Tosh HD-XA2 1080p HD DVD - First End User Reports!: USERS ONLY PLEASE! - Page 100

No worries mate, picture settings are neutral by default.
I find using the settings for some disks to be beneficial.

My front 720p projector does not have an hdmi input therefore I never ran hdmi cables through the walls for my current configuration.

I am in the process of 1080p projector shopping now.

My current setup is out from the XA2 I have a Geffen HDMI to DVI adapter. Works super. When I go 1080p will I get the full resolution benefits by continuing to use this configuration, or will I need to run new cables to take full advantage of what's available?

Secondly, if the answer is not what I hope to hear, where is the best place to find a quality 40'-50' hdmi cable run at a fair price? And please tell me that It doesn't have to be monster.

Thanks

Forum sponsor monoprice and blue jeans should have long cables. I'm not sure if 50 foot is feasible with HDMI, you may need a repeater. I think there is a home theater forum here to check out.

I am interested in how this goes also. The replacement fan you have ordered will fit in the unit, however the depth of the new fan is less than the original, so I'm interested in what is needed (shorter screws maybe?) to solve this difference. The important specs like CFM and DB levels are good. If you have no major mounting issues, I think this is the fan I will go with as well as mine is pretty loud (65db measured the same way you did).

Has anyone else experienced the Digital Direct Audio Mode "On" resetting after a shutdown?

I'll watch an HD DVD, and I'll get the Dolby TrueHD, DD+, on the front panel display. The next time I turn on the player, it will show "MULTI CH IN", and I'll have to go into the setup menu to reset it. Weird.

Yep, all the time, you actually only have to enter setup and exit setup, and don't have to go into the menus and it will go back to direct audio mode. Another solution though that works is to make sure your receiver and TV are turned on to the correct HDMI inputs for the XA2 before the XA2 is turned on. This allows a correct handshake and the direct audio mode will stay selected. This is just a handshaking problem and if the XA2 is turned on first it misses the HDMI handshake with the receiver and defaults to PCM because it can't tell if the receiver can support direct bitstream.

The fan is thinner, which isn't an issue. I did run into some problems locating the 2-pin connector, so I ended up slicing the leads from an older video card fan to the end of the new fan leads. The mounting holes are not self tapping on the new fan, like they are on the Delta, so I had to go with #6 nuts and bolts x 1 ". The main problem was that there is still a lot of air movement noise coming from the fan, although the whine is gone.

I added a couple of pictures to my blog and will do more experimentation this weekend. Not really sure this belongs in the owner's thread, XA2 noise poll thread, or the mod thread. I just need to pick one and post there rather than a lot of cross posting.

Ah! Thanks for the tip.

I usually fire-up my XA2 first, on account of the longer boot time. I will change my ways forthwith.

Just a simple question for those who might have some basis for comparison. Is the XA2 the best HD player out there for upconversion?

In it's price range nothing comes close. It's definitely a great value in an SD DVD upconverter.

I think it's only whispered in these parts, but in simple PQ terms it likely beats anything out there whether $1,000, $5,000, or (horrors) $15,000-even-20,000 (Meridian 800). That's most likely why the XA2 is in such short supply.

Remember that companies selling these outrageously priced players will always have a market--there are lots of rich folks who simply insist on the "most expensive"! That's right, not "the best", but the "most expensive"! God love 'em, many also Buy High and Sell Low!

It does not beat a $3000 DVDO iScan VP50 video processor.

I have an A3 now..supposed to be good at upconverting..I wonder if anyone here has A/B'd them for a comparison. This all gets pretty complex for a film/video technology challenged person such as myself.

edit..I have a Samsung LED DLP which according to Cnet doesn`t do deinterlacing and 2:3 pulldown well. So that forces me to rely on the player to do these functions well. And with the recent news re Warners..I`m looking at a long term investment in a quality player for my SD DVDs as I`m not moving into Blu-Ray anytime soon. I guess I just need to know if spending another $300 for the XA2 is a significant upgrade to my A3 in these regards. Thanks for your input guys!

Question about upconversion (1080p/24) of anamorphic 1:1.85 title (parent trap 1998 ed): there are slim black bars on top and bottom as there should be, but there are also black bars on the sides (approximately the same size as the top and bottom ones)! Is this the fault of the xa2 or the disc?

Also has anyone made any attempt to disable the blue/red light that is always on behind the power button? I was wondering if cutting one of the four wires that go to that mini board would do it...and if so which one. I guess I could trial and error it eventually...

Hmmm, somewhere in the manual there was a note about dimming it. Search for "dim" in the PDF.

Yeah but the power button led isn't controlled with the display and bottom blue light.

I purchased a Blue Jeans Cable 60 foot HDMI (BJC Series 1) cable, and it works fine. I have it running from a Gefen 2 x 1 HDMI switch to a receiver in my family room. I have both of my HD DVR's connected to the Gefen, so am using 1080i only. However, I think it would be fine with 1080p.

Mark

About that Blue light:
Brilliant hansangb!!! I never noticed that tiny button on the remote before (my eyes aren't up to it)!

The first press of the Dimmer button on the Remote Control turns-off the blue light and dims the display. The second press of the Dimmer button turns off the display completely. Under no circumstance tho is the blue backlight to the On/Off button extinguished.

Bad news: the player doesn't seem to remember the last setting of the backlights!

I will be getting my Mits HC4900 projector this week and I'm looking at a SD-DVD upconversion solution. Would I get a significant quality increase with the XA2 over the A35? I might be able to pick up an XA2 for $400 but that's a big chunk of change to me right now with the projector purchase. If I could get an A35 or even an A2 or A3 for a lot less, would you recommend doing that or is the upconversion of the XA2 that much better?

Thanks guys.

How can anyone possibly know whether it's "better enough" for You?

The XA2 has the Reon chip. The Reon chip is the best there is. I wanted "the best" so I have an XA2 and couldn't be happier. Something comfy about knowing you can't do any better for SD-DVD than the XA2.

btw, i discovered that firmware 2.7 does have a time remaining display. it's weird the way it does it. if you hit the "Display" button, the on-screen display shows the current time

BUT

The Fluorescent display on the XA2 itself displays the remaining time!

You can with video processors like the DVDO iScan.

All firmware versions do this.

At the risk of being redundant..has anyone here compared the upconverting of the XA2 to the A3? If so..is the improvement worth the extra $300 or so?

interesting, i was always under the impression that they didn't, which is why people have been asking for it.

oh well...

I wasn't really asking what would be better to my eyes, but what all of your opinions were on the matter. I appreciate your response and opinions on its upconversion abilities.

ditto claytonian!

I have an A3..I guess we just would like to know...once again, if the upconverted PQ is so much better that it justifies the additional $300. Please someone address this. Thanks guys

I am not sure about the A3. I have a 720p projector and initialy bought the A2. I was surprised that it was better at upconverting to 720p than my Oppo 981. I then bought the XA2 and found the XA2 to be even better than the A2. I paid $100 for the A2 (in that Walmart frenzy) and paid $500 for the XA2. I think the $400 difference was well justified, personally, for the better picture quality alone. There are of course more reasons to consider the XA2. It can send (and my projector accepts) 1080p/24fps, has 5.1 analog outs if needed, can send all 4 high rez audio formats as bitsream (as does the A35), and allows finer picture adjustments through the Reon processor.

John

C'mon Dino! How are we to know what value you place in $300 vs. some-kind-of-PQ-improvement?

Yes, it's worth it, absolutely! $300 is nothing! The XA2 wastes most players >$1000!

Does that help?

Of course, if $300 extra for a player means your kids eat grilled-cheese sandwiches for a month, then I change my answer.