JTK's HD DVD Experience

[marzetta7]

Originally Posted by JTK

The last page of this thread has been rather hope inspiring...

Having just gotten rid of my HD-DVD player yesterday, I'm feeling rather giddy and relieved right now...but I'm also feeling fairly burned and jaded.

One more question, in general:

Are ANY of these BD players using the same BS poor man's HTPC concept that HD-DVD is using, or can I get a REAL piece of home theater/consumer electronics from them?

At least you had the "mahrbles" to take that leap. BTW, were you able to get most of your money back, etc? Hope so. At the very least, you were able to experience HD, and have a first hand knowledge of what the formats offer.

It'll be quite interesting to read of your experiences in this regard.

[JTK]

Maybe the mods can split this off to its own thread in Off Topic: Title of thread: JTK's HD-DVD experience

Originally Posted by marzetta7

At least you had the "mahrbles" to take that leap.

Bah. It was called impulse and impatience. I was honest about that from day one.

I tend to like to see things for myself and I wanted great HD so badly...

I got angry with BD's underachievement and that anger led to impulse.



The HD-DVD format itself is nice. The software is really good, but...those players just are not ready for prime time. Not even close. I think they're garbage.

It doesn't matter how good the PQ and AQ is if you can't get the damned thing to work right and consistently.

It's wrong to feel LUCKY when/if something works right, and I just won't accept that at any price, for any reason.

I can't say I was really surprised. I'm not a fan of Toshiba, especially in the HT market, even though they do well in the PC market.

I most certainly will not ever buy another one of their products again, at least HT related.

BTW, were you able to get most of your money back, etc? Hope so. At the very least, you were able to experience HD, and have a first hand knowledge of what the formats offer.

All said and done, I'm getting back at least 90 percent of what I spent. A glorified rental situation, pretty much like I expected.

It'll be quite interesting to read of your experiences in this regard.

I bought 22 HD-DVDs and watched them all. I'd say I had about a 40-50 percent failure rate going for me where you'd have some kind of glitch occur. Bad layer change like effects, drop outs, black screens, HORRIBLE AV synchs...just crap. Bottom line.

The picture quality was fantastic on the discs I bought and the sound quality as well.

BD stumbling out of the gate early with those mediocre discs is where something like this burned them, but you see attempts to whitewash HD-DVD's shortcomings on at least one prominent forum, so let me state it like this:

Even on AVS, as pro HD-DVD as it gets, you can't miss all the bug and complaint posts and threads if you try. EVEN THERE. Even with the newest firmware.

Whatever shortcomings BD has in the software side, which are already being dealt with...and we know how BD's hardware is going to be in two months...HD-DVD's biggest weakness, by far, is these clunky, junky, poor man's HTPC's that they're putting out as their players.

I don't see how HD-DVD really has a chance long term, despite the great PQ and AQ, if Toshiba is their best CE company and all they've got is MS's purse strings and strays from the PC market like Lite On, NEC, and HP maybe throwing down some hardware for them somewhere.

Oh yeah, and Sanyo and RCA. Two fancy names for "Blue Light Special."


Anyways, when I see that refund on my credit card, it will feel like Christmas Day. I feel like I dodged a bullet and I'm getting away real clean.

Maybe come Christmas I'll get the 360 attachment for HD-DVD, who knows?

I'd prefer to get appreciably better hardware from a better CE company, but I honestly don't think we're going to ever see it for HD-DVD. I think this CEDIA show this week is going to be big news for BD and more momentum and all we're going to see for HD-DVD is more Toshiba poor man's HTPCs, the Lite On stuff, the HP stuff, and maybe NEC and Sanyo stuff. Not great. That's not what I define as A grade CE and "appreciably better hardware" by any means.



I know BD's got me covered on that end. Hardware will be great and the software is starting to come to snuff as it should.

Hardware, software woes coming to an end, 90 percent studio support...I don't know how you overcome this if my indicators are right and the sleeping giant is about to finally awaken.

4th quarter...

I've got my eye on this Panny player...

[Psiweaver]

The other thing to remember is that hardware is a lot harder to fix than software. The software can be great like JTK described but the overall experience was sub par simply because of all the crashes and bugs that the player has. If the hardware works well and the software is decent to good the one with the better hardware will win because software can always be improved and as the format continues will only get better and better.

[hmurchison]

All in all both the BD and HD DVD players are all first generation. Both formats come with a bunch of DRM whether we want to admit it or not. I'm not much of a fan of the Intel CPU and Broadcom chipset combo but current SoC stuff doesn't quite have the grunt. I'm sorry that a buggy player ruined JTK's experience with HD DVD. We'll see what the future holds. I do agree though Toshiba better find some "friends" quickly.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by hmurchison

All in all both the BD and HD DVD players are all first generation. Both formats come with a bunch of DRM whether we want to admit it or not.

That's why I'm not going to just jump blind on the first day these new players come out.

It's going to be a lot of reading and eventually, a few car trips for some demoes.

You all know me enough by now to know that I try to call it like I see it, good , bad, ugly...regardless of what it is.

If I walk into a store and spend time with these newer BD players forthcoming and I'm not impressed as I should be? I won't buy any of it.

Right now I feel like I'm back to square one of being 100 percent anti early adoption and simply using the game consoles as stopgaps.

That was always my original plan and I may very well be back to it.

I'm not much of a fan of the Intel CPU and Broadcom chipset combo but current SoC stuff doesn't quite have the grunt.

For sure.

I'm sorry that a buggy player ruined JTK's experience with HD DVD.

I'm sorry those players are the only choice to get into HD-DVD. That's HD-DVD biggest weakness by far: You want in? You take your chances at the Toshiba poor man's HTPC roulette table.

I saw one guy on AVS talk about how he exchanged that thing FIVE times before he finally gave up.

There's no way in hell I'd do that, although I saluted him for his patience and perseverance. That's ridiculous!


And even on a pro HD-DVD forum like AVS? There's a lot of other people in the same boat I am/was.

I have some contacts in varying business, including retail, and I know for a fact, because they've all told me, that these Toshiba players are amongst THE most high in terms of defects and returns/exchanges of ANY CE products in several years, at least.

I wish I could get some specific numbers and maybe I can at some point, but I don't really think that's any secret or newsflash, is it?


That's a real shame.

HD-DVD deserves better than that. The PQ and AQ I experienced for five weeks deserves to be on a better platform of hardware.


Believe me: I'd spend a grand or more right now if I could get say...Onkyo/Integra or Denon/Marantz some company like that to give me a nice home theater product.

As long as HD-DVD thinks they're going to win an early adopter format war environment catering to places like WalMart and such?

They are going to lose. That's not where it's at. The early adopter types go ga-ga for nice juicy hardware and they'll pony up the cash for it every time.

We'll see what the future holds. I do agree though Toshiba better find some "friends" quickly.

Very quickly.

As in: HD-DVD needs to get big news out of CEDIA this week.

I know Blu-Ray is going to...

[BTBuck1]

thanks for the recap Eric, sorry things didn't work out and I hope things fair differently for me.

If I have the same problems I will probably just sell or trade my HD-A1 as returning it seems like too much work for only $400 bucks, or maybe since I have so little invested I'll just ride it out til better hardare comes.

It comes today and hopefully before I go to work (12:30)
or I may call in sick (cough-cough)

[hmurchison]

Well right now I'm a bit saddened to see the poor results but win/lose/draw I'm entering the the HD player game early next year. I have to move mid Nov and so I'm banking my money right now because there are things I'll need to get my apt up to snuff before a HDTV. I know...I'm pathetic In that I'd choose a couch over a HDTV LOL.

Can't wait for the Cedia reports to kick in tomorrow.

[ProvenFlipper]

Originally Posted by Brian@BBY

It comes today and hopefully before I go to work (12:30)
or I may call in sick (cough-cough)

I'm telling...

[BTBuck1]

Originally Posted by ProvenFlipper

I'm telling...

[phloyd]

I got the 'airline special' on the A1 and I figure at worst if I hate it I can rip the NEC drive out and put it in a PC

I have not used it much but it has been doing OK so far...

Actually the only movie I have watched all the way through oddly was a home brew disc set from the broadcast of House of Flying Daggers. I think I noticed one pause - perhaps the layer change.

In any case, I will probably keep my player for use and if it craps out I will make it into a lab experiment

[JTK]

Originally Posted by phloyd

In any case, I will probably keep my player for use and if it craps out I will make it into a lab experiment

If I had big time money to blow, I would have kept it myself and turned it into a DIY project for sure.

See what happens when you swap out that horrible and ancient Intel chip and 333 RAM from 2002 with some beefy hardware from today and see what's what, for one...

If it's going to be a poor man's HTPC in a box anyways, why not see what she could do with a Conroe and maybe 2 Gigs of some 1066 Corsair.

[PurpleAardvark]

When I had my HD DVD player (went through 3), I always felt like recreating that sence from office space with the copy machine, except using an HD DVD player. HD is Better my ass, it has to work right to be better.

[phloyd]

Office Space rocks - hopefully on BD soon