VT 1010 Posted October 23, 2007 Posted October 23, 2007 It's time to address upscaling... The DVD Forum will only allow copy protected DVDs to be upscaled over an HDCP compliant connection (some DVI and most HDMI) or VGA (I'm not sure about SCART or other RGB connections though). Some players will, however, upscale non-protected DVDs over a component connection. This means a commercial DVD will not be upscaled over component, but a DVD-R might. It is usually dependant on the player. They also have some sort of similar resolution cap for the new HD formats, but I can't quite remember much about it (Luckily it hasn't yet been implimented). I'll have to look it up. Don't forget that your HDTV will often be doing some sort of upscaling (or downscaling) for video signals that aren't in it's native resolution. Also, different players have differing results in general picture quality and upscaling. If the players are on different inputs, the setting may be different for both as well.
VT 1010 Posted October 23, 2007 Posted October 23, 2007 The Xbox 360 will upscale to the maximum resolution it is set to display. The upscaling is automatically enabled when connected via HDMI or VGA. Also, you may need to change the color space. When connected via VGA, many HDTV look treat it as a PC input. Because of this, the picture will often look "washed out". There should be a setting in the 360 menu to change this to one of three options. The PS3 has a couple of upscaling options that can be enabled or disabled (this can even be done during playback). The color space can be changed as well. The upscaling on the PS3 is great, BTW. It's much better than the 360's.
David Hingtgen Posted October 23, 2007 Posted October 23, 2007 I am wondering about the 360's upscaling capabilities/quality. AFAIK the 360 only "renders/generates" at 720p, and up or downscales from there. If upscaling to 1080 takes a moment and the 360 isn't that good at it--it'd be pointless to get a 1080 TV with a game mode, as the game mode's lag-reduction would be countered by the 360's upscaling time. May be better to go with a 720 TV, which could take a 360's output directly.
VT 1010 Posted October 23, 2007 Posted October 23, 2007 (edited) I am wondering about the 360's upscaling capabilities/quality. AFAIK the 360 only "renders/generates" at 720p, and up or downscales from there. If upscaling to 1080 takes a moment and the 360 isn't that good at it--it'd be pointless to get a 1080 TV with a game mode, as the game mode's lag-reduction would be countered by the 360's upscaling time. May be better to go with a 720 TV, which could take a 360's output directly. That's not entirely true. The 360 doesn't render in just 720p. It is entirely dependant on the game. Some games render in 1080p, although those are quite few in number; some render in 480p, which was the case for many early releases; and some render in non-HDTV standard resolutions, such as Halo 3 in 1152x640p. Many games are going to require scaling one way or the other. At least with 1080p, you can better enjoy HD movies. Edited October 23, 2007 by VT 1010
CoryHolmes Posted October 24, 2007 Posted October 24, 2007 I've got my Xbox 360 and it's HD-DVD drive hooked up to my TV with the standard component cables that came with the unit. The system dashboard says that it's set to 1080i, but is it actually outputting at that since I'm not using HDMI or VGA connectors? I tried a frame-to-frame comparison with Last Samurai DVD and HD-DVD and couldn't see much difference between the two.
JsARCLIGHT Posted October 24, 2007 Author Posted October 24, 2007 The HD DVD drive should be a different story. It should play back at the highest resolution you have set over component cables so long as the manufacturer did not use the "ICT Protocol", which is the HD DVD equivalent of the "nothing above 480p over component cables" rule. IMHO it would behoove folks to upgrade to HDMI or a like digital cabling over component... if for no other reason than it just doesn't support much these days.
mikeszekely Posted October 24, 2007 Posted October 24, 2007 The HD DVD drive should be a different story. It should play back at the highest resolution you have set over component cables so long as the manufacturer did not use the "ICT Protocol", which is the HD DVD equivalent of the "nothing above 480p over component cables" rule. IMHO it would behoove folks to upgrade to HDMI or a like digital cabling over component... if for no other reason than it just doesn't support much these days. Meh. I only use my 360 for gaming at the moment, although I'd like to get the HD-DVD drive down the road. But I'm sticking with component, because I'm not buying a new 360 (at the moment) just to have HDMI, and I don't have any more HDMI ports anyway. Besides, wasn't there a bit about not being able to pass audio over the fiber optic out of you use HDMI?
JsARCLIGHT Posted October 24, 2007 Author Posted October 24, 2007 There is a special adapter block that allows you to use the Optical audio port with the HDMI on the new Xboxes. The inability to use it comes from the bulkiness of the standard cable plug which cannot be plugged in when an HDMI cable is installed, but with the adapter it works just fine. I have a friend who has one of the new HDMI Xboxes and with the cable adapter his works perfectly.
VT 1010 Posted October 24, 2007 Posted October 24, 2007 I have an Elite and the audio dongle works fine. The dongle is included with Elites, but not with HDMI Premiums or Arcades. In order for you to get it seperately, you have to buy the $50 HDMI cable. I heard of some people trying third party AV cables, but I'm not sure if they worked.
bandit29 Posted October 24, 2007 Posted October 24, 2007 Gundam coming to Blu-ray According to an update at Gunota, Japanese magazine Gundam Ace says that Bandai Visual Japan is set to release the Char's Counterattack and Gundam F-91 movies on Blu-ray format. Price is 7800 yen and the release date is Feb 22, 2008. No word on the discs features but they should be coming on the Bandai Visual Japan site within the next couple of weeks. http://animeondvd.com/ anyone pick up the new version of Full Metal Jacket on Blu-ray?
JsARCLIGHT Posted October 24, 2007 Author Posted October 24, 2007 I'm waiting to read a review of the new FMJ Blu Ray before buying. I already got burned once, not gonna happen again. IMHO I better see 4 stars or better on picture quality or I'm going to gouge out their eyes and skullf#ck them.
mikeszekely Posted October 24, 2007 Posted October 24, 2007 Gundam coming to Blu-ray http://animeondvd.com/ anyone pick up the new version of Full Metal Jacket on Blu-ray? 7800 Yen seems kinda pricey. But if they have English subtitle tracks...
VT 1010 Posted October 25, 2007 Posted October 25, 2007 I can't believe they're still selling BD's at that price. Does Bandai really make any money off of them? I couldn't imagine them being hot sellers for $70
JsARCLIGHT Posted October 25, 2007 Author Posted October 25, 2007 The problem most likely lies in the newly aligned regions. Lumping Japan and the US in the same region is like making the Los Angeles housing market compete with the Wichita Kansas housing marking. IMHO we are seeing Bandai price their Blu Ray releases for the Japanese market, because it now shares a region with the US they probably are only releasing one movie for both markets. The Japanese are most likely OK with the price because they are used to being totally raped for their media but that kind of price completely doesn't fly in the US and will most likely only further harm the fledgling "anime on HD media" market here.
bandit29 Posted October 25, 2007 Posted October 25, 2007 Some corrections and new listings. 8200 yen...ouch Bandai Visual Japan Blu-ray Solicitations (09:11 AM EDT): The folks at Bandai Visual Japan continue to pump out some very high profile theatrical releases with their Blu-ray line-up and have added more to January and provided some info for February: # Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door - N/A minutes - $¥8190 - 01/25/2008 # Escaflowne the Movie - N/A minutes - $¥8190 - 01/25/2008 # Mobile Suit Gundam F91 - N/A minutes - $¥8190 - 02/22/2008 # Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack - N/A minutes - $¥8190 - 02/22/2008 At this time, all discs list only Japanese language and Japanese subtitles. Specs are still subject to change and some of these are likely to include English language versions. The Gundam F-91 movie lists in its special features that it not only includes both versions of the film but also that some of the special features will be bilingual. http://animeondvd.com/
Ishimaru Posted October 26, 2007 Posted October 26, 2007 Some corrections and new listings. 8200 yen...ouch http://animeondvd.com/ Cowboy Bebop and Escaflowne in high def, it's a dream come true. Now I seriously need to get a PS3 soon.
mikeszekely Posted October 26, 2007 Posted October 26, 2007 Some corrections and new listings. 8200 yen...ouch http://animeondvd.com/ See, if I'm going to pay that much for anime, I'm expecting a series, not a movie.
Dangard Ace Posted October 26, 2007 Posted October 26, 2007 Gee I remember paying around that much for the US Rendition Gunbuster series/per tape back in 1990. Yeah.....not paying that price for one movie/episode again. Though that said I am paying mucho dinero for 1 movie but 5 different versions of that one movie (BladeRunner on Blu).
Gaijin Posted October 26, 2007 Posted October 26, 2007 (edited) Don't forget these are official retail prices. Like US retail prices, if you shop around, you get a better deal. Edited October 26, 2007 by Gaijin
JsARCLIGHT Posted October 26, 2007 Author Posted October 26, 2007 Still... you go down from $80 to what, $60? $50? That is still waaaaaaay overpriced on US shores for just one movie with pretty much zero extras. And DA brings up a good point in the "more for your money" category. Look at the BD/HD release of Blade Runner that is supposed to drop in about a month... That Ultimate edition is $80, but for that $80 you get several edits of the film on multiple discs, tons of extras, an MF'ing briefcase full of extra gimmicks and more stuff that you'd think they'd include in one movie. IMHO that = totally worth the $80. If these Bandai movies did that then my personal opinion would change. But as it stands their releases have been on par with everyone else's single disc, single case, slim bonus featured $25 releases. And as others have stated these discs are JDM release, not US market release... which as I said earlier possibly accounts for their price. The Japanese have 10 gauge a-holes thanks to the pricing of their media. I fully bet that now that BD shares their region with the US that many Japanese will start importing their movies rather than buying domestic. Heck, why pay $80 for a domestic released title when you can wait for the US release and buy it for $25 plus shipping?
bandit29 Posted October 26, 2007 Posted October 26, 2007 Don't forget these are official retail prices. Like US retail prices, if you shop around, you get a better deal. True. Amazon JP will probably be cheaper. I'm sure these will get a US release. I think Sony has the rights for Cowboy Bebop The movie still. Sony's US anime Blu-ray prices aren't too high. Unlike Bandai Visual. I've seen Wings of Honneamise for 55.00-60 at Fry's. If it didn't include the SD DVD, it would probably be 30.00
TheLoneWolf Posted October 26, 2007 Posted October 26, 2007 I fully bet that now that BD shares their region with the US that many Japanese will start importing their movies rather than buying domestic. Heck, why pay $80 for a domestic released title when you can wait for the US release and buy it for $25 plus shipping? With regards to live-action movies, I don't think Japan will import ours since ours usually don't have Japanese subtitles or dubs. As for anime, that's a good possibility. I guess the only deterrent would be the chance that a Japanese fan's favorite anime may not ever see a US release, or if it does then they'll have to wait another year or longer for it to be released here.
JsARCLIGHT Posted October 27, 2007 Author Posted October 27, 2007 The crazy bastards went and did it. Walmart rolls out sub $200 HD DVD player Makes me wonder what the Blu Ray camp has up their sleeves for this Christmas season?
David Hingtgen Posted October 27, 2007 Posted October 27, 2007 Any reviews on that? That's only a little more expensive than a 360's add-on. And I'd rather have a stand-alone.
JsARCLIGHT Posted October 27, 2007 Author Posted October 27, 2007 It's a Toshiba HD-A2. A while back it was one of their flagship players. As far as I have seen the HD-A2's have a fairly good service history.
Uxi Posted October 27, 2007 Posted October 27, 2007 The 2nd generation A2's are also available from Costco (as the A2C or D2), if you're so inclined, and includes an HDMI cable in the box. Last I was there, they were still $249 but remember Cotsco's unlimited warranty for such things, if that matters to you. The A2 is not capable of 1080p (only capable of doing 1080i), which is really a non issue if your HDTV does proper deinterlacing (in other words, does not bob to 540 lines and then double), as a number of them (even the 2008 models), do. For myself it's a total non-issue, as my HDTV deinterlaces correctly. It's also not capable of 24p if you're one of the elite with a 24p capable display (72 to 120hz). It's the lower end player while the flagship 2nd gen XA2 and (recently released) 3rd gen A30 and A35 take the upper levels (and pricepoints). Both are still going with the 5 free HDDVD deal (as well as the 360, which now also includes 300). It does not have multi channel analog out though does allow that out as PCM through HDMI. Good and solid player, though it loads slower than both the 360 and much slower than the PS3. If you already have a 360 and it's noise doesn't bother you, that's impossible to beat.
mikeszekely Posted October 27, 2007 Posted October 27, 2007 Makes me wonder what the Blu Ray camp has up their sleeves for this Christmas season? Makes me wonder why the 360's player is still $180. Although, I know it's kinda late to be mentioning it, but I just found out today... anyway, if you buy the 360 drive at Best Buy, they're throwing in Heroes on HD-DVD for free.
Ishimaru Posted October 27, 2007 Posted October 27, 2007 Makes me wonder why the 360's player is still $180. Although, I know it's kinda late to be mentioning it, but I just found out today... anyway, if you buy the 360 drive at Best Buy, they're throwing in Heroes on HD-DVD for free. Maybe because it's Microshaft and we'd probably never get a price cut. As for Heroes on HD-DVD...
David Hingtgen Posted October 27, 2007 Posted October 27, 2007 Personally, I'd much rather say "forget the 5 free this from these 15 and free that from this" and just let me pick 3 of ANYTHING. I'd gladly trade quantity for quality. (That goes for both HD and Blu)
Alpha OTS Posted October 27, 2007 Posted October 27, 2007 Personally, I'd much rather say "forget the 5 free this from these 15 and free that from this" and just let me pick 3 of ANYTHING. I'd gladly trade quantity for quality. (That goes for both HD and Blu) I'd much rather be able to pick 3 from anything *from the store* right when I purchased the player. I'm *still* waiting for my free 5 HDs from the August promotion.
JsARCLIGHT Posted October 27, 2007 Author Posted October 27, 2007 Join the crowd. I got my 5 free Blu Rays in about 4 weeks but I have yet to see my 5 free HD DVDs. Around the 8 week mark I called the 1-800 number just to confirm they had received my request. The nice woman on the phone said yes, I was in the system but that "it's only been 8 weeks" and that "the deal says allow 8 to 12 weeks". Well, the 12 week point came and went last week and I called again. Now they say I'm "pending"... when I asked what that meant they said it would probably be another two to three weeks. I just found it strange how Buena Vista had their crap together and got me my free Blu Rays in near record time but Microsoft pretty much has their head up their ass. Then again the previous Toshiba offer that this Microsoft offer parallels was reportedly taking months to cycle. I read stories of people who waited 6 months to get their free HD DVDs from the Toshiba offer.
Ishimaru Posted October 27, 2007 Posted October 27, 2007 I'd much rather be able to pick 3 from anything *from the store* right when I purchased the player. I'm *still* waiting for my free 5 HDs from the August promotion. Why don't they just let people pick it on the spot at the store? Circuit City advertises it on their Ads and expects people to call and wait, I don't get it.
Ladic Posted October 28, 2007 Posted October 28, 2007 because its not a store promotion, its a manufacturer promotion.
David Hingtgen Posted October 28, 2007 Posted October 28, 2007 Still it seems insanely slow. It is nothing more than "send form into giant warehouse that only has 15 different discs in it" and wait, is it not? There's plenty of companies with like 50 employees that stock thousands of different products and get hundreds of orders a day that ship stuff out same-day.
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