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[Oni Jazar]

(BD baby pic)

Is that your kid or do you just take random pictures of babies at the mall? :lol

 

[Forsete]

Are the specs for Jesse James known yet?

 

[acabado]

that's actually really neat what disney is doing.

Disney really wants to BD take off. I think that Disney's have the largest number movies with best picture quality compared to the other studios.

 

[avaya]

Are people surprised that a Disney promotional event attracts attention?

It's Disney. Parents will be dragged into stopping by and checking it out by their kids.

Disney is the best marketing tool that Blu-ray has ever had.

 

[Costanza]

I just picked up a copy of The Invasion (BD) a couple days early at Walmart. I know it's supposed to be pretty crappy but I love these kind of movies.

Impressions later...

 

[Snah]

Are the specs for Jesse James known yet?

Is this a good movie worth picking up?

 

[Forsete]

Disney really wants to BD take off. I think that Disney's have the largest number movies with best picture quality compared to the other studios.

Yep, they are really good at using high bitrates.. Cars, Pirates, Apocalypto.

I still think Apocalypto is the best we've seen to date

http://pici.se/pictures/SaPXOamhS.jpg

http://pici.se/pictures/oVMOmwbxW.jpg

http://pici.se/pictures/laspgFtsj.jpg

Is this a good movie worth picking up?

It has recived high marks in my country.. I havent seen it yet, I want to be a virgin when I see it on Blu-Ray.

The release date is feb 5, so Im importing via HD Movie Source.

 

[OokieSpookie]

If you have no desire to go HD, there's little incentive to spend 100 bucks on an overpriced DVD player.

Exactly, you can get a decent 1080P upscaler for less than that and one that most likely will also play divx.

 

[Ceb]

Yep, they are really good at using high bitrates.. Cars, Pirates, Apocalypto.

I still think Apocalypto is the best we've seen to date

http://pici.se/pictures/SaPXOamhS.jpg

http://pici.se/pictures/oVMOmwbxW.jpg

http://pici.se/pictures/laspgFtsj.jpg

Hey Forsete, you're watching on a 720p TV right? You don't feel there are any visual quirks associated with downscaling from 1080p?

 

[Suikoguy]

How the heck did you take those pictures?
Tripod?

They look like direct captures, but I see the PS3 pause logo

 

[Forsete]

How the heck did you take those pictures?
Tripod?

They look like direct captures, but I see the PS3 pause logo

They are direct feed via a capture card (component)

Hey Forsete, you're watching on a 720p TV right? You don't feel there are any visual quirks associated with downscaling from 1080p?

Not that I can tell. Looks about the same compared to when PS3 didnt output anything lower than 1080i.

 

[xS1TH L0RDx]

Hey Forsete, you're watching on a 720p TV right? You don't feel there are any visual quirks associated with downscaling from 1080p?

I know you weren't talking to me, but I totally do. I've bitched about it before but nobody seems to know what the deal is. Oh well, I'm like 99 percent sure i'll be getting a 1080p set soon.

 

[Tideas]

does anyone have a samsung and a BD player? When I was watching this at Frys, watching Pirates of the Carribean, for some reason, the picture quality makes it seem as though the movie is life-like, a little too life-like, as if I'm watching a stage production instead of an actual movie.

I don't remember if this was with a samsung or a sony but I know it was one of the two.

 

[xS1TH L0RDx]

120Hz.

Edit: info would help: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-ent...ng-movies-look-as-smooth-as-butter-231872.php

 

[Ceb]

I know you weren't talking to me, but I totally do. I've bitched about it before but nobody seems to know what the deal is. Oh well, I'm like 99 percent sure i'll be getting a 1080p set soon.

I had you in mind actually. :lol

I'm having an extremely hard time trying to figure out what TV to buy.

 

[Suikoguy]

Any more info on 120hz?

I wanted to get my parents something for their 30th anniversary (They have an old 27inch CRT Clunker),
I was thinking of upgrading my current year old LCD to something with 120hz

 

[xS1TH L0RDx]

I had you in mind actually. :lol

I'm having an extremely hard time trying to figure out what TV to buy.

I was looking at a bravia another poster in this thread has (so jealous): http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...=product&tab=2&id=1184369372305#productdetail

But now i'm looking at this samsung: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...p+40"&lp=2&type=product&cp=1&id=1183767793346

Everytime I go to best buy I always spend about a half hour looking at the both of them. I think the sammy is *slightly* better due to the higher contrast ratio, but god damn that bravia is just so slick looking. I've also seen a ps3 hooked up to both of them demo-ing blu-ray at Tweeter (not sure if you have that where you are, it's a home theater store) and the picture quality is fucking phenominal on both.

as for my grainy blu-ray issue, my tv's res is 1366x768...i wonder if there's some issue where ps3 can only do 1366x720? would that even matter?

 

[xS1TH L0RDx]

Any more info on 120hz?

I wanted to get my parents something for their 30th anniversary (They have an old 27inch CRT Clunker),
I was thinking of upgrading my current year old LCD to something with 120hz

Sorry for the double post.

I don't know if you caught my link, that's all the info I could find.

That's awesome about your parents' 30th... barely anybody makes it that long anymore.

 

[Nicodimas]

I'm having an extremely hard time trying to figure out what TV to buy.

Go With Plasma, hands down the better format. Theres some really nice Televisions from Panasonic coming in March/April --Wait for these to pick up a 1080P. This will give you some time to save up a little extra cash.

You have to get a 50 inch + for 1080P to really matter, most say 58 inches.

Panasonic 800 series:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=970761

 

[Costanza]

The Invasion wasn't nearly as bad of a movie as Rotten Tomatoes led me to believe, and the PQ was like a 4.5/5. I'm happy with my purchase.

it's really sparse on special features though - not even a deleted scene or commentary track, but there is some behind the scenes stuff.

 

[Xater]

The Invasion wasn't nearly as bad of a movie as Rotten Tomatoes led me to believe, and the PQ was like a 4.5/5. I'm happy with my purchase.

it's really sparse on special features though - not even a deleted scene or commentary track, but there is some behind the scenes stuff.

Really? maybe I should give it a try. At first I was going to watch it because the dirctor of der Untergang und das experiment made it but then I read all the bad reviews etc.

 

[Ceb]

Go With Plasma, hands down the better format. Theres some really nice Televisions from Panasonic coming in March/April --Wait for these to pick up a 1080P. This will give you some time to save up a little extra cash.

You have to get a 50 inch + for 1080P to really matter, most say 58 inches.

Panasonic 800 series:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=970761

I'd go with plasma if my usage would be restricted to movies, but I'm scared of HUDs in games contributing to burn-in so LCDs are more attractive to me.

 

[user friendly]

Is that your kid or do you just take random pictures of babies at the mall? :lol

Lol, she's mine.

 

[DarkJediKnight]

Considering that most HD-DVD players are superior upconverting players, why do people who argue that HD-DVD is dead still think that $100 is a bad deal for this player? If you have no desire to buy bluray ever, even if HD-DVD dies, why isn't it still a great deal to have one of the best upconverting DVD players on the market for $100 that will also play things like Planet Earth and Battlestar Gallactica with HD picture and sound?

Bluray is winning so all HD-DVD players are not worthy of purchase? Sorry, but my HD-XA2 will continue to be my SD-DVD player of choice even if every HD-DVD studio throws in the towel.

HD DVDs are great upconverters but they're slow as shit. People want convinience and ease of use. The biggest problem for standalones on both sides is that they are slow as hell. The Sharp Blu-ray player is getting close in terms of speed.

 

[dallow_bg]

does anyone have a samsung and a BD player? When I was watching this at Frys, watching Pirates of the Carribean, for some reason, the picture quality makes it seem as though the movie is life-like, a little too life-like, as if I'm watching a stage production instead of an actual movie.

I don't remember if this was with a samsung or a sony but I know it was one of the two.

It's not actually the 120Hz, thought the TV probably did have that as it's natural refresh rate.

They probably turned on the "Motion Flow" option which does give it that weird ultra-smooth effect.

I don't like it and turn it off on my set.
I leave it on for TV though.

For giggles I'll put it on HIGH, oh man, it looks really weird. Like everything is going in fast forward speed yet the audio remains normal and in sync.

 

[Forsete]

I know you weren't talking to me, but I totally do. I've bitched about it before but nobody seems to know what the deal is. Oh well, I'm like 99 percent sure i'll be getting a 1080p set soon.

What kind of TV do you have right now?

I have a 720p V2000 Bravia and I'm not having the problems you described in your post, aka. grainy and fuzzy.

Pics of PS3s 720p output

http://pici.se/pictures/uggIdaeYD.jpg

http://pici.se/pictures/WrYZcnkik.jpg

http://pici.se/pictures/SpZzKbDRr.jpg

 

[xS1TH L0RDx]

samsung 32" flat panel lcd, model number LNS3251DX


wow @ cars blu ray. that looks shit-hot.

 

[Argyle]

HD DVDs are great upconverters but they're slow as shit. People want convinience and ease of use. The biggest problem for standalones on both sides is that they are slow as hell. The Sharp Blu-ray player is getting close in terms of speed.

No kidding. The 30 second boot times on the Toshiba players would be almost tolerable if the eject button popped the tray out immediately so that when the system booted, the movie would already be in the tray, ready to go...but no, it takes 30 seconds for the damn tray itself to pop out, then the movie has to load...

...and god, don't get me started on boot times for "web enhanced" movies...I spent an extra minute staring at a "Loading..." screen with no moving progress bar when I popped in The Kingdom the other night.

CE's making standalones need to sort this out, it's pretty annoying (HD and BD)...

 

[painey]

I rented Blade Runner and the Departed BR, was very impressed. Identity and Blood Diamonds next on the rental queue

 

[Stinkles]

Exactly, you can get a decent 1080P upscaler for less than that and one that most likely will also play divx.

True - but the fact remains that at $100 with a growing library of bargain discs, a firesale HD DVD player is a useful addition to film fans' setup. But this thread has never been about movies for more than a few minutes at a time.

 

[oatmeal]

:lol @ Cars

That scene in front of the Brick Wall is probably the nicest looking image when watching it in BR.

I cued up that scene and then put Cars on DVD on that scene and did a side by side comparison. Like night and day.

It was like watching a good DVD and a downloaded episode of something.

 

[Forsete]

samsung 32" flat panel lcd, model number LNS3251DX


wow @ cars blu ray. that looks shit-hot.

Thats odd, Samsungs are usually pretty good from what I understand. :/

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

I checked the last two pages and didn't see this (though it was probably posted): NPD: Free Blu-ray Players Contributed to Weekly Hardware Lead

That 93% lead for Blu-ray in hardware sales in the week following Warner's exclusivity announcement? NPD (the research group that tallied the numbers) says don't read too much into it.

That's according to a new article at BetaNews, which quotes an NPD official as saying that a series of free player bundles led to inflated weekly numbers for team Blu.

Explaining that the weekly data had not been approved for release by the research group, Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for NPD, cautioned against making any long-term judgments based on the weekly numbers, explaining that NPD sees large fluctuations in numbers like these each week.

Baker went on to attribute the week's Blu-ray gains to several deals from Sony, Sharp and Panasonic that saw free Blu-ray players bundled with the purchase of new HDTVs. He said that player sales for Samsung (which did not offer a free Blu-ray player deal) were "almost non-existent" for the week.

All of this is not to say that it was a good week for HD DVD hardware sales. Although Baker declined to get into specifics, he did confirm a drop in overall HD DVD player sales for the week.

Hmm, interesting bit of info.

 

[OokieSpookie]

I checked the last two pages and didn't see this (though it was probably posted): NPD: Free Blu-ray Players Contributed to Weekly Hardware LeadHmm, interesting bit of info.

:lol

 

[tenchir]

Since people are talking about tvs, I am going to buy a new television once my tax check comes in. I am thinking off buying a 32"-40" tv with a budget of $1300-1500 after tax. Can anyone recommend some good one? and post links from circuitcity/bestbuy/frys website so I can go check it out? I am not a videophile, so I won't notice the small details but I still want a good tv. I saw one at frys a couple of weeks ago that was freaking clear and crisp(was playing Pirates), but cost like nearly $2400.

 

[VanMardigan]

I'm pretty sure I'm getting an HD A3 when they hit $99. I'll let my tv do the deinterlacing from 1080i to 1080p. Not a big deal.

 

[Argyle]

I'm pretty sure I'm getting an HD A3 when they hit $99. I'll let my tv do the deinterlacing from 1080i to 1080p. Not a big deal.

Aren't they already $99 (well, like $100.04) on clearance at Circuit City? I think it was posted a few posts ago and I've seen people on other forums talking about it...

 

[XMonkey]

They are direct feed via a capture card (component)

1080p over component? Or did you deinterlace them?

 

[Raistlin]

400 bucks is preety much the intro level player/only player to really consider at the ps3,

An A-30 is esentially equal player wise to this at more than half the cost off!

:lol :lol :lol

Your actually trying to state the A-30 is basically equivalent to the PS3??!!?!?

:lol :lol :lol


Not on ANY level ...

 

[Raistlin]

Considering that most HD-DVD players are superior upconverting players, why do people who argue that HD-DVD is dead still think that $100 is a bad deal for this player? If you have no desire to buy bluray ever, even if HD-DVD dies, why isn't it still a great deal to have one of the best upconverting DVD players on the market for $100 that will also play things like Planet Earth and Battlestar Gallactica with HD picture and sound?

Bluray is winning so all HD-DVD players are not worthy of purchase? Sorry, but my HD-XA2 will continue to be my SD-DVD player of choice even if every HD-DVD studio throws in the towel.

Except that they are NOT. They are actually pretty bad compared to current dedicated upconverting DVD players ... unless you only care about 1080i input. The deinterlacer in them sucks.


You are thinking about the XA2 (and to a lesser extent, the original) ... which is the high-end HD DVD player.



I REPEAT ... NOT A GOOD UPCONVERTER FOR ANYTHING BESIDES 1080i

 

[OokieSpookie]

Except that they are NOT. They are actually pretty bad compared to current dedicated upconverting DVD players ... unless you only care about 1080i input. The deinterlacer in them sucks.


You are thinking about the XA2 (and to a lesser extent, the original) ... which is the high-end HD DVD player.



I REPEAT ... NOT A GOOD UPCONVERTER FOR ANYTHING BESIDES 1080i

Quite true, the XA2 uses a really good silicon optix chip for upscaling and even some of the first gen hd players had better upscalers but they changed out.

 

[Nicodimas]

Not on ANY level ...

Explain? Or just talking BS. Both play HD-Video and Audiowise play up to True HD.

1080i Vs 1080p is a pretty weak argument as only something like .5% of the market has 1080p and those that DO the TV will do the signal. This of course goes to a basic argument that Hd-dvd usually looks better than Blu. Well mine(XA-2) did versus my roomates PS3.

Why does the second format scare you so blu-ray people so much. So far having two formats has made cheaper adoption, better Support(Mpeg2 )(Dolby Digital), and a better overall profile. In two years, we are enjoying a market getting a ton of people buying into it.

 

[OokieSpookie]

Yeah..I actually had to go do it.
I have never actually put anyone from this board on ignore ( even though I lied about it a couple of times I think ) but I actually had to do it.

 

[avaya]

Why does the second format scare you so blu-ray people so much. So far having two formats has made cheaper adoption, better Support(Mpeg2 )(Dolby Digital), and a better overall profile. In two years, we are enjoying a market getting a ton of people buying into it.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

NPD (the research group that tallied the numbers) says don't read too much into it.

I won't read too much into no HD-DVD movies in the top ten, either.

 

[Raistlin]

Explain? Or just talking BS. Both play HD-Video and Audiowise play up to True HD.

1080i Vs 1080p is a pretty weak argument as only something like .5% of the market has 1080p and those that DO the TV will do the signal.

Its not a weak argument ... because it isn't just about 1080p. The 720p output is fucked up. When you then consider that many people's TV's cannot properly deinterlace 1080i ... where does that leave you? Basically, a large segment of HT owners are going to have problems.

People with 1080i CRT's are the main group that benefit from these players.


What's funny is I've already gone over this with you. You really should research things before calling 'BS' to others.

This of course goes to a basic argument that Hd-dvd usually looks better than Blu. Well mine(XA-2) did versus my roomates PS3.

What the hell does that mean? HD DVD usually looks better than Blu? What?

Why does the second format scare you so blu-ray people so much. So far having two formats has made cheaper adoption, better Support(Mpeg2 )(Dolby Digital), and a better overall profile. In two years, we are enjoying a market getting a ton of people buying into it.

What use is 'cheaper adoption' if that format is dead? You do realize that part of the reason HD DVD died is actually BECAUSE of its pricing.

 

[VanMardigan]

Aren't they already $99 (well, like $100.04) on clearance at Circuit City? I think it was posted a few posts ago and I've seen people on other forums talking about it...

I don't have a Circuit City nearby and they're still $149 on their website.

When you then consider that many people's TV's cannot properly deinterlace 1080i

The last article I remember reading concerning that stated that the vast majority of 1080p tv's pass the deinterlacing test just fine. Maybe you are referring to older 1080p sets.

 

[Nicodimas]

Onix- I hope you realize the amount of support Toshiba has thrown at it players is insane. I am suprised. I have one complaint left and that is memory playback.

1080P deinterlacing done by the TV is fine. Hd-dvd is not dead until Paramount and Univeral flip. When this happens then it is dead. The ball is in Toshiba's court to see how crazy they are. What if they release free hd-dvd players with every HDTV (not going to happen just saying option are there if they want) thats 16 milion players sold.

 

[Raistlin]

Onix- I hope you realize the amount of support Toshiba has thrown at it players is insane. I am suprised. I have one complaint left and that is memory playback.

I'm not sure what the has to do with their choice to use a 'broken' deinterlacer chipset for the gen 3 models? It fails a crap-load of the standard deinterlacing tests. Go look up their test scores at the Secrets of Home Theater site.

I agree they have supported the players via firmware updates more than most companies do. However, they can't use firmware to fix HW problems that were the result of either poor design, or simply cost-cutting.

1080P deinterlacing done by the TV is fine.

>_< No ... just no.

A majority of TV's in peoples' homes right now fail at deinterlacing 1080i (and there are several different ways they can fail). I'm not sure where you heard otherwise.

format war stuff

My statements in the current discussion had nothing to do with the format war ... they were to correct misinformation regarding gen-3 HD DVD SD upconversion capabilities. I really don't want my quotes used as a soapbox for more arguing.

 

[Suikoguy]

I don't have a Circuit City nearby and they're still $149 on their website.

99% of the time they clearance items in the store first.