one and only 360 HD-DVD Drive thread & LINKS - Page 23

ok so this has probably been answered already but I did not have time to wade through the 23 pages of posts.

I've got the add-on and I want to hook it to my Sony 46" LCD via VGA to get upscaling and 1080p. To get the better sound do I just run a toslink from the back of the adaptor into my receiver optical input?

Yep.

Maybe the DVR just pauses better? Did you notice a difference while watching?

Yes. That's what prompted me to do this A/B testing in the first place. I've heard so much about how spectacular HD DVD looks on a 1080p set and that the King Kong disc is a great transfer. When I was watching however I kept thinking to myself that it looked good but certainly was not a step up above what I get from the high quality Comcast HD channels.

So with that in mind I recorded KK on the DVR and watched it. I found it overall to look more clear and sharp. When doing A/B comparisons I found the Comcast HD to have a slight edge in sharpness which confirmed my impression.

Now the Comcast STB is feeding 1080i into my display via HDMI, whereas I am using 1080i component for the X360 HD DVD. So therein may be the difference.

I just ordered the Toshiba XA2. When it comes I'll do the same A/B with it vs. Comcast HD - as well as putting the XA2 up against the X360. I'm sure hoping the XA2 at least will have a clear advantage over Comcast. Not that the Comcast quality is subpar - in fact I think it is excellent. However my expectation is that HD DVD should surpass that and so far that's not what I'm seeing...

well, I bit the bullet and went on ahead and picked up the HDDVD drive. I'm running it through component into a Hitachi 57S715 on 1080i and the pic is friggin amazing. plus it's nice to have fewer menus, fewer electronics cluttering, fewer wires i agree that the sound seems a little washed out, but it's not awful. I'm sure it will sound better once i hook up my surround sound.

Quick question.


What "Color" mode do you guys tend to watch your HD-DVDs in? Seems like the only way that I can see that high def "pop" in PQ is if I put it in Dynamic. Is this normal?

Hmmm, could be the analog VGA connect, but I have never seen any broadcast or satellite HD come close to top discs from either HD DVD nor Bluray (the good ones, that is).

The only thing I've seen on HD DVD that looks like what I've seen on satellite or cable is the Chronos disc, which suffers badly from using Mpeg2 on a single layer disc.

King Kong is one of the best transfers I've seen on HD DVD, truly makes you feel like it is 3D, but if your analog setup is a bit fuzzy, this could possibly hurt the overall effect, since much of that impact comes from how sharp the PQ is..

Can you connect the DVR using component and compare?
I'm not too familiar with calibration other than Avia or DVE (and limited with those, heh), so I'm not sure how you calibrated. Is your set calibrated for the component input (does that matter?)?

Also, have you verified the signal from both as being 1080i? (I'm not assuming anything, so I'm asking in earnest, not ridicule).

My results are not consistent with his.
BBtw, I found component KK via 360 addon, as good as hdmi 1080p displayed on sony bravia

Yes I am sure its 1080i. I'll know more after I have a chance to compare the Comcast HD KK vs. the Toshiba XA2 HD DVD of KK, both over HDMI. I'm really hoping the XA2 will be noticeably better. As I stated before the Comcast HD is stunning as it is, but I am expecting a higher level of HD quality from HD DVD than what I'm currently getting over cable (even if it is stunning already!).

No. Dynamic is usually a setting that exaggerates contrast and color saturation. It's designed to make a TV stand out in a row of sets in a brightly lit showroom, but it's an artificial look that actually robs you of detail, especially in dark and shadowy scenes.

The most accurate setting on my Sammy DLP is "cinema." It may be called something else on your set.

Try using a calibration disc like DVE or Avia to dial in your settings. Once you get used to the look, you'll find that lower contrast, brightness and color settings will give you a more natural look that provides greater detail. You might also try turning off filters like DNiE and cutting the sharpness back to zero. Sounds illogical, but those settings enhance video noise and make things worse instead of better.

Try out the DVR over component too and see how it compares to it's HDMI. It may be the set doesn't do so well with component video for some reason.

[quote=LuthierJr]I've got the add-on and I want to hook it to my Sony 46" LCD via VGA to get upscaling and 1080p.QUOTE]

Are you sure your Sony supports 1080p (1920x1080) over VGA? The VGA connection usually supports no higher than 1366x768 on most of the Sony TVs I have seen. The back pages of the user manual usually state supported resolutions. If you have the Xbox component cable then you should be able to try that and get 1080i.

my 40xbr2 definately supports 1920x1080. I am using VGA for my xbox 360 hd-dvd player and get 1080p perfectly.

i have no complaints with this add on. I paid less then most on here and in canadian dollars got hte drive remote and KING KONG hd dvd. it took 2 minutes to install .... i played the KK hd dvd right away thru vga on my 42 westy at 1080p took like 10 seconds to get into the disc and ive compared it to the normal KK dvd side by side and the difference is amazing. I love the add on no complaints here.

to answer some of you calibrating thru service mode and with Avia video and audio dvd made a huge difference it took me quite awhile to go thru all audio and video calibrations and tests but def worth it my sound IS UNBELIEVABLE and video is alot better.

I have read through some of this post, but did not see the answer on first look.

If I have the HDDVD drive installed on my 360, I know that it will up-convert SD DVD to 1080, but does that also hold true for SD content downloaded from Xbox Live, like the SD TV shows, or older movies?

The HD DVD addon has nothing to do with the 360 upconverting. Nothing at all, the 360 by itself upconverts with or without the HD DVD addon IF (and it's a big IF) you are connecting via the VGA adapter.

That being said, at no point will downloaded SD material be upconverted by the 360.

So for upconverted DVD's you don't even need the HD DVD addon, what you do need is the VGA adapter and a TV/Monitor that accepts VGA input. If you use component connections you do not get upconverted DVD's.

Hope that helps.

Tom Crews

I know but VGA out is not optimized to view HD DVDS for all 1080P TVS with VGA in

True, my samsung looks really bad on VGA, colors aren't correct, while component and HDMI are exellent.

Hey Jammer,

We are keeping eye on all the Codec developments, and I can tell you this.

Your beloved VC1 still does not look as good as the latest version of AVC ... and that is the universal opinion of every top encoding expert I know of my friend....at least those that do not work for Microsoft that is.

No offense, but unlike you, these folks do this for a living so I gravitate toward their opinion over yours. Sure, VC1 looks very good given enough bit rate, and for low bit rate cable cast it may actually be more efficent than AVC. However, that does not make it better. VC1 still appears to still have issues with the black levels so, in our opinion, it is not the reference standard for high performance entertainment.

Also, MPEG-2 properly encoded at a High Bit Rate looks great regardless of what you think you know....I know what I see.

According to your earlier posts, you were boycotting this title because it did not use VC1. With that said, you have bashed it out of the gate without ever having seen it in the past.

You are entitled to your opinion of course, but you are only losing credibility every time you bash titles that do not use VC1 .... and more so when you bash titles you have never seen.

Rich

Ok guys I just recently purchased a Samsung 4095 and I am getting an xbox 360 and the hd player this week. I was wondering how I should hook this up (vga/ component)? (just making sure i buy the right stuff).. I see alot of people have the 4095 and was looking for advice on this and on settings for the tv. Thanks for any help guys







No matter where you go, there you are!

I don't have that set, but IMHO unless you need to upconvert SD DVDs, there is no compelling reason to use VGA. As for settings, if you have or are willing to invest in a test disc like Avia or DVE (the oft-postponed HD DVD version is now said to be coming out at the end of the month,) you can tweak your new display for best performance.

Do you mean a service mode in the 360, or the HD add on? If so, how do you enter it?

Just chiming in on the VGA connection. On my Samsung HL-S4266W, the genuine Microsoft VGA cable looks fantastic - colors are not faded in the least. Upconverted SD DVD's look worlds better than they did over the 480p component connection and the HD DVD's are beautiful.

Does the xbox 360 player upconvert sd dvds or only the HD dvd player?

thanks

If using the VGA adapter the 360 upconverts SD DVDs. No HD DVD addon needed.
In fact this is the only way the 360 will upconvert an SD DVD......via the VGA adapter.

Tom Crews

OK I just ordered an upgrade from my infocus 4805 to an Mits HD100u. I am thinking of getting the XBOX add on. Seems like there are a ton of complaints on this board though. Is audio really bad or just not much better than regular dvd? Should I just save up some coin and get a standalone player??

I just picked up the dvd player last night am amazed at the quality of a component cable hook up on it. I watched KK on DTV and then on here and I see a huge difference so far.

I am impressed at how nice the actual dvd player really is for a add on to a game system.

Gusy, you have lost me completely on the VGA cable thing.

If I have the HD-DVD are you saying I get the best picture out of a vga connection from the xbox to the tv?

I have the hd-dvd right now. Are you saying that you need the vga to upconvert from the hd-dvd player or you need it to upconvert on the standard dvd player?

Both.

On HD DVDs, you'll get 720p or 1080i over component, 720p or 1080p over VGA.

On SD DVDs you get 480p over component, period. To upconvert SD DVD to 720p or 1080p, you must use VGA. (This is true for both the included DVD player and the HD DVD add-on.)