XBOX 360 HD-DVD Add-On Impressions

[jblank]

Wanna see my impression?

 :icon_eek:

Ho......ly.........shit!

My God does this output a remarkable image!!!!!!! It looks amazing, absolutely amazing. Setup is a cinch, literally all you do is put a CD in, it loads the drivers, and then you plug in the player and voila, you are in HD-DVD world. King Kong looks remarkable. There is a scene on the boat, where Naomi Watts is being filmed against the sunset, and it looks like you are right there on the boat with her. It destroys the DVD version, and even though these are encoded at 1080p, they perform extremely well at 720p, though I must confess I find the 1080i to be just a BIT sharper on my Sony Bravia.

Anyone have some specific questions?

[disarm]

people around here sure don't make it easy to avoid spending more money...

[Natjak]

I really want one of these but no one rents HD-DVDs in my area yet and I don't buy too many movies. Especially at the HD-DVD prices. It sucks to live in small town Canada sometimes.

[jblank]

I really want one of these but no one rents HD-DVDs in my area yet and I don't buy too many movies. Especially at the HD-DVD prices. It sucks to live in small town Canada sometimes.

Is there not a Canuckistanian version of Netflix in the Great White North?

[Knightshade Dragon]

Damn it...you are NOT making this easy. 

That is awesome to hear though!   What about DVDs?  Upsampling in any way?

[Atragon]

Check out zip.ca (Note,  I have no experience with them personally)

[Hetz]

Wanna see my impression?

 :icon_eek:

Ho......ly.........shit!

My God does this output a remarkable image!!!!!!! It looks amazing, absolutely amazing. Setup is a cinch, literally all you do is put a CD in, it loads the drivers, and then you plug in the player and voila, you are in HD-DVD world. King Kong looks remarkable. There is a scene on the boat, where Naomi Watts is being filmed against the sunset, and it looks like you are right there on the boat with her. It destroys the DVD version, and even though these are encoded at 1080p, they perform extremely well at 720p, though I must confess I find the 1080i to be just a BIT sharper on my Sony Bravia.

Anyone have some specific questions?

I think it is awesome as well. I leave mine at 1080i, because my TV will automatically convert it to 1080p, if it's not getting fed a 1080p signal. I got it on Thursday and think it's better than my standalone Toshiba unit. It takes so much less time to boot up than the Toshiba....it's really incredible. I'm probably going to sell the Toshiba, or give it to my Mom. I'm giving my Samsung Blu-Ray player to my sister when I get the PS3.

[jblank]

Damn it...you are NOT making this easy. 

That is awesome to hear though!   What about DVDs?  Upsampling in any way?

I have found upconverting via the 360 to be mediocre to below average at best. In fact, I had better results using Component and letting it do 480p, than I did using VGA and letting it upconvert it to 1360X768. Upconverting produced a VERY washed out picture, that took away from any increase in detail I saw from the increased resolution. It was like watching the movie through a filter that robbed the image of color.

[The_Man]

Damn it...you are NOT making this easy. 

That is awesome to hear though!   What about DVDs?  Upsampling in any way?

Yes, it does up-convert standard DVDs and the few I put in my player looked amazing compared to how they look on a standard dvd player.  I wasn't quite as blown away as jblank was, but King Kong does look very impressive.  Since most of the movie is pretty dark, I'll wait until I see something with a little more light and color before I pass judgement.

If you have Netflix, they carry HD-DVD and Blu-ray.  I went ahead and put Batman Begins in my cue as most of the review sites list it as one of the most impressive HD-DVDs.

Also, DeepDiscountDVD.com is running a 20% off sale on the entire store with free shipping so I picked up Goodfellas for 16 bucks and will be picking up a few more I can find under $20. 

[GuidoTKP]

Love mine.  Looks great.  If you have an HD set and a 360, this is pretty much a no-brainer in my book (unless you already bought a stand-alone player).

[Nth Power]

Wow, nice impressions!   
I'm really tempted to pick one up with all the positive talk.

[Laner]

In fact, I had better results using Component and letting it do 480p, than I did using VGA and letting it upconvert it to 1360X768. Upconverting produced a VERY washed out picture, that took away from any increase in detail I saw from the increased resolution.

That may be due to the VGA connection itself... there's a thread over at the AVS Forums suggesting that the VGA output of the 360 simply isn't as good as component output:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=741975

I've tried it both ways and haven't noticed a big difference, but they're a lot pickier than I.

[Jancelot]

If you have an HD set and a 360, this is pretty much a no-brainer in my book.

Knock it off would you?! 

[jblank]

In fact, I had better results using Component and letting it do 480p, than I did using VGA and letting it upconvert it to 1360X768. Upconverting produced a VERY washed out picture, that took away from any increase in detail I saw from the increased resolution.

That may be due to the VGA connection itself... there's a thread over at the AVS Forums suggesting that the VGA output of the 360 simply isn't as good as component output:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=741975

I've tried it both ways and haven't noticed a big difference, but they're a lot pickier than I.

I'm picky myself....drives my wife nuts.

Apparently, from what my friends at AVS are saying, the Microsoft engineers are working on a fix, to improve VGA quality. That is smart on their part, especially with this thing coming out, and the ability to upconvert via the VGA.

[Farscry]

When they come out with the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions trilogy on HD-DVD, I will cave.

[Windows95]

I'd really like to see an HDMI connector before I pick this up.

[DamageInc]

I agree with you on that one

[metallicorphan]

i know this may seem like a stupid question,but i am not in the full knowledge

do you definelty need a HDTV as well,to see the difference,or is there still a decent difference if you played it on normal TVs.........or is it just not compatible with normal TVs


thx

[Chaz]

You absolutely have to have an HDTV in order to even use the player.

[Windows95]

i know this may seem like a stupid question,but i am not in the full knowledge

do you definelty need a HDTV as well,to see the difference,or is there still a decent difference if you played it on normal TVs.........or is it just not compatible with normal TVs


thx

I suppose with the right equipment you could hook up a hidef player to a standard TV, but it would be pointless.  The visual improvement is through the higher resolution.  Whatever resolution increases HD-DVD offers would be lost since the image would be drastically scaled down (and therefor the details lost) on a standard set.

[metallicorphan]

ok thx

[Calvin]

I pledge allegiance, to wait out the end of the format wars, to this republic of me not having much money, please stop tempting me.


Wow, that was one awful attempt to be funny. I hang my head in shame.

[Windows95]

I pledge allegiance, to wait out the end of the format wars, to this republic of me not having much money, please stop tempting me.


Wow, that was one awful attempt to be funny. I hang my head in shame.

You should wait and save your money.  You are 100% correct.

Of course if you buy it now, you get a free copy of P.J.'s King Kong on HD DVD with the player.

Oh, and some stores like Future Shop are throwing in a free copy of P.J.'s King Kong for the 360 as well.

But yes wait, don't rush out and buy something just to get $100 worth of free stuff with it.

Hope these words of inspiration help. 

[Thin_J]

I need to just stop reading game related internet forums period. I spend way too much money because of posts just like this one

[Chaz]

After watching some more last night, I have to emphasize my earlier conclusion that this thing is REALLY FRIGGING PRETTY!

What I wasn't expecting was a large difference between the HD-DVD picture and HD cable.  However, after watching the DVD last night, I was watching some HD cable, and it was a noticeable downgrade.  Very surprising.

My investigations will be expanded to include Serenity, Batman Begins, and Terminator 3 over the weekend.

If I had to pick out a negative, it's that leaving a DVD in the HD drive definitely adds time to the 360 boot cycle.  When you boot with a disc in, it stays on the logo screen before displaying the dashboard or the game for quite a bit longer, I'm assuming in order to read the DVD.  Of course, the easy solution is to just take the disc out when you're done with it, and I can live with that.

[Calvin]

OK so someone tell me this-what like, MAJOR MAJOR movies are blu-ray only and hd-dvd only?

[Chaz]

The problem is that with the format war, the Major titles aren't really slated yet, I suspect because they don't want to come out on the wrong side (plus, a Major title is a pretty subjective thing anyway).

If you're talking about stuff like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, I'm pretty sure no announcement has been made for exclusivity on any of them.  I like to think that by buying a player, I'm casting my vote, and eventually the HD side will win the fight, and I'll see all of the movies I want released on that format.  If blu-ray manages to win, I'll still have my player, and eventually I'll be able to own every movie released on HD-DVD for next to nothing, and they'll still be in HD!  Yay!

[Calvin]

The problem is that with the format war, the Major titles aren't really slated yet, I suspect because they don't want to come out on the wrong side (plus, a Major title is a pretty subjective thing anyway).

If you're talking about stuff like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, I'm pretty sure no announcement has been made for exclusivity on any of them.  I like to think that by buying a player, I'm casting my vote, and eventually the HD side will win the fight, and I'll see all of the movies I want released on that format.  If blu-ray manages to win, I'll still have my player, and eventually I'll be able to own every movie released on HD-DVD for next to nothing, and they'll still be in HD!  Yay!

Yeah you got what i meant by major-also like, my favorites-Star Trek of course in all formats is HUGE for me. If star trek in hd is blu ray only, I will be buying blu ray at some point, that kind of thing. I watch a ton of Pixar and Disney animation movies, I have virtually every Mel Gibson movie, etc. Just curious to see what format these will be on!!

[metallicorphan]

i may of asked this before ,but if indeed BLU-RAY did won the format war....do you think microsoft would yeald and bring out a BLU-RAY dvd attachment,similar to the HD-DVD?

[jblank]

i may of asked this before ,but if indeed BLU-RAY did won the format war....do you think microsoft would yeald and bring out a BLU-RAY dvd attachment,similar to the HD-DVD?

No, because BR is Sony's technology and as such, they would have to pay a licensing fee to a competitor. Would Ford help GM? Nope.

I think HD-DVD is gonna win though.

[EngineNo9]

Taken from some Wikipedia articles:

In terms of major studios, HD DVD is currently exclusively backed by Universal Studios and The Weinstein Company (through Genius Products) and is non-exclusively backed by Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., New Line, HBO, DreamWorks, Image Entertainment, Magnolia Pictures, Brentwood Home Video, Warner Music Group, Ryko, Goldhil Entertainment, and Studio Canal.

There are some important studios there, but only two are exclusive and you will also notice a lack of others that support only Blu-Ray so far (such as Sony's labels, obviously, and Disney/Pixar)

[Azhag]

Question - my 32" lcd is 1366 x 768-pixels.  I think I have it set to 720p for games already.  This is the resolution I should use for hd-dvd movies too on that size, correct (as opposed to 1080i)?

[jblank]

Question - my 32" lcd is 1366 x 768-pixels.  I think I have it set to 720p for games already.  This is the resolution I should use for hd-dvd movies too on that size, correct (as opposed to 1080i)?

Actually, for movies, I change my 360 to be 1080i, and now I can tell a bit more difference, as the image is a little bit sharper. Try them both, it differs between TV's, and the best resolution setting is what looks best to your eye.

[Calvin]

Taken from some Wikipedia articles:

In terms of major studios, HD DVD is currently exclusively backed by Universal Studios and The Weinstein Company (through Genius Products) and is non-exclusively backed by Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., New Line, HBO, DreamWorks, Image Entertainment, Magnolia Pictures, Brentwood Home Video, Warner Music Group, Ryko, Goldhil Entertainment, and Studio Canal.

There are some important studios there, but only two are exclusive and you will also notice a lack of others that support only Blu-Ray so far (such as Sony's labels, obviously, and Disney/Pixar)

Pixar/Disney do not appear to be exclusive to Blu-Ray however...hmm, this is a wierd VHS/Betamax kind of time. I think Jblank is right, but man, even if I could buy one around Christmas, is it smart. Well, a month to decide

[Chaz]

I know by buying one, I'm running the risk of being an early adopter in the middle of a format war.  However, if you already have a 360, you're talking $200 for an HD DVD player.  When I bought my first DVD player, it cost me about $250, and that was including a 20% employee discount, and was in '99.  When it comes to home theater, that kind of money I'm willing to take a calculated risk with.  However, since I strongly feel that if there is going to be a winner, it's going to be HD and not blu-ray, I don't think it's much of a risk.

[Calvin]

I know by buying one, I'm running the risk of being an early adopter in the middle of a format war.  However, if you already have a 360, you're talking $200 for an HD DVD player.  When I bought my first DVD player, it cost me about $250, and that was including a 20% employee discount, and was in '99.  When it comes to home theater, that kind of money I'm willing to take a calculated risk with.  However, since I strongly feel that if there is going to be a winner, it's going to be HD and not blu-ray, I don't think it's much of a risk.

I know a lot of people think this (and I kinda do too), but is there any particular cause for us thinking this way? Any rumors/facts/ideas that make us think its the better choice?

[Knightshade Dragon]

I know by buying one, I'm running the risk of being an early adopter in the middle of a format war.  However, if you already have a 360, you're talking $200 for an HD DVD player.  When I bought my first DVD player, it cost me about $250, and that was including a 20% employee discount, and was in '99.  When it comes to home theater, that kind of money I'm willing to take a calculated risk with.  However, since I strongly feel that if there is going to be a winner, it's going to be HD and not blu-ray, I don't think it's much of a risk.

I know a lot of people think this (and I kinda do too), but is there any particular cause for us thinking this way? Any rumors/facts/ideas that make us think its the better choice?

There is a VERY simple answer.  People are absolutely and completely stupid.  They see their HDTV.  What goes with HDTV but an HD-DVD!  The letters match!  Blu-Ray? Whats that?  Oh that plays Pony Slastation 360 games.