Just got Samsung BD, have had Toshiba - Page 3  

Space isn't the issue with VC1 on 30GB's it's MEPG2 on 25GB's. Now run along.

If you know anything about Paramount this is how they do things. They did the same with DVD.

For everyone's sake if BD wins I sure hope the picture quality improves. Actually who cares about picture quality its not like we are watching HD movies on these machines...

It's supposed to look much better at 720p than at 1080p because it doesn't have to do the extra conversion. Also are you hooked up with HDMI or component?

Paramount only started adding extras to their DVDs about 4 years ago. Before that they were all bare-bones.

Dude are you serious? Your postings come off very uneducated and don't carry much validity I would imagine in the readers of this forum. I would also go as far as to say you're not helping the BD cause at all with your generalizations. None of your BD has any extras. Most of HD-DVD does have extras. At least we are getting HD-DVDs in VC-1 that will blow away that garbage that is currently being pawned off on your Samsung. Enjoy your DTS and Herky Jerky video on T2 buddy. Currently HD-DVD is profitable....guess where the studios are going? One studio that is currently BD will be doing both formats come Fall......

Does it begin with a D and end with a Y? ;)

WOW! fact that you're returning your player does indicate the problems with BD right now! Especially since I see how big a supporter of the format you have been.

I couldn't agree with you more. I believe on paper BD is the better format and if they can deliver on the software and hardware side - I'll be happy!

have you tried the HD DVD player yet?

Another value added thread :D

Im so tired of paper, promises, and technical specs. Dont we watch movies with our eyes?

The "software" consists of re-releases with a few exceptions. 11 or 12 titles? Come on. If the player and technology are A+, that's the player to buy. The disks will follow as certain as day follows night.

I paid $850 and got 4 free titles at BB. That brings the true price down under $750. If you are going to be on the bleeding edge of technology, you have to expect to pay more. Hell, I bought the first Sony CDP-100 available in this city back in 1984--22 years ago. It cost $1000, and compared to todays $100 discount specials, it was junk. The price always gets better, and the quality always improves. The disks are cheaper and better, too. CD's cost between $25 and $30 then. And they weren't anything special, except there were none of the ticks and pops you got wilth LP's.

For those worried about spending money on a toy today, then WAIT. You will get far more for your money a year from now, with far less risk.

I'm not particularly concerned about a $250 difference in price. Or even $500. I'm convinced there will be plenty of good BD disks--maybe even some great ones--in a few months time.

I still think I made the right choice, but only time will tell. No one on this forum knows anything about what the quality of future disks will be. There is no reason to believe there will be a hell of a lot of difference between the best of the competing formats. I just happen to believe there will be a lot more choice in Blu-ray, since more studios are lining up solidly behind it.

and hence my comment DON'T BUY MPEG BD-25 SOFTWARE.

You quoted me??? then sorta contradicted yourself too... 4 free "rereleases" of crummy quality. that is certainly not a $250 value (2 weeks netflix free offer could have gotten you all 4 releases to watch) ;)

That would only force the 720p display to downconvert the signal. ("Conventional" and "wisdom" are oxmorons. The wise are seldom conventional and the conventional seldom wise. :) )

If you have a true 720p display, and not somthing close like 768p, you will normally get the best picture by choosing the 720p output on your player to match it.

I have a Sanyo PLV-Z2 front projector and it has true 720p native resolution. It has a pretty decent downscaler, so if I feed it a 1080i or 1080p signal, it doesn't look bad. It just isn't as good as 720p. It depends on to many things to make a blanket statment like you should ALWAYS set the player at the highest resolution. A display cannot display more or less than its native resolution if it's a fixed pixel display such as DLP or LCD.

You make some good points, but I cant imagine any current BD release that I would consider myself lucky to view. Im sure many people on the forum can afford both, but at this point there is no reason to buy into BD. If the picture quality improves then im sure more people will buy.

You've summarized in a nutshell the only reason to buy the Samsung player right now.

Jay,

I think you are missing the point. I hope your TV can accept a 1080i signal, even though it might only display 720p. The case is that Toshiba strongly recommends setting the player to 1080i - IRRESPECTIVE OF YOUR DISPLAY'S DISPLAY RESOLUTION - and have the display scale the signal accordingly.

IF you haven't been using the Toshiba at 1080i, it has been suggested by many people here that you weren't seeing its true capability. Mind you, that capability is there in the box, just might not be compatible with a user's display, just like the vaunted 1080p output capabilities of the BR players.

I think the reason is that to output 720p, I think the Toshiba goes from 1080i=>480i=>720p. That is two resolution conversions, instead of just having your display downrezzing it 1080i=>720p. Whatever the technical merits of Toshiba's design decision, that is the way the player functions, and to get the best performance, Toshiba advises you to set the player to output 1080i.

"Never buy the first version of ANYTHING." --An engineer I once knew and worked with. A wise fellow (at least in that cautionary point about technology).

I don't think anyone can judge the ultimate merits of either technology until we have some time and maturity at play. The initial launch players and titles ALL bear the marks of being rushed to market. I think that the next six months are not going to illustrate the real potential of either format, maybe not even for another year. Until: 1) the encoding, processing, transfers, authoring, manufacturing, etc. bugs get worked out in the discs/players themselves (which there are on BOTH sides); 2) the display technologies for full 1080P mature and become more widespread/cost-effective so that they are the de facto baseline for comparing PQ (until then, so many scaling/processing errors and inconsistencies between different viewing combos make it nigh impossible for real discussions of A/B comparisons); and 3) the studios stretch their legs and show what they really intend on releasing in either format, in terms of titles, A/V quality and extras...until ALL these are fully presented/actualized, it's all CONJECTURE.

As the hardware goes, the professional reviews of the Toshiba player have been very mixed in the various magazines and websites I've read...so proclaiming it the clear winner over the Samsung Blu-Ray, and thus heralding HD-DVD the format winner, seems quite premature and a bit 'glass houses'. Sony has a way of over-marketing the reality of their product's performance, yes...I'm still disappointed in the aliased graphics and the ultimately empty promises for rich online content and use of the harddrive on the PS2, for example. But I'm also thinking many folks here have industry ties or some other personal factors that bias them to the VC1/Microsoft camp. I don't see where MPEG-4 enters their equation, only MPEG-2, in many postings here. Why so bended knee to a proprietary codec/standard, I wonder? Shareholder or just invested otherwise? Through various mutual funds, my Toshiba laptop and some Sony A/V equipment, I'm embedded in both company's user base...but I'd like to see the best end product win. In my mind, the more corporate partners, the less centralized the control and more open the format--the more chance for continued innovation.

Until then...I'll be happy with all the HD content I'm watching via my E* sat service and splendid vip622 DVRs, my OTA antenna, and my D-VHS collection (many of which look absolutely stunning, btw...and, again, my eyes don't care whether its MPEG-2/4 or VC1). I have lots of fine HD movie options right now--and who knows when the online distribution for HD films will begin? When the HD-DVD drive for the 360 and/or the PS3 come out, I might renew my Netflix sub and dive in (I agree that stockpiling early releases might not be smart--how many early release DVDs did you end up replacing, I must ask)...otherwise I'll wait until a truly solid RECORDER/PLAYER of either format (or a universal) comes out.

I haven't heard anyone refer to the Samsung as anything close to supporting this statement:

"If the player and technology are A+, that's the player to buy.

I've heard a lot say it about the Toshiba though. I find it laughable that you paid any kind of premium for subpar performance because "I'm convinced there will be plenty of good BD disks--maybe even some great ones--in a few months time."

As for studio support, how many actually have, or will have by the end of July, put out BR movies? How many for HD DVD?

This is true, 1080i setting for Toshiba is correct regardless of the native res of your display. Many reviewers have psoted reviews on web sites and in Mags making this same statement. The message is that the Broadcom chip that is in both the Samsung and Toshiba players does really great down conversion of the 1080p signal to 1080i but very poor 720p. Even though the samsung rescales 1080i to 1080p/30 the genesis chip is doing this and mucking up the image. For this and others reasons like no etherent port I returned the Samsung to BB and got my money back with no restocking fee.
PS: by the way ethernet port will be for more than firmware updates everybody. Just in case somebody only thinks that it's for firmware updates only. Later on downloadable langauges not initially supported as well as interactive stuff ( we'll see on that one ) as well as anything else they decide to do.

LOL!

ding! ding! ding! we have a winner... 8]

Yeah, everyone knows what those $999 paperweights accumulating in BB are. ;)

After everything you have written you are returning it? Hubba-bee-bub-bub-la ok. Make sure to update the return stat for BD, but oh wait I think you already voted you were keeping it. Hubba-bee-bub-bub-la. Whatever you do ArmyEagle don't ever think about buying the competitors product, I would think in your eyes they would have quality, then we know it has more content and goes for less dough.

CaliforniaJay you just lost ArmyEagle, it's you and Kev.

Glad to see another new poster come in with the same old crap. The HD-DVD players sold today are THE BEST upconverting players available, so they will never be paper weights. And of course they will always play the HD-DVDs as well. I see PANIC from the Blu-ray camp trying to discourage anyone from buying HD-DVD.

THE BEST, eh? do you happen to wear a cape...

and that's why bestbuy.com says they are sold out...

Is this some form of 'denial'? :rolleyes:

I guarantee you that right now I could go to a store and find a Samsung in stock a lot easier than finding a HD-DVD player in stock.

blunial

That can not be stressed enough! If your display can accept 1080i and you haven't been using it with the Toshiba, you have NOT been seeing anything near the potential of this player. The Toshiba has a flawed 720p output and everyone has found, regardless of TV, 1080i is markedly better!