Getting First HD TV, Now What?

Regarding the DVD player - I would personally wait a year or two before taking the plunge on a Hi Def DVD player. With two competing standards (HD DVD and Blu Ray), and virtually no Hi Def format DVDs available yet, I think it's better to let the dust settle on which format "wins" and prices come down.


A Hi Def DVD player won't do anything to improve the output of a standard DVD, so a solid, inexpensive DVD player will do you fine in the meantime.


As for cables - I have been more than happy with component, and most folks don't seem to see a substantial difference in picture quality vs. HDMI. That being said, if all of your gear will already support HDMI, you may as well go for it.

Appreciate the response in layman's terms. Know what to do now.


Thanks

you'll want to consider an upscaling dvd player. something like the Oppo can be had for about $200

Is Oppo better than most DVD players? Compared to Panasonic or Sony?

Dude you can get an upscaling DVD player that supports 720p and 1080i for regular dvd movies and also supports divx at Best Buy for around 80 for the cheapest (toshiba) and 150 for the most expensive (LG).....if you do get one I suggest you get the upscaling progressive, that supports divx and other media formats as well....thats the cheap and best way to go right now.....DONT BUY HD DVD OR BLU RAY JUNK, DRM CRAP

Regardless of price, HD-DVD will give you the best picture quality for your display. It's true that many people want to wait a couple years before they make the plunge. But the sooner people buy HD-DVD players, the sooner we will see great content for it and prices will drop. If we all wait to buy the players, the market will stagnate, prices won't drop, and the movie titles will remain few. It's a catch 22.

Two suggestions. Get a sound system. Even a cheap set up will sound great compared to the speakers in you display. For around $299 you can get a nice set up sans dvd player. For a dvd player I would suggest either the Oppo 971 or the soon to be released 970, or the Sony 75 (single disk) or the 85 (multiple disc). HDMI for sure from Monoprice.com.

The Oppo has the best ratings of just about any other player, comparing favorably to those costing over $1k. It was one of the few players to pass all their tests, and returned the highest score of all tested. You can read the tests at the "Secrets" benchmark site and see for yourself. With it's various upconverting outputs via HDMI, you can try them to see what works best with the XBR. I agree with waiting for the HD players. There's reviews that state the Toshiba, the only reasonably priced unit right now, is having problems.

http://www.oppodigital.com/

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-b...deInt=0&mpeg=0

No HDMI on the oppo? very unimpressed.....

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The OPPO OPDV971H supports up converting 480i to 720p or 1080i with either a DVI --> DVI or DVI --> HDMI connection (the appropriate cable is supplied upon request) and has both coax/optical digital sound outputs, which is...

quite impressive

Well just so you know its STILL not impressive to have no HDMI and plus that chart is way old.....because those toshiba models are discontinued now and they dont even have the newer ones on their, so you cant make a fair comparison.....you can tell its an old chart, cause the oppo still is behind the times with no HDMI....and they have my brothers DVD player on thier....which he bought 5 years ago, this chart is unreliable

Well while some people wait, I have had the toshiba HDDVD for a few weeks and the HD is awsome , a lot of new dvd hd releases are scheduled for the month of may. Also if you read the the hd forum members are selling their oppo and denon and stick with the toshiba because you have the best of both world, the toshiba also does a good job in sd.

I am really waiting for BD players, but I don't see any reason to wait and not get the Toshioba now. It is backward compatible to standard DVD and will upconvert to 720p or 1080i. As was previously stated the PQ is fantastic on HD dvds and very good on stabdard DVD. For 500 bucks, it is a no brainer.

Not to be rude, but if you do buy...it is a no brainer, as in youre not thinking about it....

DRM anyone? cant copy or crack any movies and blah blah blah....dont like that, I think it would be wise to at least wait.....til all options are availibile (Blu Ray?) and see if any companys will move away from DRM or if any individuals can hack a HD or Blu Ray DVD player with hacked firmware to allow playing of copied material....right now I would buy the upconverter DVD player, that way you also dont break the bank with your purchase and it still looks really good......this is all just my opinion though

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If you're looking to play DVDs through your TVs speakers then HDMI is one solution... but most individuals who watch DVDs will play the sound track with a Dolby Digital surround sound receiver. Since DVI and HDMI support the same uncompressed HD digital video signals who really cares about HDMI sound on their TV when their DVD player supports Dolby digital sound out?

I don't copy or crack DVDs now. DRM isn't really an issue for most people. They buy or rent a disk, put it in the player and watch it. Thats it. If you are interested in pirating content, and that is what you are doing whether you want to admit or not (and I don't think copying for backup or mass storage is pirating, but legally it is), then no, HD-DVD or BD is not for you now. In six months, someone will probably crack it. But right now, the BEST picture quality from a disc is from the Toshiba HD-DVD player. Granted there aren't many titles yet, but there will be and watching standard 480 material upconverted is as godd or better than stndard upconverting DVD players.

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This is completely false, its actually the other way around


Heres just one thread of many
http://www.slyck.com/forums/viewtopi...hlight=blu+ray

When I say most people, I mean the 60 or 70 million who have purchased dvd players and don't know what DRM is let alone how it may affect them. The readers and posters of forums are a very very small percentage of the buying public. And yes I do get that DRM is a big issue for that small percentage.

So what youre telling me is that NO ONE uses netflix or blockbuster to copy DVDs with DVDShrink? And switching to the new format will not allow you to do so.....hmmm.....well they had enough of an impact to where the creators and site owners of both Shrink and DVD Decryptor had to shut down their sites and stop production of their FREE products because of the MPAA....so obviously there are enough people doing this, and the fact that you cant do this with the new HD DVD (yet!!) drives all those MILLIONS (yea i said it millions of people do it, I even know cops that do it, because I showed them how ) of people are going to stick with DVD....and wait for it to get cracked or hacked or something, just like CCE was when DVD came out