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bought the toshiba hd-a20....

post #1 of 26
8/21/07 at 4:24pm
Thread Starter 
and im returning it tonite. the video is clear but its not enough of an improvement over digital cable to justify me spending $450 on it. i understand it shows a crystal clear picture, but from 13 feet away from a 46"sharp i cant see enough difference from digital cable. just wanted to share my opinion.
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post #2 of 26
8/21/07 at 4:35pm
That's what you get when you don't calibrate your display for it.

I have an HTPC for HD DVD and it is much, much better than the high-def I've received through cable and satellite.
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post #3 of 26
8/21/07 at 4:36pm
Are ya gonna get the HD-A2 instead?
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post #4 of 26
8/21/07 at 4:39pm
Thread Starter 
nah, im just gonna wait till combo player comes out or maybe till i that have more movies out. i count get the fast and the furious tokyo drift to play, and the Ethernet wouldn't connect.
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post #5 of 26
8/21/07 at 4:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mkrsx84 View Post

nah, im just gonna wait till combo player comes out or maybe till i that have more movies out. i count get the fast and the furious tokyo drift to play, and the Ethernet wouldn't connect.

That's what the forum is for. If you can't figure out something, post the question and we're all here to help. You could have also downloaded the firmware and burned it to a CD as well.
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post #6 of 26
8/21/07 at 4:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mkrsx84 View Post

and im returning it tonite. the video is clear but its not enough of an improvement over digital cable to justify me spending $450 on it. i understand it shows a crystal clear picture, but from 13 feet away from a 46"sharp i cant see enough difference from digital cable. just wanted to share my opinion.

I am certain that you have excellent reasons for sitting 13 feet from your
46" set, but really that is too far away from such a small set. And yes, you also need to calibrate everything, so it is no surprise that you did not see a difference.
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post #7 of 26
8/21/07 at 11:16pm
Thread Starter 
well i sit that far away cause my room is 17" long tv on one wall, bed on the other.
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post #8 of 26
8/21/07 at 11:33pm
You can get the A-20 on Amazon for only $330 bucks right now. I say return the one you have, and get the amazon one... plus you don't pay tax that way.
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post #9 of 26
8/22/07 at 1:58am
Have you checked under the Calibration section of the forum? I found out a lot of tips and tricks for my TV in that section. I am sure they have a thread for your exact TV. People post up their calibration settings on which is best. Since the DVE HD disk is so damn confusing, I just went into my TV's thread and searched through it and found settings that everyone liked. Maybe you will too.
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post #10 of 26
8/22/07 at 3:27am
check the output resolution on the player. It may be set to 720p.
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post #11 of 26
8/22/07 at 4:29am
BB will usually beat any price, plus 10% of the difference. I paid $320 for an A20 4 weeks ago.

I was really hoping to hold out for a dual format player but prices were not dropping much and I didn't see one being under $400 for at least a year. I happened to be in the market for a decent upconverting player and this one does HD DVD as a bonus.
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post #12 of 26
8/22/07 at 5:42am
I am at the other extreme: 133" diagonal screen from 12 ft away. HUGE difference between satellite TV and my A-20. I can even see a noticeable difference between satellite HDTV and my A20. Big improvement overall. I love my Toshiba HD-A20.

However, HDTV is meant to significantly increase the ratio between the size of the screen and the viewing distance. I suppose that your 46" is HD-compliant but, I am afraid to say, viewing it from 13 ft away cancels out any of the advantages of the higher resolution. In my opinion, it is, in fact, a waste of money.

If I were you, I would stick with the A20 (or replace it with the A2, if you feel that the A20 is too expensive) and add a few seats closer to the TV. No need to always watch HDTV from the bed. Also, please ensure that you have all the settings on your TV properly adjusted.
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post #13 of 26
8/22/07 at 6:53am
Interesting that recommendations range from realign your house to buy a bigger display, rather than admitting that the difference between a decent HDTV signal and HD DVD just isn't that great.

This is one of the biggest downsides to HD disc based formats. With the tv screen sizes most people have, the difference just doesn't give that "jaw dropping" effect needed to justify the prices of the players and software.

We're also seeing a continuation of the quality trend that has existed from VHS through DVD. Namely, some discs (and films) aren't impressive visually, due to either the film's style or the quality of the transfer.

Each format (DVD, HD DVD, Blu Ray) has it's examples of great looking product, and some dogs.
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post #14 of 26
8/22/07 at 6:55am
Why did you pay so much Amazon has it for $330?, Also calibrate your sharp and try again..
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post #15 of 26
8/22/07 at 7:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mkrsx84 View Post

and im returning it tonite. the video is clear but its not enough of an improvement over digital cable to justify me spending $450 on it. i understand it shows a crystal clear picture, but from 13 feet away from a 46"sharp i cant see enough difference from digital cable. just wanted to share my opinion.


Ummm.. what did you expect? You are way too far from that relatively small screen to benefit from it's high resolution capabilities (I assume it is either 1366x768 or 1920x1080 native). From that distance, I'd be surprised if you could tell a difference between standard def and high def.

Try watching it from about 6-8 ft instead... and do a proper setup with a calibration disc like DVE, Avia or the THX Optimizer test patterns.
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post #16 of 26
8/22/07 at 8:13am
I sit 8 feet from my 56" tv. 13 feet from a 46 720p set is waaaay to far. HD DVD beats digital cable any day of the week.
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post #17 of 26
8/22/07 at 8:42am
Yes I sit about 7-9ft from a 65" TV and my A20 is awesome and is MUCH better than dish.

I picked mine up from staples for $260.

Prices are going to be coming down.
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post #18 of 26
8/22/07 at 9:17am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ Matt View Post

Have you checked under the Calibration section of the forum? I found out a lot of tips and tricks for my TV in that section. I am sure they have a thread for your exact TV. People post up their calibration settings on which is best. Since the DVE HD disk is so damn confusing, I just went into my TV's thread and searched through it and found settings that everyone liked. Maybe you will too.

calibrated tv and hd player.
Quote:
Originally Posted by erick granato View Post

check the output resolution on the player. It may be set to 720p.

i set the output in the player to 1080p and the screen went black fro a min or 2 then wen to 1080p

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael9009 View Post

I am at the other extreme: 133" diagonal screen from 12 ft away. HUGE difference between satellite TV and my A-20. I can even see a noticeable difference between satellite HDTV and my A20. Big improvement overall. I love my Toshiba HD-A20.

However, HDTV is meant to significantly increase the ratio between the size of the screen and the viewing distance. I suppose that your 46" is HD-compliant but, I am afraid to say, viewing it from 13 ft away cancels out any of the advantages of the higher resolution. In my opinion, it is, in fact, a waste of money.
If I were you, I would stick with the A20 (or replace it with the A2, if you feel that the A20 is too expensive) and add a few seats closer to the TV. No need to always watch HDTV from the bed. Also, please ensure that you have all the settings on your TV properly adjusted.

i got a 1080p 46" sharp d62u for 1982 including tax. at (CC) def. not a waste.
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post #19 of 26
8/22/07 at 9:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mkrsx84 View Post

calibrated tv and hd player.
i set the output in the player to 1080p and the screen went black fro a min or 2 then wen to 1080p



i got a 1080p 46" sharp d62u for 1982 including tax. at (CC) def. not a waste.

I paid less than that for a 65" Toshiba DLP at CC and I sit 7-8 ft. from it (and HD-DVD is fantastic, even when compared to HD cable).
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post #20 of 26
8/22/07 at 4:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jgatie View Post

I paid less than that for a 65" Toshiba DLP at CC and I sit 7-8 ft. from it (and HD-DVD is fantastic, even when compared to HD cable).

ur tv is also probly 15+ inches thick, mine is 4.5. for a lcd its a good price.
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post #21 of 26
8/22/07 at 5:05pm
You're not getting it. The 46" screen size is way too small from 13 ft. to perceive the main benefit of HD resolution content. You won't be able to see the much higher detail because you are too far away from the set. From 13 ft, you need at least a 60" screen, preferably 1920x1080 native. It doesn't matter if you got a really great deal on that particular flat panel. It's simply too small for your application (at least for satisfactory HD viewing it is).
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post #22 of 26
8/22/07 at 5:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gshelley61 View Post

You're not getting it. The 46" screen size is way too small from 13 ft. to perceive the main benefit of HD resolution content. You won't be able to see the much higher detail because you are too far away from the set. From 13 ft, you need at least a 60" screen, preferably 1920x1080 native. It doesn't matter if you got a really great deal on that particular flat panel. It's simply too small for your application (at least for satisfactory HD viewing it is).

Yes, I tried to make that point to him earlier. He probably should be sitting perhaps 6 feet from the tv--not 13!
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post #23 of 26
8/22/07 at 5:38pm
Thread Starter 
ok sorry guys, should have just bought a projector or sumthin bigger lol.
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post #24 of 26
8/22/07 at 5:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mkrsx84 View Post

ok sorry guys, should have just bought a projector or sumthin bigger lol.

Do definitely keep a sense of humor about everything! The problem is that the physics of light and the physics/biology of the human eye set limits on these things. Sooooooooooooo, yes, the further you are from the screen, the larger the screen needs to be. There are other threads within the AVS Forum that go into the science more, but the above is a short, fast summation of the problem.
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post #25 of 26
8/22/07 at 6:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mkrsx84 View Post

ur tv is also probly 15+ inches thick, mine is 4.5. for a lcd its a good price.

But mine is optimized for the distance I'm sitting at, my HD-DVD looks superb, and I paid less! Now I know it is not hanging on the wall, but I care about the picture, not the mounting method.
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post #26 of 26
8/22/07 at 7:44pm
mkrsx84, you don't need to be sorry. Enjoy your TV. (I agree that a projector or a RPTV in the bedroom is err...not too desirable.)

However, you won't get the full 1080P experience at 13 feet on a 46" distance. I normally sit 12 feet from my 57" 1080P DLP, and that's too far. THX recommends a MINIMUM 70"+ screen for a viewing distance of 12-13 ft. BTW, I noticed that you mentioned in your first post that you can't tell enough difference.

You have a Sharp, so it won't lock up at low bit rates like my Westinghouse 768p LCD does. Does your TV pixelate with weak signals at all? That alone, often, is reason enough to move to optical playback.
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