I have a very important announcement. I have just come back from Mediaplex KLCC, that place with all those sweet Plasmas and LCD TVs and projectors. Talked to Gary, the supervisor while i was purchasing the two optical cables i need for my PS3 and 360, and the conversation went to why i needed the cables for. After hearing that its for the consoles, and how im using them for Bluray and HD-DVDs, his eyes bulged in excitement. Apparently they have just received their HD-DVD player, the Toshiba HD-A1, and it's running The Last Samurai HD-DVD(whats with this title anyway, not really top tier title to showcase HD-DVDs) on a Hitachi Plasma they have there. Told him that i just received my Amazon order today, with King Kong and Tokyo Drift, and his eyes nearly fell off their sockets! After some excited exchange of swear words and astonishments, he asked if i could borrow him a couple of HD-DVDs , because they wanted to see how it looked on their 1080p projector room with cinema seats at the back of their store. I eagerly agree, so the date is set for tomorrow between 11am and 2pm for the HD-DVD playtest at Mediaplex KLCC. Asked him if its okay if i bring friends along, he gives the thumbs up. So im extending this invitation to all of you guys to see for yourselves, The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift, King Kong, Mission Impossible 3, ....all titles that i have with me, on a 1080p projector on a screen in excess of 100inches, with the state-of-the-art surround sound, on a 1080p quality video and Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD sound quality.

I will be there between those times, Mediaplex KLCC is located on the same floor with SonyStyle KLCC, you need to walk towards TGV KLCC to reach it from SonyStyle.

This simply will be the videophiles/audiophiles dream come true, all you need to do is get yourselves there to experience it all. HD-DVDs, with Dolby TrueHD, at 1080p, on a 100 inch screen, on Mediaplex's own cinema seating auditorium. See it for yourselves tomorrow, and i'll see you there.

Venue: Mediaplex KLCC
Date/Time :December 19th 11am-2pm 2006
Agenda: HD-DVD Movie experience on 1080p projector, in state-of-the-art auditorium.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Dec 21 2006, 10:16 PM

And then watch the HDDVD MI3 and see if got any difference with Bluray version.

Im afraid the playtest had to be cut short, due to the HD-DVD player have to be update its firmware. Mediaplex's player is the Toshiba HD-XA1, and has problem accessing U-Control. Because there is no point playing HD-DVD at half its features, we decided to cut it short.

However, to make up for today's unfortunate events, Garry gave me the green light to do another playtest. So i suggested Thursday 5pm till their store closes, so that he can have the HD-XA1 firmware updated, prep his showroom ready, plus he can do a bit of tour of Mediaplex and the HDTVs they offer.

Thanks to Corez, Alkt and Yjtay for coming, and im sorry for any shortcomings. A huge thanks to Garry and the Mediaplex crew for hosting this, they are awesome!

The date and day for the next playtest are not set in stone, you guys decide if Thursday or that date/time is not good for you and we can reschedule. Garry gave me that much leeway for the playtest, but he need some time to do the player firmware update. Cheers Garry for your generosity!

Im really sorry fop those whn made plans to come but unable to do so because of this.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Dec 19 2006, 01:39 PM

HD-XA1 goes for around USD500 although these guys gets it at a slight premium.

I have to comment on this though. The standalone player is so darn slow. The Xbox 360 addon loads up HD-DVD player 6-8 seconds after the tray closes, standalone HD-DVD player takes close to a minute to load!

Maybe its because of its older firmware, but operationwise, it is erratic and clunky. The standalone player freezes the movie a couple of times at scene selection, which should not happen, since playing it on my 360 addon works with the movie playing on background, and the scene selection displays on top as an overlay. I certainly dont have to mention the U-Control mess on this player. Hopefully Garry get his player updated by Thursday, i mught drop by before Thursday to help him out if he needs me.

Im used to activating U-Control via the "A" button on the Universal Remote that comes with the addon, but doing so on the HD-XA1 does nothing. The player also require MANUAL resolution change, instead of changing it on the fly to suit your TV resolution, and doing so, requires it to restart all over again, which takes considerable amount of time.

All in all, the 360 addon trounces and walks all over this standalone HD-DVD player. Sure it doesnt have HDMI output, and audio donwmixed via optical, but it is a breeze, a pleasure to play HD-DVD on this compared to the stuttering mess that is that standalone player. Garry needs to update that player ASAP.

And also, the HD-XA1 only does 1080i, not 1080p via its HDMI. We were watching Superman Returns and was wondering why the image was softer and not razor sharp. Switched over to 1080i (after a ong wait/pause), and things looks better. Yes folks, i think bro Corez and Yjtay can vouch for this too, there is CONSIDERABLE differences between 720p and 1080i, at this large of a screen size. We all saw it, and was a little let down at the softness and blurriness of 720p before we got it configured to 1080i.

So again to reiterate:-

Venue: Mediaplex Auditorium KLCC
Date/Time: 21st December 2006 5pm till store closes. *tentative, or suggest your preferred time*
Agenda: HD-DVD movie experience on 100 inch screen auditorium, cinema seating, 1080p Sony projector, but at 1080i playback *thanks to the HD-XA1 player*

Hahahahah, well the different camps for both movies studios distributing the trilogies, what to do. New Line went HD-DVD while 20th Century Fox is warming up to the Bluray blanket.

Nope, they were hoping for a PS3 as a Bluray player. They only have HD-DVD player at the moment.

PS3 cables? If you're talking about HDMI cables, they do. If you're asking for PS2 component cables, of course not, since they specializes in HT equipments.

Bring your PS3 lah bro, im sure they are as eager to see it on their system as you setting it up on their 100 inch screen.

Okay, it is ALL set for tomorrow! Allan was updating the HD-DVD firmware when i left Mediaplex just now, and Garry basically gave me the greenlight: The Auditorium is basically OURS tomorrow from 5pm onwards.

This playtest is hoped to serve as an eye-opening experience for those eager or intrigued on what next-gen HD has to provide. It would also hopefully sway those who had been on the fence on whether to invest on next-gen HD equipment or not, this event hopefully will cement your decision on investing for things needed to go HD. So it may happen that once the playtest is done for tomorrow, you might be interested to ask what are your options available to go HD . In this sense, Garry and the w wil be more than happy to cater to all your queries and HD needs, so it's basically an eye-opener to what available options on HD screens as well. So come to the playtest, and once you have decided if it is time to go HD, you can ask the Mediaplex crew on your options based on your budgetary needs.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated nor do i stand to gain any monetary incentives or commision out of this. I am merely an enthusiast, wanting everyone to experience and see what i have been experiencing all this while.

There is also another thing. Garry is also open to the option of trying out other HD contents on other HD medias, provided that you can provide the necessary player. This means that those who have their PS3s may bring their PS3s and try it out here on their 100inch screen, with thumping surround sound, but it comes to the task of you bringing it over to Mediaplex KLCC tomorrow. If anyone plans to do so, it would be a fair battle between HD-DVD and Bluray so that we can see , ultimately, which format provides the best HD experience. Anyone up to this task?

I also showed Garry my copy of Elebits just now, and he's super-excited on the Wii as well. Wii folks are also welcomed to try out their unit here, provided that you can bring your machine here as well. We shall have to figure out how to mount the Sensor Bar though.

So i leave the option to you guys. It can be just an HD-DVD playtest, or it could be a fullblown HD playtest with Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii on a 100 inch screen with state of the art surround system, full-decked out Auditorium. The Auditorium is OURs past 5pm, i leave it up to you guys to decide. If anyone wants Bluray material, i can provide my titles, or if you have your own titles and materials, bring it along so that we can experience it together.

So it is set tomorrow:-

Venue: Mediaplex KLCC
Date/Time: December 21st 2006, 5pm onwards
Agenda: You decide, either a simple HD-DVD playtest, or a fullblown HD experience with all next-gen consoles present, provided you can bring along your consoles for the playtest. All consoles, be it Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii are welcomed

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Dec 20 2006, 09:15 PM

JOM!

Woohoo! If you do bring your PS3, sms me weiii! I can bring all my Bluray for testing.

10pm all shops in KLCC closes. About am, it's a dynamic variable, KL traffic can change anytime.

Yup, it's on, read my earlier post. I gotta go Menara Celcom to settle some stupid misunderstanding about my bills, sampai they bar my cellphone number. Then going to go Ikea to shop for some room furniture, so that can play Wii better, then going to Mediaplex for the playtest.

Bring Xbox? My 360 is sensitive, move a bit, get 3ROD.

Woohoo! Brought my Blurays with me , so we are all set for the HD-DVD Bluray showdown!

Mediaplex is using the Sony Ruby for this playtest, and the picture quality is God-awesome!

No problems bro, hope you enjoyed the HD presentation.
Not a problem , bro. It was a pleasure to meet you all, and discuss this and see it in your faces the excitement of HD. Im glad i can share it with you guys, and that everyone now knows what i was babbling about.

It was a very successful meetup , guys, thanks again for coming.

A milliions thanks and appreciation to :-

Garry, Allan, and the dedicated crew of Mediaplex for hosting this event, you guys ROCKS! I can never dream of owning Sony Ruby nor do i have the space to even have Ruby in my home. This is a dream come true for me.

Alkt for lugging his PS3, without him, we cannot see that ultra gorgeous GTHD trailers, F1 with that drool-inducing raindrop effects, and all those Bluray movies. Itu Bluray jangan buat harta aaaa?

Mr Ez for being the first to arrive. Appreciate the support, bro! I know someone's very excited and saw his face when Alkt turns on the F1 demo on his PS3!Raindrop, raindrop!

Fariz/Munky for attending as well. Nice to put a face to the nick in person.Now i know who im chainsawing when i cut this "Fariz" character in GoW!

Bro Ninja for dropping by after work. Terima kasih kerana sudi datang , domo arigato gozaimasu! Alaaah, lupa nak tanya ko, ko nak tak GPS addon aku, ada bawak tadik tapi lupa terus nak tanya ko! Got this GPS addon but hardly make full use of it, aku teringat lagi masa kita merayau carik Maxis Utopia coverage pakai prepaid hotspot card tuh, so i thought you can make full use of this.

Redbull for coming as well. I hope we have patch things up between each other, and we could share AV technical stuff , i need your input on the audio side of things, bro!.

Tot31 for coming as well. Dont worry bro, we're cool, we all share the same interest and we are all passionate about our hobby. Shiny Xbox 360 casing from Decalgirl tu cemana?

PS360 for coming as well as bringing THE REFERENCE MOVIE for Bluray, Ice Age:Meltdown. Im sure everyone here agrees that our jaws practically dropped to the floor when we saw the movie for the first time on 1080p, the furs, the hair, the water, the muthafcuking details! Im ordering Ice Age :Meltdown on Amazon RIGHT NOW!

Zaakath for coming as well. Braving the traffics of KL isnt a pretty picture, im glad you could make it bro.

MK84, FINALLY! FInally we meet up, and it was a pleasure to meet you! I can only imagine how awesome your home projector setup, 84 inch! If only i have the space! (

Bro Arj for coming as well. It's always a good sign when you could get an official LYN staff to come to your event, shows that affirmation of support kinda thing. This is THE GUY to go for audio-related matters, people, along with Redbull and MK84!

Insecure for dropping by. A very quiet person which matches his online persona...but dont pray pray aaa, this guy's the bomb with his PS3! Share the Bluray discs nanti bleh boss?

YJtay, i have to give special thanks to him, he has never cease to fail to come to all the events i have arranged in here, although we hardly know each other. Very nice fella, and he is THE MAN with the INSIDE INFO on where to get the best deals in town (and out of town...Singapore for example) for your next-gen consoles. Thanks again for coming, bro!

Terencey/Zeliant for coming as well. We have met or brush shoulders a couple of time when you frequented Imbi Mario, i didnt know that was you. Or was it Djinn's place? Anyway, it was a pleasure meeting you, a very bubbly character and gaming enthusiasts as well.

There is another person from the forum, and also frequents TNL as well, i recognize him from his face....but i didnt get his forum name. Bro, terima kasih kerana sudi datang. Ampun lah dalam tu gelap, pastu tak dapat kita borak lelama, sebab bunyik enjin keta Tokyo Drift memekik!

Im sorry if i missed out anyone here, it was dark, and attendees were coming in and out of the auditorium (which was labelled 4D Cinema, if you guys notice it), and i was sitting my ass down near the corner front so that more people can come in and join in the fun. If there are any flaws , ada kekurangan , harap maafkan, i wish i can provide more than what's available, foodstuff or drinks, but the venue wasnt mine, and im not sure if Garry and Co. would appreciate food inside their auditorium. I hope you guys have fun, and learn a few things, i know i did.

Observation time.

- HD-DVD wins hands down against Bluray in terms of features, their U-Control and In-Movie Experience beats the crap outta Bluray's skimpy offerings.

- Bluray wins with a slight advantage when it comes to lossless audio, IMO. You guys were there and may have different thoughts on this, but i am basing this on the two samples of Mission Impossible 3 for both HD-DVD and Bluray that we have watched. The audio clairty, quality and punchiness seems more prevalent in the Bluray version than the HD-DVD, it was pretty subdued in the HD-DVD version. However, the Tokyo Drift audio samples blows the $hit outta things as well, so it's a pretty mixed bag.

-Bluray wins HANDS DOWN when it comes to picture quality. Can you say Ice Age:Meltdown, people? We were having a hard time comparing picture quality between the two MI3 , but when bro PS360 brought it in, and popped it into Alkt's PS3, no doubts about it. Ice Age blows everything out of the water, including other Bluray titles as well. Not to say HD-DVDs arent on par, but the whole PQ of Ice Age is so vivid and bursting with life, it's hard not to stare at the screen with your mouths wide open!

-No comparison was made between 360 and the PS3, since nobody brought a 360. PS3 looks slick and razor sharp on Ruby, i was bloody impressed. Im sure people were having a hard time discerning the real life picture and the ingame version of the Nissan car in the GT:HD trailer, it is THAT GOOD! GT:HD in 3 more days, fellas! Woohoo!

-I cannot make any observation or comparison notes on the difference between PS3's Fight Night 3 and 360's version. PS3's version shines with the "Get in the Ring" mode, which is basically a Super Punch-Out on SNES but with ultra-slick high definition graphics. Anybody who have the 360 version and played/watched the PS3 version care to comment?

Once again, i'd like to express my utmost gratitude and thanks to all for coming. This event wouldnt be this festive and happening without you guys. Also a hearty thanks and appreciation to Mediaplex, to Garry and the rest of the crew there , without them, this would have not been possible. Thanks for coming guys, hope to do this again, the next format wars, or the next gen consoles(after PS3/Xbox 360/Wii) comes around!

Muahahahah most definitely bro! Id dint know you have this talent of poisoning people....sneaky, sneaky!

Oooops. i stand corrected, thanks. Kalau Ice Age already look like that on a 1080p Pearl, i dont know how it would look on Ruby....any major difference in specs?

Dinner with family is more important, we can have more of these later. Spread the cheer bro!

We finally have the verdict, which format is better, in their own aspects eh? ) Audio/Video goes to Bluray *arguable*, Content/Extras goes to HD-DVDs*non-arguable, hands down winner*. Doesnt make the job of deciding which format to go any easier. HD-DVD players are well capable of 1080p with the new second gen players, while the Bluray discs are going up in size to 50GB and incorporating VC-1 compression for space-saving and adding more contents stuff.Bluray discs actually have U-Control/In-Movie-Experience like feature, it's called Blu-Wizard, and only one title has that feature, it's Black Hawk Down. Ordering that with Corpse Bride and Ice Age Meltdown as we speak.

Tu ler, lupas nak pass tadik. Homestar Portable dah sampai, tapi as usual, everything in Nippon, so i need to eat more soba with soy sauce and miso soup to understand these.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Dec 21 2006, 11:57 PM