# Help me decide HD-DVD or Oppo



## jr1414 (Nov 28, 2007)

I'm sure lots of people have this on their minds right now.

I've been lingering, deciding on what to buy next for the HT setup. I have no HD DVDs at this point in time, but I do rent from Netflix and could change my preference to HD-DVD or Bluray if I can find the right player.

Here are my thoughts:

1) Buy an Oppo 981HD and stay SD for the foreseeable future. I've got a lot of SD DVDs in my library, so upconversion is my first priority.

2) Buy a HD-DVD player with great upconversion (such as the HD-XA2). The question is, will the HQV upscaler outperform the Oppo, underperform the Oppo or be roughly equivalent? Would I be more satisfied seeing my rentals in HD (whichever ones are available in HD-DVD) and the upconversion for the ones that are Bluray only?

3) Buy a Bluray player (maybe the BD-1400), same questions regarding upconversion and HD(Bluray) Rentals.

4) Wait for the new Samsung combo player to come down in price, I'm assuming it has the same upconversion chip as the 1400, is that true?

What are your thoughts. My initial thought is just go with the Oppo as it's a proven performer. But if I can get comparable or even better upconversion performance with an HD player, that would seem to be the wiser choice. I'm sure HD will be better than any upconversion, and I'd love to have the new lossless sound formats.

Thanks.


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## Richard W. Haines (Jul 9, 2007)

Since most of the movies I want in high definition will be released by studios that are utilizing
HD DVD rather than blu-ray, I purchased the Toshiba HD XA2. Of course most of my collection
are standard DVDs (over 200) and the Toshiba upscales them very nicely. HD DVDs look 
spectacular if the film was well photographed and mastered (i.e. "2001: A Space Odyssey",
"Adverntures of Robin Hood", "The Wild Bunch"). The only problem with the Toshiba HD XA2 was
a synch drifting issue through the HDMI cable. However, I contacted the company and they
sent me the CD-ROM update. I installed it and it fixed the synch problem. So if you decide on
the Toshiba model, make sure you get that upgrade simulatenously. The company will send
you the disc for free. You can also download it from the internet but if the computer shut
down for some reason in the middle of it, it could really mess up the machine so I would
advise using the CD-ROM. It takes about 10 minutes to install. Just pop in the disc and
the door will open when it's finished.


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## John Simpson (May 10, 2007)

My view is that both formats are here to stay. Once DVD dies out (and after the Paramount deal expires), studios will be releasing HD discs in both formats -- at least in my perfect world!

I know very little about HD-DVD players, but for Blu-Ray the PS3 is by far the best. Having a very powerful processor onboard means there are no lags and everything works as it should. Get the remote and you're set.

I would avoid the dual-format players for now. From what I've seen, they're nowhere near the quality required -- just like those carousel DVD players, you're paying for features above quality.


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## jr1414 (Nov 28, 2007)

Thanks, but I'm actually looking for more of a direct upscaling comparison with the Oppo. I've heard very good things about the XA2, but was just curious how the current HD players stacked up.

Either way, I'll probably wait and see what people think of the new Samsung combo player. I believe it has the new silicon optics HQV upscaler, which I've also heard great things about.


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## brent_s (Feb 26, 2007)

If you have an HD capable display, I would think even the HD-A3 @ $180 (Amazon) would be a no brainer over the Oppo @ $229. In all reviews I've read, all of the Toshiba HD players do an excellent job of upconverting SD. Conversely, even if the Oppo is slightly better on SD, it'll never do true HD...and the A3 is currently less expensive for the win. 

Not quite the direct comparison you're looking for. My FP is only 480p. I picked up an HD-A2 on the $98 Friday deal. On SD at 480p, I see an improvement in picture quality compared to my Oppo 970HD. The best way I can describe it is a more 3D look...could be contrast/black level/detail, I really don't know what accounts for the overall perception. I really wan't expecting to see any difference, so I don't think I'm suffering from the power of suggestion.

-Brent


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## cruzmisl (Jul 1, 2007)

I have an Oppo 981 and a Toshiba XA2. The Toshiba wins in the upconversion of SD DVD's but it will not stretch 4x3 material whereas the Oppo will. BOth are very very good though. I'd choose option 2.


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## SteveCallas (Apr 29, 2006)

brent_s said:


> If you have an HD capable display, I would think even the HD-A3 @ $180 (Amazon) would be a no brainer over the Oppo @ $229. In all reviews I've read, all of the Toshiba HD players do an excellent job of upconverting SD. Conversely, even if the Oppo is slightly better on SD, it'll never do true HD...and the A3 is currently less expensive for the win.


Exactly. The ONLY reason I could see getting the Oppo over an HD DVD player would be if you are really into SACD and want to be able to transfer it over HDMI.....but then I guess even in that case you could just go with a PS3. With the prices of HD DVD players nowadays and their upconverting capabilities, plain old upconverting dvd players are pretty much worthless for those in the market for a new player.


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## jr1414 (Nov 28, 2007)

Thanks, I believe that's made up my mind for me now. I think I'll be looking for an XA2!


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## Richard W. Haines (Jul 9, 2007)

Don't forget to get the upgrade. I actually have an extra CD-Rom of it since they sent me two
by mistake.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

The Samsung BD P1200 and 1400 BluRay players do a far better job at upconverting SD DVDs to HD quality than the Oppo and the Toshiba You need to find a player that uses the HQV Rayon chip as its the best available. That said the Toshiba AX2 does a very good job as well. At this point BluRay has more movie tittles available than HD DVD.
I have both BluRay and HD DVD and both have there pros and cons, Combo players are now available but I would wait for the price to drop on the Samsung combo player as that seems to be the one to get.


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## Big Worm (Mar 8, 2007)

jr1414 said:


> Thanks, I believe that's made up my mind for me now. I think I'll be looking for an XA2!


Good choice. Even if the XA2 is even with the Oppo in upconversion (which based on what I have read it is not XA2 is better), you get the bonus that you can play HD-DVDs! :bigsmile: After that you are not going to care about upconversion, you will want everything in HD!


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## jr1414 (Nov 28, 2007)

I had thought the HQV chip was the same in the XA2 and the BD series, they're both listed as using the "Reon" chipset. Is there some other reason one would outperform the other. 

I'm not to keen on the combo player now. Other than eliminating the complexity of two players, it looks like it might be cheaper to buy a Bluray and an HD-DVD machine. In that case I'd probably get a HD-A(D)3 for HD-DVD playback only and a BD1200 for Bluray and upconversion. Would run me about $430 and I could be up and running tomorrow. If the price on the combo player were to fall, however, that would be the hot ticket.

As far as wanting everything in HD, I'm sure that any new materials will be in HD, but I have a pretty good library of SD material that I don't plan on replacing anytime soon. Thus the need for a good upconverting unit.

I did notice one specification on the Toshiba site that was a bit confusing. It mentions for DTS HD support (core only). Not really certain what this means, or how it applies in real life. Can anyone fill me in?

Thanks.


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## wbassett (Feb 8, 2007)

Before anyone jumps on the new players, make sure they are sanctioned by both format consortium's. The first LG player wasn't officially sanctioned by HD DVD and although it would play HD DVD discs, it has a quirky menu system and you can't access all the options the same as a dedicated HD DVD player. I expect the new generation of dual format players to handle this better, but expect some quirks and I personally would wait for some reviews to start coming in before jumping on the band wagon.

Most HDTVs have at least two HDMI inputs, and most cable HD receivers still output 'HD' over component... so a person could get an A3 for under $200 (with 7 free movies) and then a BD player for around $300. That's $500 to be format neutral with full functionality.

Plus keep in mind firmware updates... will it handle updates for both formats without any glitches to one format or the other? I love the idea of a dual player, but this isn't bleeding edge, it's like a cut artery!

Also look into BD profiles... will it be able to be updated to the final profile for both formats without any problems to the other format.

I'm not trying to be negative, just express some caution.

As far as the Oppo... for those on the fence it used to make sense, but with A3 prices typically lower or the same as the Oppo, and add in that the Oppo, as good as it is, can't play HD it doesn't make much sense anymore. Now if Oppo dropped their prices to $100 or less, yeah it would be a factor.

I know someone that has both an A2 and an Oppo and they said the A2 had a slight edge on upconverting SDVD over their Oppo. 'Slight' still may be enough to keep some people on the fence, but the Oppo won't play true HD. 

I hope I didn't offend anyone, but when the prices are that close, and the performance in upconverting is also that close, is it really a question anymore?


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## jr1414 (Nov 28, 2007)

I actually had my mind made up for me today. I was give a $100 gift certificate to Costco and while walking through found the HD-D3 for $179 after instant rebate. After applying my gift certificate it came to under $100 after tax, I couldn't resist.

I'll get to play with it after New Year's and I'll let you all know my thoughts on HD-DVD and upconverting SD.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

jr1414 said:


> I did notice one specification on the Toshiba site that was a bit confusing. It mentions for DTS HD support (core only). Not really certain what this means, or how it applies in real life. Can anyone fill me in?
> 
> Thanks.


What that means is that the Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD audio is decoded inside the player rather than sending the raw uncompressed multi channel bitstream to the receiver. This means that the quality can be slightly less than if it was decoded at the receivers end but again depends on the Receivers ability to do it better than the DVD player. The Samsung BD P1400 lets the receiver do it but you must have a receiver capable of doing so.


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