Greetz from Big Apple. Day starts with subzero temp, thankfully no wind storm, otherwise the wind chill factor would drive that even colder. The day ends of course, with a show on Broadway, and soaking up the atmosphere of Times Square. The real Times Square, not that big hulking crap in Bukit Bintang. Today's Hairspray on Fifth Avenue itself, tomorrow would be either be the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Mamma Mia! or Les Miserable.



Blurays? Hell anything Hidef-related? Check!


Bluray camp scores Blade Runner Ultimate Edition, Die Hard Collection, Close Encounter or the Third Kind Collector Edition, The Simpsons Movie, Underworld, Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Superbad.

Blade Runner UE comes in a briefcase, ala Rick Deckard's. Comes with the "confidential" files, movie motion clip in the form of a crystal slab with the clip INSIDE it, Ridley Scott's personal introduction on a "see-through" letter, Spinner vehicle replica, a miniature Unicorn and the 5 Blu-rays. Die Hard Collection comes with all 4 Die Hard movies in HD, Close Encounters arrives with timeline chart, artbook and the 2 discs containing theatrical, director's cut and the special features. The Simpson's Movie is made available for the first time today here, and the Springfield family is commemorated with their appearance on the huge Flatiron screen on the NY Times building in Times Square. They were caught skating and causing mischief at the Rockefeller Plaza iceskating rink. There were also a crowd wearing Simpsons attires in Times Square for recording on the Morning day specials for the launch. They're all looked yellow in subzero NY!



HD-DVDs comes with Ocean's Trilogy, Shrek 3, Knocked Up, and Blade Runner's Collector Edition. Blade Runner CE comes with the same 5-Discs as per the Blade Runner UE sans the extras.

Tomorrow? More Blu-ray version of the Harry Year 1-5 Potter Giftset (too cheap an offer to pass.....USD7X.XX!?,.....hell, all those bought, be it games, accessories or HD titles, had their prices slashed to minimum 33% discount, thanks Christmas sale!), hanging out at Nintendo World store at 10 Rock, skating at Rockefeller, late afternoon Radio City theatrical show, lunch after scouring Fifth Avenue's "glassy and classy" Apple Store, teman the girls to Bloomingdales and Macy's, late evening screening of Sweeney Todd, and picking up preorders from Gamestop/EBGames. Ace Combat + Flight Stick, GT5 Prologue, and Nights: Journey into Dreams......Rockband? And that Samsung hybrid Blu-ray/HD-DVD player BD-UP5000.

BTW, saw Mr.Trump getting into his limo outside Trump tower while i was walking to Apple 5th Avenue, and my late night show hero, Conan O'Brien at the CBS Tower.New Yorkers are so much in a hurry, even cars, buses , even 18-wheelers have to cater to them when they are crossing the road...even when the sign says Do Not Cross!

The temp ticker looks nice outside though...says 34...not Celcius, but in Fahrenheit! BRRRRRRRR!

Edit: HD-A30 is USD299 here with 10 free HD-DVDs, 2 in the box, 3 from Toshiba promo, and 5 mailed in. Getting the Samsung BD-UP5000 hybrid player tomorrow to end this silly formar war once and for all.

Why didnt you buy the European model equivalent? Other than the disadvantage of not getting the sweet pack-in as per the American model, the European model doesnt need stepping down, which may disrupt playback. Hd-A20 is HD-E10 in Europe and Australasia, and it's rated the same voltage as our country. If the Euro monstrosity scares you (it's crawling up the 5x multiplier now to RM), then Aussie models is a good consideration.

Just got these from J&R, sinfully cheap for a brand-name HiDef player:-





The Onkyo DV-HD805, which is , in a nutshell, a HD-XA2 tweaked to the max. Load time? 12 seconds. Picture Quality (PQ)? Silicon Optix Reon-VX. Audio Quality? Bitstream passage of DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby True HD, decoded to PCM to your receiver. The guys at AVSForums are clamoring for this.

Specs:-

GENERAL
Product Type
HD DVD player

Form Factor
Tabletop Width17.1 in Depth13.6 in Height2.9 in Weight9.5 lbs

DVD Media Type
CD, DVD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, HD DVDMedia

Format
NTSC Video
D/A Converter12bit / 297MHzAudio D/A Converter24bit / 192kHz

Built-in Audio Decoders
DTS decoder, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital, DTS-HD decoder, Dolby Digital Plus

Media Load Type
Tray

Upscaling
Yes

Output Resolution
720p, 1080i, 1080p

AUDIO SYSTEM
Digital Audio Format
DTS digital output, Dolby Digital output

Sound Output Mode
Stereo

Response Bandwidth
4 - 44000 Hz

DVD FEATURES
Additional Features
Upgradeable software, 3:2 pulldown compensation

REMOTE CONTROL

Type
Universal remote control

Technology
Infrared

Features
Multi-brand compatibility

CONNECTIONS
Connector Type1 x Composite video output ( RCA phono ) - Rear, 1 x S-Video output ( 4 pin mini-DIN ) - Rear, 1 x Component video output ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Rear, 1 x Audio line-out ( RCA phono x 2 ) - Rear, 1 x HDMI ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) - Rear, 1 x 5.1 channel audio line-out ( RCA phono x 6 ) - Rear, 1 x Digital audio output (optical) ( TOS Link ) - Rear, 1 x Digital audio output (coaxial) ( RCA phono ) - Rear, 1 x Network ( RJ-45 ) - Rear, 1 x Serial ( 9 pin D-Sub ) - Rear

MISCELLANEOUS
Cables Included
A/V cable

POWER
Power Device
Power supply
Power Consumption
Operational
47 Watt

---------------------------------

Considered the 3rd Gen. HD-A35, but the SD upscaling quality of the ABT chip inside the A35 ,compared to the Silicon Optix Reon VX on the XA2 or this HD805, is generic.Scenes like in Star Wars Insurrection with the long pan and scan shot of the Enterprise, the shrinking plane on the horizon on The Incredibles, as well as the snow scene in Transformers DVD, are the defining test material to see if your player does deinterlacing properly, and according to the guys in the AVSForums, the A35 and its lower speced siblings, only does it average.Hell, there's a writeup on one of the thread explaining the merits and capabilities of the ABT chip compared to the Silicon Optix Reon VX chip, and the ABT chip lack proper deinterlacing for SD materials. HD-DVDs are virtually the same between these two chip solutions, but those who crave near-HD deliciousness of SD-upscaling, would look towards the XA2 or this. Those wanting Blu-ray solutions should go for the Panasonic 30K model instead.

A35 and its lower-speced siblings are good no doubt, but at USD150 extra top up to A35's price, this is a steal! USD650 , baby yeah!

Testing this unit on the crappy hotel's TV, cant wait to get back home!

---

Added on December 21, 2007, 3:53 amAnd oh, my HD-E1 HD-DVD player will be replaced by this unit, therefore going on sale. Cheap cheap!

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Dec 21 2007, 03:53 AM

You tell me how much. Im still in my Christmas mood.

XA2 in LA, HD805 in KL. Perfect upscaling every single time. E1 for sale, and for you, my long time HD-DVD advocate, im giving you an opportunity to get this dirt cheap.

It is not USD799, it is USD649.99. XA2 at J&R is USD559.99, so you basically add 90 bucks for this beauty.

The HD805 is going for its big-screen devirginising at Mediaplex on the 26th, but not before i molest it myself once i get home.

Reference titles like Nemo and Chronicles of Riddick on DVD looks near-HD once upscaled with the Reon VX chip. So much is the case, Chronicles of Riddick looks virtually like its HD-DVD counterpart. And to those who can get their hands on the XA2, you CAN make the drive REGION FREE, using Firmware 2.5. Im torn between keeping my XA2 at 2.5 and updating it to 2.7 to get the High Bitrate bitstreaming feature from the new update.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Dec 21 2007, 09:06 PM

Ferricide buddy, UGPM. Im letting go of the HD-E1, the addon im still keeping. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Greetings, just got this for myself a while ago:-





Onkyo TX-SR605 AV Receiver. Going to be pairing this with these beauties:-



The Onkyo SKS-HT240 6.1 speaker package.

Onkyo DV-HD805 + Onkyo TX-SR605 + Onkyo SKS-HT240 = Dolby TrueHD & DTS HD Master Audio (not DTS HD Core!) without breaking the bank. Very wallet-friendly.

The Onkyo SR605 is best of its class, arguably.....although budget-wise it cant be beaten at USD399. Pumps out Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD MA through up to 7.1. Reason why i finally splurged for this is after hearing the awesome, awesome audio coming out of DTS HD MA tracks from Mr. and Mrs Smith as well as the Die Hard Blu-rays. Just got my Pan's Labyrinth as well, and the PQ/AQ(Spanish DTS HD-MA) on that one is of reference material. Great textures and audio soundstage.

The SKS-HT240 was picked based on what i can squeeze into my room, and from the review on CNET, this baby can play with the big boys and not even break a sweat. Of course there are better satellites from the likes of Infinity or Kef, but for the price im getting, my wallet has been thanking me a few-folds over.

Next up? Upscaling of Wii video output to higher definition, im happy with 720p. The SR605 can do that, although not to the DV-HD805's capabilities. Cant wait to play Galaxy on 720p!

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Dec 29 2007, 05:14 PM

Ding ding ding!

How? Amazon. Free shipping eligibility to LA. From there, depends on your choice. Either have your contact ship it to you (in this case, my beloved), or use a mail-forwarding service. I had mine shipped via the "distributor lane", which means it goes with your distributor item, which have the customs looking into it as "tax-paid" item, or waived off as part of the normal shipment stock. Distributors here means entities like Harvey Norman, Atlas EXperience.....or your good ol' Mediaplex.

The Amazon price fluctuates, it has known to dip to USD379.99 before. At the moment, the tag on Amazon reads USD429.99.

It is still in the box, i hadnt any time to test it out, had to go to work. Once i get back home, and get it set up proper with the Onkyo speakers, i'll give a once-over about how the receiver works for me.

In any case, it is a definitely upgrade for me. From that crappy Sony HTiB receiver that lasted me more than 5 years.Still works though.....just that it's getting long in the tooth.

Tired! Sore muscles, and my back hurts....but results? Most satisfying!



Sony Bravia 40X200A, Sony US PS3, Pioneer SE-DIR800C, Onkyo DV-HD805 HD-DVD player, Onkyo TX-SR605, Onkyo SKS-HT235.

The Pio headphone spits out DD5.1 & DTS via Dolby Headphone, itself hooked up to the Onkyo HD-DVD player via coaxial, PS3 via optical. The primary audio drivers are by the SR-605 + SKS-HT235 combo definitely, but for those late nights, the Pio does its duty. Have to switch the audio out from both the HD-DVD player and PS3 manually though, since they are both set to output audio via bitstream to the SR605 for one-to-one audio reproduction.



Close-up on the left column stack. Splitfish FragFX sits on top after my daily fragfest on UT3.



The rear speakers does not come with a stand, had to get em separately. The front speakers comes with the stand that sits nicely on the entertainment cabinet. Nice heavy glass bottom for that lower C of G (center of gravity) but the bottom of the glass are embedded with 3 conical points to reduce speaker-induced vibration.



But im most ecstatic when this shows on the SR605, makes all that effort and grunting and heaving these things, and all the back-pain worthwhile. Got this lighted up on the receiver while running Pan's Labyrinth on HD-DVD, with audio bitstream passthrough from the HD805.

Ran the Audyssey SQ microphone soundfield check to determine the calculative audio placement, and am impressed with now newbie-friendly it is. I admit, im a noob myself when it comes to this, but the ease of use, and prompt-tp-prompt instructions had me turning from "intimidated" to "informed".

Ran the Digital Video Essential HD-DVD, and during the audio tests, Dolby TrueHD lights up appropriately, so that works nicely.

Mr. & Mrs.Smith on Blu-ray however, only lights up as "Multi PCM", but sounded just as good to my ears anyway. Had it running on the 5.1 DTS HD-MA but with the PS3's inability to either decode DTS HD-MA or send the lossless audio via bitstream, you can only expect DTS HD-core from the PS3. Dolby TrueHD should be one-to-one via bitstream on the PS3, although it is internally decoded by the PS3 and fed to the receiver as Lossless PCM.

Next stop? Nintendo Wii video upscaling to 720p.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jan 2 2008, 11:57 PM

If you shop wisely, it's not really "loaded".

Onkyo HD-DVD player = USD650 = RM2275. The cheapest HD-DVD player i see locally here is the E1 at RM2499.

Onkyo TX-SR605 Av receiver = USD399 = RM1400. Locally, it is priced at RM2999.

Onkyo SKS-HT235 = RM1699.

So in the end, the whole setup just crosses over RM5000. The local prices are not helping the local pockets, i blame that on the government here. So you see, it is not being loaded, it is knowing where to look.

I havent got a suggestion for your case, but for HD-DVDs playing off the 360 addon, the most it would do is DD+ at 640 kbps, and DTS-core at 1.5Mbps bitrates. Satellite system would fit this bitrate range.

Satellites are small speakers, the size of two deck of cards stacked together, for that small size advantage, but not sacrificing much on the audio driving capabilities.

Example of a satellite speaker system:-

For the time being, there are none. Decoding DTS-HD MA require a lot of processing power, your next best bet is what the PS3 is doing, transcoding it into Multi PCM. The technology has just moved to HBR bitstreaming, i doubt that there would be any standalones that could do the decoding internally in this near future.

The Onkyo SR505 may be able to do 1080p passthrough, but that refers to the video side only. To do 1080p on any HBR format, you need an HDMI 1.3a input + HDMI 1.3a cabling as well. Only the SR605 and beyond care equipped with HDMI 1.3a, im afraid.

I was just about to add a most crucial point, but your last line there made me realise you understood it:- Dolby TrueHD & DTS HD (not DTS HD MA) is only available at its fully rated bitstream if you use analog connection if your receiver does not support decoding HBR bitstreaming. Using optical cable , or HDMI 1.2 and below, will only allow the DD+ and DTS, albeit at higher bitrates than those found on DVDs.

The Tosh A35 is an extremely recommended HD-DVD player, neck and neck in performance with the XA2. Some of the enthusiasts in AVSForums prefer the A35 for its sharpness, while others like the XA2 better for overall PQ. Either one, you cant go wrong. However, the XA2, or any standalone players equpped with the HQV Silicon Optix Reon VX chip, are most sought after for their SD-upscaling of DVDs. I have to dig up posts in AVSForums, but benchmarking results even claims that the Reon VX chip in the XA2 does things in equivalence and in some cases , exceed standalone video scaling processors like DVDO, Crystallio and Lumagens.

So, if you're only interested with playing HD-DVDs, the A35 is an excellent buy. But if you have a sizable DVD collection you want to upscale to that near-HD look, the A35 does not do it nicely, the XA2 does.Which is the reason why the XA2 maintains as Toshiba's flagship HD player, even with the introduction of those third generation players (A3, A30 and A35). Better be fast though, the XA2 is very much in limited circulation.

Nevertheless, the A35, for the price you are paying, and that sweet "Free 2+3+5 HD-DVDs" deal going on, is a steal.

Just spoken to a Toshiba executive here in Mediaplex, they are still looking at the viability of bringing in the HD-DVD player en masse. However, Toshiba Malaysia is importing the European equivalent, the E1, XE1 and EP10, not the third gen players. The European HD-DVD player lineup is still at second generation.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Jan 3 2008, 04:57 PM

The way I see it, the only two ways to get 5.1 on the 360 is via the optical input as well as HDMI, if your 360 is so equipped. Unless your mentioned speaker package includes optical or HDMI in, I'm afraid it is not possible. You could feed the stereo L and R and matrix them into a 4.0 setup but stereo feed on the 360 is still stereo unless the game itself includes Dolby Pro Logic stream.

Others please correct me if I'm wrong.

Apisgogo,

If you're still tuning in, i stand corrected on my statement that there are no HD player that can decode DTS HD-MA internally. There is one, but it is on the opposition's camp, BD. The upcoming Denon DVD-3800BDCI has built-in Dolby TrueHD AND DTS HD-MA within its innards. So all you need to do is string together the speaker cables to the back of this and instant HBR on your system, without the need of a receiver at all.

http://www.usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3749.asp

No news so far on the HD-DVD side of things on internal decoding. Most likely candidate would be either the Tosh XA3 or that Meridian HD-DVD player.

Ahahah, that link you posted is the same link i refer to for my reference.

Simply put, the difference between DTS HD MA and Dolby TrueHd is like the difference between DD5.1 and DTS: Nothing at all! Also as per the article on that link, you cannot compare bitrates of the two formats and claim on is better than the other based on bitrates, Dolby TrueHD can achieve parity with DTS HD MA even at lower bitrates.

The reason why i was picky on my receiver was the fact that studios were including either Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD MA, and needed a receiver that does both. Either lossless format would have been fine by me.

You're in the same boat as a lot of others, since they had made their receiver purchase before the introduction of receivers that decodes DTH/DTSHDMA, and wanted a player that does decoding internally and either send the decoded result as either MPCM or straight to the analogue connections. Unfortunately, that pricey Denon is the only announced player that does that, and only for the BD camp.

Why not consider other receivers as well? The TX-SR605 is a bargain for what it does, but you also have the Yammys that does that as well. I picked the SR605 simply because i dont have lots to connect to the receiver, and with the Yammy, it would be a waste. Plus , the Yammys sounded harsher to my ears, overly aggressive even on quieter notes/scenes.

It's all over the AVSForum. Fastest growing thread too, 55 pages in less than 12 hours! A few of them are furious, some even declaring the "war" is over.

This ties in with the almost "firesale"-looking options they had at Best Buy and Amazon. What people though was flooding the market with HD-DVD titles, was most probably a flushing-down-the-toilet-and-make-ands-meet-while-you-can kinda thing!

More blows to the HD-DVD camp! Ouch!
http://wesleytech.com/

Well, you know what comes after that endboss raped you with his huge lasers? Game Over!

That 2 hours is gone , RX. They pulled from the conference. That is how huge the impact of Warner going Blu.

As for what's left of HD-DVD, they certainly cannot sustain staying in the "war" with only two major backers. Paramaunt has an 18 months window with them, while Universal is the only firm backer. The rest, are either with Blu or format-agnostic. Studios like New Line and HBO are expected to follow suit with Warner, while Weinstein is still a wildcard, although their titles are mainly indie films. So what's left? Fox? Nope. Disney? Certainly not, with the near confirmation of Apple including Blu-ray drives in their next Macbooks. (Apple and Disney, linked together by the majority shareholder between them, Steve Jobs).