, several other things are more important first. I don't know that I will buy a 1080p again when I upgrade my set in the future even. I mean just look at the Pioneer Kuro display line and their "768p" sets.

2) If you have been a serious Oppo 970 user - I don't know that any of the high-def players will satisfy you completely in terms of upconversion and SD DVD related options. By "serious" I mean, you've always updated the firmware for the Oppo, often tweak the Oppo's internal settings menus to match your sets calibration for given content, etc. I've owned even the XA2 and I still prefer the Oppo overall. I, personally, wouldn't consider built-in upcoversion capabilities to be that attractive for a high-def player. I would consider other functions more important, because at the end of the day (especially if you already have an Oppo) - you will only really care about how well it runs high-def disks.

The PS3's functionality as a BD player is unsurpassed right now... There are some nice-looking features built into the player and bluetooth remote as well,

This is the main reason I didn't buy it. No way to integrate the controls (including on/off) into my Harmony remote. (Among other things, such as the extra loud fan noise and the fact that it may over heat in a rack)

I actually need to update my oppo!

Price wise...the a2 is my top contender for hd
samsung 1200 for blu ray

Any thoughts on the 1200?

Why the same question over and over. Bottom line if you can tell broadcast HD from DVD then HD-DVD will also be a noticable upgrade in quality.

So, right now as far as a SAFE bet ,blu ray seems to dominate now.
But I like the price and extras of hd dvd.like the combo concept.

The honest truth is there's no such thing as a "safe bet" at this stage. We should have a bit more clarity after Q4 sales data comes back... but even then, you're taking a chance with either format.

Grab a sale A2 and take it for a run. Make sure to buy at a store with 30 day return and pricematch policy.

If the A3 comes out better, or if the A2 drops in price, you are covered either way...

Safest bet is the PS3.

Even if you decide to go another route down the road, or if blu-ray doesn't make it, there will still be movie watchers and gamers -- both sets of fans -- ready and willing to pick up your used player. Games will still be sold on blu-ray no matter what happens with movies. This means higher resale for your used PS3 when you unload it.

Even if you never play a game on your PS3, you can still sell it to a happy gamer (or a movie buff) later.

If HD-DVD dies, well.... you'll still be able to put it up on E-bay and somebody will buy it for parts or nostalgia.

Safest bet is the PS3.

Even if blu-ray doesn't make it, there will still be movie watchers and gamers -- both sets of fans -- ready and willing to pick up your used player.

Man, I heard the same thing when I bought my 3DO, but couldn't find anyone to buy it :(

3DO Info (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3DO_Interactive_Multiplayer)

I have a Panny AE-900 and the Xbox 360 W/ add on and I will tell you when I bought it and played King Kong I was actually in aww. I could not believe how good it would actually look being only 720P :rolleyes:

You will without a doubt be able to tell a HUGE difference. People say upconverted looks like the lowest HD but HD still blows it out of the water. I havent seen the lowest tier but I have seen some pretty low on the list and they STILL blow away upconverted any day of the week.

The panny will look great mine does ;)

Very cool.

I went throught the list of BD and HD titles both released and coming soon and found simply more that I wanted to see on BLU. Just from my personal taste in movies.I know that could change next year but I Imagine I'll be watching a lot of movies this fall and winter.

This is actully disappointing becasue I hate sony and hate them doing this every time but this is what makes most sense right now. I have tent decided on a samsung 1200 becasue with the HDMI 1.3 when I upgrade recievers in the spring I will probably be able to decode all the new audio formats.By then we should be seeing them on titles.

As for BD profiles. Typically we watch the previews,then watch the movie and hardly ever watch extras so all the extra features.....blah. I want to basically just watch a great looking picture on a big screen and get the best audio. That's it! Gimme 1080p and a killer surround mix and I'm happy.

The fact that we are Blockbuster totall access users is a big part too. I noticed many hd and bd titles were "long wait" when I tried to add them to queue.But I saw many of these titles in stock in blu ray at my local strore.

SO I think I made the decision that will do me right for the next 6 mos.After that I'm not betting on anything.