Official HD DVD owners thread (first impression, bugs, etc)

[james99]

Thought I create a seperate thread for people how actually own a HD DVD player with titles.

For those just lurking, several threads already exist on hardware/software.

Please state what hardware and software you own.

Thanx.

(Official Toshiba HD-XA1 and HD-A1 HD DVD Discussion)

[kennigo]

Okay, I do not have the player yet, but I did take advantage of the 10% off at Best Buy's website tonight and went for it. I paid 629.99 + 2 year warranty (49.99).
629.99 puts it reasonably close to the 499.99 US our neighbors are paying. Now I just have to wait.
I will let everyone know when it shows up, and do some sort of mini review. My home set-up can be found in my signature.

[james99]

I've pre-ordered one from BB as well. This is my 3rd pre-order. First was from Ecost.com for $399USD (they have since raised the price to $499USD).

Second was from FS when it was for sale for 24 hours (last I looked it's not back on the site).

I ordered all 3 titles that are being released on Tuesday. Should be interesting to see how supply/demand works out.

[mfabien]

Expect to receive my HD-A1 from Best Buy within one week.

Read the 65 pages of posts at AVS. So I know what to expect. Of course I had seen the Toshiba demo at the Montreal show recently.

[james99]

Isn't the Canadian release date the 28th ?

[mfabien]

Originally Posted by james99

Isn't the Canadian release date the 28th ?

I expect to have the unit on hand «by» the release date (which is in 7 more days).

BTW in the US the release date was April 18 but each BB store received an allotment of 3 and quickly sold them out starting Saturday the 15th. As for the 3 HD DVD movies, some BB sold them before the 18th and others who delivered the HD-A1 refused to sell the movies before the 18th. And that is one of the reasons so many discovered how well the unit Upconverts SD DVD... most say it does it as well or better than any high rated Upconverting DVD player.

[mfabien]

Like other Canadians, I've yet to receive my pre ordered HD-A1. But I have done a ton of reading of comments by new owners in the US and here are things to watch for when setting up your player:

- Some and especially those with a projector, have first complained about the HD images. Once they realized that the display or projector required picture/color calibration they became happy campers. As in the case of any new DVD player, one should calibrate picture and color settings for the appropriate input. For an HD player, this is of more importance because the first priority, in your evaluation and satisfaction, is the picture quality. In this case, the HDMI or DVI input. If you use HDMI or DVI for broadcast reception, you may then need to return to the previous picture settings. So note the original settings on paper. The same can be said for Component input.

- To calibrate, it is my experience that the use of a calibration DVD, such as AVIA or DVE is best and effective. It will be useful for sound testing as described further on. If you don't have a calibration DVD, look at broadcasted TV and try to memorize Brightness and color hue (not the settings but the picture per SE) and back to the digital input and during playback of HD DVD, go to the TV's picture settings and adjust until you're happy. It is far from the best method to calibrate but at least it may give you a better picture than before.

- If you use Component for HD DVD, you may have HD if the ICT flag is not coded. With the ICT flag, the analog connection will be downgraded to 540p resolution.

For HD DVD Advanced sound:

- If your a/v has 6 analog cable inputs, install the 6 cables between the player and the a/v. If your a/v does not have an HDMI input, the use of analog cables is the only way to get DD Plus in 5.1 and DD TrueHD in Stereo.

- With digital connection (coax or optical) the player decodes DD Plus but transmits DTS surround because the digital cable cannot handle the bitrate. For those with an a/v that cannot decode DTS, make the player transmit PCM.

For SD DVD sound:

- Same as with any other DVD player.

Note: Some have reported that the testing of speakers, for the analog cable connection, with the player's test mode should be avoided because the test sound is extreme. One had a tweeter blown up. Use your calibration DVD to test the speakers (AVIA or DVE) with a SPL meter. Otherwise, adjust volume as best as you can by trial and error.

Upconverting SD DVD:

- Cannot be done with Component connection, unless DVD data is not on a commercial product.

- Using HDMI, use the resolution displayed on your TV (720p or 1080i) and it is said to perform with the best upconverting players.

Miscellaneous:

The player cannot playback SACD. As for DVD-A, it will playback the digital tracks but not the High Resolution multichannel data.

The player boots up like a computer and that takes more time than a normal DVD player.

The remote can be sluggish, especially the arrow directional buttons. The HD-A1 remote is not back lighted. Those with a universal remote will be happy to configure them for this player (my Harmony 880 is ready).

IMPORTANT:

When playing HD DVDs, the player is dealing with 1080p data.

The output resolution should be set at 1080i regardless of your display resolution. And here's why:

For a 1080i display like my TV, the player goes from 1080p to 1080i and transmits 1080i to my 1080i display.

For a 720p display, if you set the player resolution to 720p, the following takes place:

1080p > 540p > 720p to your 720p display.

If you set the resolution to 1080i, the following takes place:

1080p > 1080i to your TV and it converts 1080i to display 720p.

By setting the resolution at 1080i for the player, you lose less data than upconverting 540p.

[james99]

Release date for Canada is now early May. I'm hoping my US purchase comes before then.

[mfabien]

Right, launch date now May 5. BB confirms they are holding my unit and will ship accordingly.

[egore]

Zip.ca originally had a release date of April 18 for Serenity and April 25 for Doom, Now it's been changed to May 2 for both titles. It seems the release date of the HD-DVDs has been pushed back to May2 (Possible reason for the hardware being pushed back?).

[james99]

My first HD DVD movie has shipped - Apollo 13, which came out today.

The 3 titles that came out last week still haven't shipped.

[EMAGDNIM]

I have a friend who works at a big box store that said he'd get me one at cost. I'm seriously thinking of getting one for my HT in the besement...

[mfabien]

Best Buy advising me that Chronos in HD DVD is back order. Anyone know if I can make a purchase online somewhere, would prefer "Serenity" by Univeral rather than one of the Warner movies with the low sound recording.

Or Appolo 13 would be nice... what is the web address James?

[james99]

Amazon.com has the titles you need. Some have gone up in price (pre-order price seems to be the lowest).

Orders usually take 6 business days to S. Ontario. I have never been dinged taxes/duty just shipping cost.

[mfabien]

Thanks James. Ordered Appolo 13. Scenery in space should be nice in HD DVD.