[louthewiz]

I am ready to get either an hd dvd ,blu ray dvd player but I am reluctant as to what to purchase.

I currently have a samsung hd-841 and it does a nice job upscaling via component video , and another thing is I currently have an hdtv ready monitor and it only has component video inputs as well as my epson powerlite home 10 projector.

Now I have been hearing about the oppo 970hd which does a good job upscaling via component video as well and I want to know if it has better upscaling than the samsung 841,now I don't want to replace my crt tv because it still has a stunning picture which am am very happy with,but I have also seen what an hd dvd player can do via component video outs and I realize that with hd dvd my display is limited to 1080i via component video with the hd dvd player or blu ray so my question is ,

Should I just replace my sammy and get an oppo for now and wait until the format war dust settles ,or get an hd dvd player for now and use it with component with my tv and projector and wait until 1080p projectors come down in price to use with hd dvd or just not bother and keep my current setup ,

so I am asking those who have had the 841 and now either have an oppo or hd dvd what have you decided on and what is your conclusions.

And if do which model should I purchase since my pre/pro does not have hdmi only optical and coaxial inputs and analog ins...

 

[1loudsuv]

life is to short to wait.


just buy either or of the formats. you can go into each with about $400 either with a toshiba a2 or a ps3. now if you really want a stand alone player for blu ray its gonna cost you at least $799 from a b&m store


but if you must wait. say by march most likely their will be a $200-299 hd-dvd player..no announcements for any cheaper blu ray players then the $799 one. or if you want you can buy the lg dual format player for $1200. but for that amount you can buy a ps3 and an a2 and some movies.


to me this format isnt going to end for at least another year so i am just gonna buy a ps3 and go format neutral though i still prefer hd-dvd.

 

[sb1]

Hi, Lou. I found myself pondering this same question over and over and over. I finally purchased an HD-A2, and just recently, a PS3. I have not regreted either. I find myself scouring the forum for news of releases on either format. I simply don't want to watch SD anymore. While that may sound like a wolf in sheeps clothing, I really don't think it is. I know we are only talking about home theater here, but like 1loudsuv said, life is too short to wait. On the subject of sound, opitical out sounds great on my system. Of course, different ears, different sound. I remember reading many of your earlier posts, and I think you are just looking for affirmation on a decision you have already made. No, I have not had any experience with the samsung you mention. But if you are looking for advice from someone who has both formats...........Go shopping. Enjoy.

 

[homerx]

Most current upscaling players will not upconvert over commponet.(As well as the A1,A2)


So if you want a a upconverting player you'll have to use HDMI in most cases.

But HDDVDs players will output 720p/1080i/p when using HDDVD players. Their is a slim chance that future HDDVDs could limit commponet to 480p as well. But I don't think that will happen..


I have the HD841 as well it does a very good job at upconverting over DVI, but my A1 does a little better with DVDs over HDMI

 

[RioRebel]

Lou, I decided to wait, even though I've been dying to get an HD-DVD player for months. I can tell you why I decided that:


I was in Best Buy last weekend with a 12% off coupon and the ad offering two free disks with the player. I had the A2 in my cart and Superman Returns with it, and I sat there for 15 minutes trying to pick the second movie. I just couldn't find one I wanted that badly. It's not that I didn't want anything they had, but that the movies were all between $20-$38, so I was looking at the movies and asking myself which one I wanted for $30 or so. And there was nothing I really wanted at that price.


As I kept thinking about it, I realized that there are very, very few movies that I want badly enough to pay $25 or more. (I know I can get them for about $20 online, but that's still about the same to me. $5 less and I have to get them through the net.)


And all the while, I'm remembering that I have yet to see an HD-DVD or a Blu-Ray disk that really knocked my socks off, other than the demo disks. I've seen some improvement, but never an off-the-shelf disk that really hit a home run with the quality (I'm sure there are some out there, I just haven't seen it yet the times I've looked.)


So as I add it up, I'm going to buy a few reference disks, possibly join Netflix or something to rent a few, and go ahead and buy new disks in this format as they come out (and hope this format wins so I won't have to maintain multiple players.)

All for about $400-$450 for a mostly bug free player which *might* interface hdmi to dvi (my projector) without problems, but might not...


No, not for me.


I'm glad some people have bought them, and they seem to be happy. I want to jump in and support this technology. But it's just not there for me yet.


Meantime, I'll keep watching upconverted DVD's through my 400 disk changer, and suffer through my "almost there" picture quality.

 

[louthewiz]

So is the oppo better than the samsung via component video is my last question since I am determined to wait it out.

 

[Mark0]

I was in the same boat (either buy the Oppo for $200, or get the HD DVD for $364), I went with the HD-A1 for $364. Not only does it upscale, but it plays HD DVD's too

I'm glad I didn't half-ass it.


The price of HD DVD's are more expensive, but to be honest, that's what Blockbuster is for.

 

[louthewiz]



Quote:
I went with the HD-A1 for $364. Not only does it upscale, but it plays HD DVD's too

I don't have hdmi/dvl so the A1 won't upscale via component video.

 

[pcrx]

Lou,


FWIW the Oppo 970 WILL upconvert over component with a firmware hack. This is easily done in a mantter of minutes. I am doing this now on mine and also enjoying the 360 add-on while I wait for the A2 price to drop a hair more.


HD DVD!!!!!

 

[miata]

I was in a similar situation and just got an HD-A1 for a killer price. You need a little patience -- especially with HD-DVDs, but the SD DVD output at 480p is very good. I heard nightmares about the responsiveness, but I am quite happy with both the speed and stability of SD DVD playback once the disk is loaded. If your CRT is like mine it will scale the 480p quite well. The other plus for the HD-A1 is that the 5.1 audio outs are very good for both the HD and SD sound tracks. The price of the HD-DVDs almost seems criminal, so I still buy SD DVDs and have HD DVD configured on my Netflix account.


If you don't have the patience and aren't concerned about audio than consider the HD-A2. I have to say that I didn't think I cared about audio quality until I heard what a difference a good player can make.

 

[ChrisMcCarthy]

If you have a HD system which can do HiDef, AND you have the disposable income to invest in a product which may not be supported in a few years....go for it!


Otherwise, wait and see what happens.


Chris.

 

[rseven]

Asking this question around here is a sure fire way of rationalizing buying an HD player. As for me, I have an upscaling Sony SD DVD player, but purchased the HD A2 in December. I still have both units in my living room even though the HD A2 does a fine job playing SD DVD's. I am happy with the purchase and I definitely enjoy the improved picture and sound of the A2. I have only purchased a handful of discs, but I have rented many from Netflix. I figure that compared to the huge investment I have made in HDTV and 6.1 surround sound that the bucks spent on the A2 are rather modest.

 

[Speqtre]



Quote:
Originally Posted by RioRebel /forum/post/0


I was in Best Buy last weekend with a 12% off coupon and the ad offering two free disks with the player. I had the A2 in my cart and Superman Returns with it, and I sat there for 15 minutes trying to pick the second movie. I just couldn't find one I wanted that badly.

Well, you'll be glad you didn't go to the register with those two coupons - I did the same thing, but got shot down as the fine print on the 12% coupon said "May not be combined with any other offers..." D'OH!


At least I'll eventually get the 3 free HD-DVDs by mail from Toshiba though.