I started lurking here about 6 months ago, and just finally decided I couldn't live without a TV (my HDTV broke), and ordered a Mitsubishi HC4900, a 92" Da-Lite Perm-Wall High Contrast Cinema Vision, and a Yamaha RX-V1800. Everything should arrive next week.

I was talked out of a Model B High Power by a sales rep at proejctorzone. He said that the High Power plus the HC4900's relatively poor blacks would kill my contrast and that the HCCV will be more than bright enough at 92" with this projector. I sure wanted to try the High Power, but I'm happy I'm getting a fixed frame.

The only thing I'm missing is Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. I was planning on buying an Xbox 360 + HD-DVD drive, as I have an aversion to all things Sony. I figured I could play games as well as watch 1080p HD-DVDs on the Xbox, so it would be a better choice than a standalone HD-DVD player. Am I right, or does the Xbox perform poorly as an HD-DVD player?

One question I have is about using the upscaling in the RX-V1800. It can upscale all video input to 1080p. Is the general sentiment here that the image processing in the RX-V1800 would be superior to the HC4900's built-in processing?

I can't comment on the receiver but I can comment on the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 is a great game machine and a good HD DVD player.

Pros of Xbox 360 HD DVD Player:
1) Cheap 1080p via HDMI (newer models) or VGA
2) Very fast (for an HD DVD Player) loading and operation
3) Xbox 360 can play other video formats and stream videos as a media center extender.
4) Can download and rent HD movies from Xbox Marketplace.

Cons of Xbox 360 HD DVD Player:
1) The Xbox 360 is quite loud for movie watching.
2) The Xbox 360 is not very reliable (mine died after almost 2 years of use) and when it does die you loose the games and movies.
3) No HD audio support
4) 24p support (I don't think 24p matters anyway for the HC4900)
5) HD DVD drive add on is not the most elegant solution.

There are rumors floating around that Microsoft is announcing a Xbox 360 Ultimate with built in HD DVD drive, quiter fans, IP TV support, and HD audio support.

I would say if you are a gamer you should get the 360 w/ add on drive (unless you can find a great deal on an A2, A3, or Venturer - they can sometimes be found at nearly the same price as the add on drive - and get a 360 to go along with it for games!).

Only thing I would add for the 360 is that if you go used and output through VGA, it is unclear what rez would be supported by the 4900. I am getting my 4900 next week and will report over in the "official" thread what VGA 360 and what computer rez I can get with my set up. The VGA 360 supports 1366 x 768, but don't know if the 4900 will accept that.

If you are going HD-DVD, a 360 would be more fun, versitile that just a stand alone player. I have downloaded free Looney Tunes cartoons to play before my movies. People love it.

Only thing I would add for the 360 is that if you go used and output through VGA, it is unclear what rez would be supported by the 4900. I am getting my 4900 next week and will report over in the "official" thread what VGA 360 and what computer rez I can get with my set up. The VGA 360 supports 1366 x 768, but don't know if the 4900 will accept that.

If you are going HD-DVD, a 360 would be more fun, versitile that just a stand alone player. I have downloaded free Looney Tunes cartoons to play before my movies. People love it.

I am certainly going to get an HDMI Xbox, and avoid this issue altogether.

I like the Looney Tunes idea! I almost forgot that used to be common.

I can't comment on the receiver but I can comment on the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 is a great game machine and a good HD DVD player.

Pros of Xbox 360 HD DVD Player:
1) Cheap 1080p via HDMI (newer models) or VGA
2) Very fast (for an HD DVD Player) loading and operation
3) Xbox 360 can play other video formats and stream videos as a media center extender.
4) Can download and rent HD movies from Xbox Marketplace.

Cons of Xbox 360 HD DVD Player:
1) The Xbox 360 is quite loud for movie watching.
2) The Xbox 360 is not very reliable (mine died after almost 2 years of use) and when it does die you loose the games and movies.
3) No HD audio support
4) 24p support (I don't think 24p matters anyway for the HC4900)
5) HD DVD drive add on is not the most elegant solution.

There are rumors floating around that Microsoft is announcing a Xbox 360 Ultimate with built in HD DVD drive, quiter fans, IP TV support, and HD audio support.

I would say if you are a gamer you should get the 360 w/ add on drive (unless you can find a great deal on an A2, A3, or Venturer - they can sometimes be found at nearly the same price as the add on drive - and get a 360 to go along with it for games!).

The lack of HD audio makes me sad. I'm assuming you mean that the Xbox itself not have the ability to decode the TrueHD audio. Can the Xbox pass the HD audio to my receiver through HDMI? Does the Xbox even send audio of HDMI?

The lack of HD audio makes me sad. I'm assuming you mean that the Xbox itself not have the ability to decode the TrueHD audio. Can the Xbox pass the HD audio to my receiver through HDMI? Does the Xbox even send audio of HDMI?

It can't pass or decode HD audo. It can transcode TrueHD and DD+ to DD5.1 640 kps, DTS 1.5 mbs, or windows media audo codex (WMA?).