AndrewW Posted February 3, 2008 Posted February 3, 2008 will we get a substandard or low bandwidth result. A result which might be just a little better than standard DVD because of the better originating quality signal. Or just the usual 5:1 Dolby Digital result. I noted that when we played back our HD discs from the MS 380 HD Player ($160) via optical sound connection the sound was an improvement on what I'd been used to. I'm not suggesting this as an option to the best that we've discussed, just interested in what might be the result. You will definitely get a lower bitrate sound than you would by using HDMI, but at least you will get full 1.5Mbps sound via optical, whereas DVDs maxed out at half that and a lot were encoded at an even lower rate. So in other words you will definitely get an improvement over SD DVD, but you would get an even bigger improvement with HDMI.
abk_in_bris Posted February 3, 2008 Posted February 3, 2008 I talked to two different HN stored about the Xe1. Both said $1300 and knew nothing about the price drop. This was last sunday when both CP and JB knew all about it and were selling them like hotcakes. The sales drones at HN and usually midle aged sad pricks who don't care about or know anything about what they are selling. The younger people at JB etc at least keep up to date and know what they are sellingcheers James I had same prob with HN so went over to Clive Anthonys and bought there
goldgxl Posted February 3, 2008 Posted February 3, 2008 (edited) I'm still negotiating with HN over re-processing my puchase since I bought it only 2-3 weeks prior to the price drop. Looking at 2 avenues with one ofhte more senior sales staff.... seeing what Toshiba will offer (I gather the store still holds some stock too) and the "price gaurantee" - which may not apply if my HN store drop there price themselves (so I can't use them as the price comparison I think) but I will try to use another HN store or another dealer in Brisbane who sells the XE1.Can anyone supply the name of a store in Brisbane that stocks the XE1 as a regular item? I know JB chermside and Indooropilly don't. I just need the name for pricing purposes to demonstrate I can buy it from a store-front. Great news on the purchase Scarecrow.... you will really enjoy the player and HD. Clive Peters Ipswich - $500 Edited February 3, 2008 by goldgxl
scarecrow420 Posted February 3, 2008 Posted February 3, 2008 All makes good sense. Riddick should knock your socks off. Great imaging..(and that's all that's great) plus the sound of course. Let's know how it goes. I am now however a tad confused. You've guided me (us) regarding Sound codecs and Receiver qualities. You've made extra good sense and your way with words is impressive. Concise and simple to undetstand technowrite and an obvious excellent understanding of what the technology 'does' rather than what it is. However you mentioned the arrival of your LCD screen. I'd have thought that with such good communication and high standard quality appreciation that you would aim for the best PQ. Plasma?Regardless of this fall from grace we should continue to chat. Thanks again and with my tongue in my cheek Denzil1 good to know i am making sense I do however suffer from "putting my blinkers on" sometimes in that I only focus and research what i need to know for my setup. Since i always intended to run HDMI i havent bothered much with analog multichannel outputs... and as others have already said when you use optical or coax SPDIF you will still get better sound than a normal SD-DVD due to higher bitrate, but for the high def formats, if the player decodes them into multichannel uncompressed PCM, only 2 channels (not 5.1) can be sent over SPDIF as it does not have the bandwidth to do this. Whereas HDMI has the bandwidth to take a full 7.1 channels uncompressed. And then as i mentioned HDMI 1.3 only has the support for sending the bitstreams of TrueHD DTSMA etc (obviously these would take up less "space" than the full uncompressed 7.1, so this is more a matter of spec support rather than bandwidth). Obviuosly i have just been through the whole LCD vs Plasma thing and i basically came to the conclusion that unless i could get a Pioneer LX50, which i couldnt afford, i didnt really favour any cheaper Plasmas over the Samsung F81 and Sony X series LCDs. I am very happy with the Sammy so far the picture is great, no problems with the set itself (which is thankful given the bad wrap they are getting in the owners thread at the moment) and yeah, upgrading from an aging 68cm Sony CRT to this 46" LCD and my XE-1 has been very pleasing so far Bought Planet Earth series today and watched a bit of that too... very nice
denzil1 Posted February 3, 2008 Posted February 3, 2008 good to know i am making sense I do however suffer from "putting my blinkers on" sometimes in that I only focus and research what i need to know for my setup. Since i always intended to run HDMI i havent bothered much with analog multichannel outputs... and as others have already said when you use optical or coax SPDIF you will still get better sound than a normal SD-DVD due to higher bitrate, but for the high def formats, if the player decodes them into multichannel uncompressed PCM, only 2 channels (not 5.1) can be sent over SPDIF as it does not have the bandwidth to do this. Whereas HDMI has the bandwidth to take a full 7.1 channels uncompressed. And then as i mentioned HDMI 1.3 only has the support for sending the bitstreams of TrueHD DTSMA etc (obviously these would take up less "space" than the full uncompressed 7.1, so this is more a matter of spec support rather than bandwidth).Obviuosly i have just been through the whole LCD vs Plasma thing and i basically came to the conclusion that unless i could get a Pioneer LX50, which i couldnt afford, i didnt really favour any cheaper Plasmas over the Samsung F81 and Sony X series LCDs. I am very happy with the Sammy so far the picture is great, no problems with the set itself (which is thankful given the bad wrap they are getting in the owners thread at the moment) and yeah, upgrading from an aging 68cm Sony CRT to this 46" LCD and my XE-1 has been very pleasing so far Bought Planet Earth series today and watched a bit of that too... very nice You're forgiven. I have a 42" two year old 1024x1024 Hitachi Plasma. Brilliant picture. Going up to 50" I also went through the LCD v Plasma shoparound...Spent a month on the new Hitachi 50" trail ..but we all know what happened there. Settled on the Panasonic 50" 700A (Cant afford the Pioneer) which I'll pick up in about a week. Planet Earth was my first choice a cuppla months ago..Brilliant. . . even on the SD HItachi. Imagine how much better it will be with the bigger HD Pana and the Tosh Hi Fi HD Playback and sound and my new Onkyo and the Monitor Audio Silvers. King Kong is also a reasonable HD demonstration of both PQ and sound. Keep us informed as your package comes together. It's sounding good. thanks again Denzil1
metal beat Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 You're forgiven. I have a 42" two year old 1024x1024 Hitachi Plasma. Bri
hddvduser Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 bit of advice if you want a hdxe1 , toshiba recieve last shipment in 2 weeks so 100 more thats it , then no long around , so i wouldnt wait to much longer or pre order if you want them......
Anthonyw Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 (edited) Well 100 should be enough to keep most people on here happy, but shouldnt last too long i'd say (in my not very professional opinion!) I'm assuming they will then be replaced with the E35 or whatever the newer model is without the reon. Edited February 4, 2008 by Anthonyw
ajm1503559545 Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 bit of advice if you want a hdxe1 , toshiba recieve last shipment in 2 weeks so 100 more thats it , then no long around , so i wouldnt wait to much longer or pre order if you want them...... Then what? Are we getting Gen 3 players?
Cozzmo Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 Yeh, then what? I don't think its likely they will simply no make anymore unless they're going to lay down their weapons and submit to BD. However it is strange that we've had no leaks/product whispers that something new is coming out. I'm being told (by others in the family) not to splurge out and buy a player... but its so dammed tempting.
hddvduser Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 Yeh, then what? I don't think its likely they will simply no make anymore unless they're going to lay down their weapons and submit to BD. However it is strange that we've had no leaks/product whispers that something new is coming out. I'm being told (by others in the family) not to splurge out and buy a player... but its so dammed tempting. there is no new player replacing it (hdxe1) they will stick with the ep10,e1 for now then yes in a little while they go to the ep30,ep35....no they are not giving up to bd..
AndrewW Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 Sharp Duo player I think is the word Yeah because obviously Toshiba's next release will be ... the Sharp dual format player
Alistair Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 When are Toshiba going to update their website?? Was just browsing smh.com.au when a toshiba hd-dvd ad popped up so I thought I would check it out to see if there was anything new behind it - only a link to http://www.toshibaav.com.au/hddvd/hddvd.html and when I clicked on product range up popped the old page with the old prices. I got an XE1 because it was NOT $1299.
Volunteer Kazz Posted February 4, 2008 Volunteer Posted February 4, 2008 thank you Yes thank you hddvduser, because unlike some in this thread we actually appreciate your help and advice.
holo1503559724 Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 (edited) bit of advice if you want a hdxe1 , toshiba recieve last shipment in 2 weeks so 100 more thats it , then no long around , so i wouldnt wait to much longer or pre order if you want them...... thanks for the info mate. Damn, makes the decision a little harder. As per my thread in the Blu sub forum (was meant to be in the combined forum) I am keen to jump in having negotiated a credit with my cfo for a player. I really wanted to find a Blu player in view of the studio support, however in reading the reviews/comments etc there isn't one that appears as good as the Xe1, especially when upscaling normal DVD's is important. Now the pressure is on to decide on a format with a potential shortage of stock......... Edited February 4, 2008 by holo
djOS Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 thank you Agreed, thanks hddvduser for all your efforts.
mgrobins Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 At least if you buy a HD DVD player you can have confidence in it still being the right player for your discs into the future (studio support arguments aside). The pricing just makes it a fantastic choice as a HD and SD upscaling player. I want to have BD as well for movie selection but not yet . I don't think 100 units will last long.
holo1503559724 Posted February 5, 2008 Posted February 5, 2008 (edited) At least if you buy a HD DVD player you can have confidence in it still being the right player for your discs into the future (studio support arguments aside). The pricing just makes it a fantastic choice as a HD and SD upscaling player.I want to have BD as well for movie selection but not yet . I don't think 100 units will last long. thats the thing, I have 250 plus normal DVD's and am slightly addicted to buying them but am reluctant to continue to invest in a technology I know I will be moving away from. I did a quick list of HD DVD's from Amazon and immediately spotted 20 I wanted**, now some are Warner so will no doubt be available on Blu later in the year. However some may not be. Therefore the Xe1 would great as an upscaler for my normal DVD's which means an instant picture upgrade from my early model Oppo. If I could see a Blu machine for a similar price, with as good as reviews on upscaling, as the Xe1 I would buy it, simple. I would forgo the few titles available on HD DVD that aren't available on Blu yet. However I can't see a Blu machine that compares as yet. Ultimately when I can get my projector I imagine I will be "purple". Seems like now is the time to put one foot in. Remember I'm no fanbois, just an average punter who loves his films I can't justify spending $1500 on a fancy Blu player, my cfo would schedule crisis talks if I did. So if I am buying one now the Xe1 seems to be the best out there. Best look around Sydney for that Xe1 I s'pose and more importantly, think of a reason to justify the spends with the cfo. Any girlie HD DVD's she'd like ? **Here is that list Planet Earth The Bourne Trilogy Blade Runner Transformers American Gangster Serenity The Kingdom Blood Diamond Casino 300 The Deer Hunter The Pianist Terminator 3 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Shooter The Searchers We were Soldiers U571 Letters from Iwo Jima Cinderella Man Spy Game The Last Samurai PS Just praying my antiquated Receiver, Yammy 595a, can handle Analogue 5.1 as currently I connect sound via optical to my 5.1 setup. Edited February 5, 2008 by holo
SDL Posted February 5, 2008 Posted February 5, 2008 At least if you buy a HD DVD player you can have confidence in it still being the right player for your discs into the future (studio support arguments aside). The pricing just makes it a fantastic choice as a HD and SD upscaling player.I want to have BD as well for movie selection but not yet . I don't think 100 units will last long. Agree fully. I love movies and want a Blu-Ray player to cover all studios and all movies, but first choice was an XE1 as it was the best machine at the time of either format and gives great upscaling to boot. At the current price its an even better bet, and if, as holo suggested studio support means that Blu-Ray is a better choice from that point of view, then don't worry the players will get better and be around for a while, so can always, as I am doing, wait for a good standalone Profile 1.1 or 2.0 machine to be released at a good price.
scarecrow420 Posted February 5, 2008 Posted February 5, 2008 thats the thing, I have 250 plus normal DVD's and am slightly addicted to buying them but am reluctant to continue to invest in a technology I know I will be moving away from. I did a quick list of HD DVD's from Amazon and immediately spotted 20 I wanted**, now some are Warner so will no doubt be available on Blu later in the year. However some may not be. Therefore the Xe1 would great as an upscaler for my normal DVD's which means an instant picture upgrade from my early model Oppo.If I could see a Blu machine for a similar price, with as good as reviews on upscaling, as the Xe1 I would buy it, simple. I would forgo the few titles available on HD DVD that aren't available on Blu yet. However I can't see a Blu machine that compares as yet. Ultimately when I can get my projector I imagine I will be "purple". Seems like now is the time to put one foot in. Remember I'm no fanbois, just an average punter who loves his films I can't justify spending $1500 on a fancy Blu player, my cfo would schedule crisis talks if I did. So if I am buying one now the Xe1 seems to be the best out there. Best look around Sydney for that Xe1 I s'pose and more importantly, think of a reason to justify the spends with the cfo. Any girlie HD DVD's she'd like ? **Here is that list ... PS Just praying my antiquated Receiver, Yammy 595a, can handle Analogue 5.1 as currently I connect sound via optical to my 5.1 setup. A girlie flick suggestion would be StarDust There are also a fair few others which "might" be considered girlie... if she likes them or you guys havent seen them yet, they may help tip the scales in your favour Just looking at the ones on sale at Amazon some others might be The Breakup, Erin Brokovich, Cinderella Man, Brokeback Mountain, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth, Knocked Up, You Me and Dupree, 40 Y.O Virgin
Dolphy Posted February 5, 2008 Posted February 5, 2008 I succumbed to the pressure and I bought the XE1 (layby) from Clive Peters in Auburn $520. All I need is the firmware upgrade. PM sent.
holo1503559724 Posted February 5, 2008 Posted February 5, 2008 I succumbed to the pressure and I bought the XE1 (layby) from Clive Peters in Auburn $520.All I need is the firmware upgrade. PM sent. ahem, did they have any more ?
Dolphy Posted February 5, 2008 Posted February 5, 2008 ahem, did they have any more ? Not on display, but they did tell me that they were able to order more.
ajm1503559545 Posted February 5, 2008 Posted February 5, 2008 Be careful what you wish for - you just might get it!. Which in the context of this conversation means what exactly? You're still big on the throwaway quips but not so hot with making them topical. So I'm wondering if there's any particualr thought gone into this one or are you still taking random pot shots and hoping for the best?
Junkyard Posted February 5, 2008 Posted February 5, 2008 i just saw an ad on channel 9 for the $299 hd dvd player , for clive peters
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