Okay, but do they have a web browser built in and a way to access web addresses so you could use them as an internet download device? The PS3 is a fully functional internet terminal with an optional wireless keyboard, so if internet downloads of HD content becomes the norm it's ready to go for that. Do any HD-DVD players have that capability?

Nope, not that I'm aware of.

I bought my HD DVD player to play back films and my own authored HD-DVD discs[footage from my HDV Camcorder.]

If downloading HD content becomes the norm, I think I would rather build myself a Home Theater PC/Mac with a HD tuner card and as many hard drives that I can stuff in it.

My Nintendo Wii has a web browser built in---but you will never find me surfing the Web that way...it's painful!

With a little work you can also connect the PS3 to a wireless home network and stream video content from a beefy computer in another room, so you don't have to have a big computer box in your living room. :-)

I know you can load some version of Mac OS X operating system on the PS3, but what about the XBox 360 or Nintendo Wii? All three have processors from IBM, similar to the PowerPC that both IBM and Motorola (Freescale) made.

heath

I know there are people who bring up the fact that the A2 and the A3 doesn’t have 1080p but the reason that I use it is because I don’t think the price of a player that is capable of 1080p and have HDMI 1.3 should be compared to a player that doesn’t have those features. It has nothing to do with rather or not the player is a good value and its true that if you don’t have a 1080p TV and a high end surround sound system, the player is good enough.

Still, I believe that the A3 will be the last player that doesn’t do 1080p because if you look at today’s prices at Amazon for example, you can get the Toshiba A30 for $323.98, A35 for $412.27, and just for the heck of it, on the Blu-Ray side you have the Sharp BDHP 20u for $414.19, Samsung BD-1400 for $339.99, the Sony BDP-S300 for $399.98 and obviously the PS3 for the same price. Once the A3 becomes nearly discontinued, their will be a lot more 1080p TV sets in peoples homes and I bet that at least the A30 will be less than 200 dollars by then.

Even today, top featured 1080p TVs are getting very cheep such as the Sony 40” XBR4 with HDMI 1.3 and 24p support for just $2,199.99. Next year you’ll probably get an equally featured TV for around 1500 dollars or much less.



Now on the topic of using a PS3 as a multimedia device, as we all know Sony has a deal with DivX, and playing back those videos are good enough for a lot of people but I can imagine the deal going a bit further like having a Stage6 section of the PlayStation store. That’s sort of like the YouTube part of Apple TV. Like Apple, Sony also has a very good relationship with Google so it wouldn’t surprise me if you will see YouTube videos on the PlayStation store as well. Almost forgot, the PS3 will be getting an HD TV tuner/recorder.

This is all really a moot point. If Disney's advertisements are correct, and their titles are being offered "exclusively on DVD and Blu-Ray" (pre their television commercials), then the 'war' is basically over, and Toshiba is simply unloading inventory. I have several consumer friends who will buy Blu-Ray players simply on the strength of Disney's advertisements. While they may or may not buy HD-DVD players, they will most certainly buy Blu-Ray players just because of Disney. Personally, I'm holding out only due to paying down credit cards used to by camera equipment--next year I'll get a PS3 and a BR burner (dual-layer is what I'm holding out for: I can store on entire project on one of those discs, and not worry about more HDD crashes).

TV isn't the greatest source of info, but lots of people go by what they see advertised.

ciao,
Matt

I will agree with you on HDMI 1.3, but not on 1080p. The latter is merely a transport, take data from the disk and send it to a TV. Unlike upscaling or deinterlacing, no super-smart processing is needed. Reserving 1080p for "upscale" (are they really?) models is a pure marketing ploy.
If a TV can detect segmented frames and recover them properly, there is absolutely no difference between 1080i and 1080p. This player will work perfectly fine for such a TV and will utilize its 1080 lines in full. Well, a correct statement would be, that a TV capable if IVTC will utilize 1080i signal in full.

I have to say, that the 720p mode delivered by this player is horrible, so I am lucky that my TV can properly detect and process 3:2 cadence. I bought this player for movies, so I don't have real need for 1080p output.

If you read reviews you will find out that a30/35 do not deliver proper 1080p60 (one of them deliver proper 1080p24 though, go figure), just like A2 does not deliver proper 720p. To date, the only proper player from Toshiba is the XA2. Everything else is substitute. But I am ok with a substitute if it costs $100.

If it really doesn’t matter then why do all the new HD-DVD players except for the A3 claim to offer 1080p?

I understand that the A30 doesn’t have all the audio features of the A35 but the A30 does have 24p support so if your 1080p TV can handle 24p than the A30 would be an extremely smart choice over the A3. Also, I don’t know of any content that is offered in 1080 60p.

Yup, I was going to wait, but may jump in too. I hope the Sears Black Friday thing true and is going to be for sale on the internet with unlimited amount.

Mike

The Sear's deal looks real here
http://bfads.net/Toshiba-HDA3-HD-DVD-Player-at-Sears although I'm sure Sears.com will end at noon. I'm going online at 5am EST.

Stand alones are nothing compared to game player consoles. It was only April 18 this year that HD-DVD stand alones passed 100,000 in total sales. The $100 sale this month pumped out 90,000 in one weekend.
See here for details http://www.engadgethd.com/tag/VideoScan/

I'm going to be very interested to see how the 1080P upscaling of SD DVD's works on the A3 with my 42" 1080P LCD. If it looks goodd less reason to buy HD DVDs.

That Disney bit was flown by yesterday. I don't think that Disney has that kind of clout yet. Snowflake's "Finding Nemo" is about the best MPEG2 conversion I have seen (all of the latest top-tier animations are stellar in standard def.) This Disney bit is relying on a market that I think is smaller in demographic than the console market to "win" for Blu-Ray. Not sure that is going to work. Cheapest media that can be replaced will win. That will still be DVD for awhile. Let Blu-Ray "Finding Nemo" sit paused on the menu for a couple of weeks and let's see if mom and dad are ready to replace the player so quickly.

I go back and forth on buying a player (HD DVD or Blu Ray) or not. I love Criterion, and they haven't really mentioned going HD (either format), so I'm enjoying not taking the plunge yet, and watching some Criterion in glorious SD DVD.

heath

SD DVD still looks great on a 50" plasma, so until the cost for HD systems comes WAY down I just can't see any major migration happening. The massive sales that selling the HD-DVD players at $100 generated is proof positive of this.

My bet is that the company that can put out a $100-$130 dual-format HD player will steal all the sales the big players are after and make itself an absolute mint in the process.

Just saw that Best Buy is advertising a $400 Blu-Ray player, which includes 6 disks and a $100 Best Buy Gift Card.

SD looks fine until you start comparing it to decent HD material, and then it looks like low-resolution mush based on antiquated 1950s technology. As far as a "major migration" is concerned, the purchase rate of HD-capable playback devices is running at least double that of standard DVD players when they were first introduced ten years ago - and at prices which are a bargain by comparison for what you can get. We're in the midst of one of the most historic consumer technology shifts in decades and many videographers are still talking about HD like it's just a fad. News flash: buggy whips are no longer readily available and HD is here to stay.

HD is already here, that is true. On the other hand, I watched two HD movies already, "Good night and good luck" and "Apollo 13" and I am not THAT much excited. Probably this is because I already have seen good HD shows on TV. I would not say that these movies look better than HD TV shows, and why should they.

But the shocker is that with TV shows the difference in quality between "old" SD shows and new HD shows is evident, while the difference between upscaled SD movies and HD movies is not so. The most visible difference is in text, whenever there is text onscreen, it is more legible and rounded and smooth. But overall... I would not say I see a lot of difference. Maybe the movies that I chose to watch are not the best showcase of HD transfer. All in all, HD is better, but the difference is quite subtle, so watching regular DVDs does not make me wanting for more.

In my opinion, what is more important between "old" video and movies and "new" ones is aspect ratio. IMHO, having 16:9 AR is more important than having HD.

P.S. I have a rather large 50-inch TV, but the panel is not 1920x1080, it is only 1365x768, so with "true" HD panels the difference may be more pronounced.

Films in HD are incredible to watch, but viewing documentaries shot in HD, like the underwater ones I see on Discovery HD, are truly wonderous. To my eye, films in HD look more like films in the theatre, but 1080i60/30p/720p to me at least, feels like HD.

Does that make sense? Probably has to do with frame rates and lighting.

Anyway, if someone makes a dual-format hi def DVD player for even $300, they'll be a dominant force.

heath

That deals is as good as what Wal Mart’s offering for the 80 gig PS3 which includes any 10 under $30 movies for free. That’s a total of 15 free movies. Although I think they should have also offered a deal where you can choose any 3 PS3 games for free instead of movies.

At the rate things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised to see 20 free movie offers for both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players by Christmas.

It also has to do with Filters and colour correction as well.

Movie stars still have to look good, they don't want you to see every blemish and wrinkle. Fish... not so much. :)

True, true. I feel for the actors and actresses being shot in 2K and 4K. MAKEUP!

heath

HD DVD Star Trek deal
 

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/release_tosh112007.html
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh..._Revealed/1195

I just pulled the trigger on the A3 from Amazon.

$30 more than Sears but I got 3 extra movies worth $75 for my $30.
$197.22 plus tax, free shipping and 10 movies.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...cId=1000167901

Konrad

[dripping-sarcasm]Hmm, now THERE's a deal![/dripping-sarcasm] (targetted to the ad, not to Paul!) I guess if you're a serious Trekie, it might be worthwhile to trade your programmable remote control that controls 9 or 10 devices for a nice, sleek phaser remote that's a 3-in-1...

Now, maybe if they offered a serious discount on the boxed set, or on the higher-end players...

I think I agree heartily with the few posts wishing for a dual-format player.

ciao.

$100 for the A2 + 5 movies made more sense for me, because most of the free movies are not worthy watching.

I still wish I did the $100 deal. I'm kicking myself. Maybe the A3 will be discontinued by next year...

heath

According to the reviews on Amazon it's the phazer OR the 5 free movies as both offers require the UPC and there is only one UPC and it seems Toshiba support has confirmed this.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, for those that have picked up either the A2 or A3, you should really check out the "planet earth" documentary if you haven't! It is the most beautiful thing I have watched on my A2. I am putting it on my christmas list and someone better get it for me! LOL

But seriously, this one, is definately great and it has come down in price also! But a "must have for the quality of the images alone! Not to mention the documentary is pretty good also!

Damon

PS: I'm a trekkie and a bit of a geek(never be ashamed of your geekiness! LOL), and the remote offer is just a bit too corny for me! I would rather have a few more dvd's than that thing. Just imagine, you have someone over and your watching a movie and possibly want to rewind or pause and you grab that thing! Definate loss of all cool points IMHO! LOL

I have to say, one of the biggest advantages of HD DVD is Paramount's library, particularly Star Trek. I'd buy an HD DVD player to watch Star Trek on HD DVD.

For Blu-Ray, it's probably Disney's stuff (and James Bond movies, too). Honestly, I'm just scratching the surface on both. Universal's classic monster films on HD DVD, awesome 80s action films on Blu-Ray (Die Hard, Predator, RoboCop, etc.) and more.

heath

Well, tomorrow is the day! I do hope I can get one of these HD DVD units. I understand that you can burn short HD content on standard discs with red laser burners and play on these units? I need to learn this process. I don't need hours, just 15 minutes or so.

Star Trek is definitely a big plus!

Mike

I probably will eventually pick up the Trek series on HD DVD, but I have every Star Trek movie, so I am not too eager to plunk down that cash on Shatner.. LOL But I am sure I will sooner or later.

But one of the favorites that is coming out soon that I will pick up on HD DVD is the Harry Potter series! Or I may just buy them one at a time. I am not sure yet, but I am slowly beginning the transition to HD DVD(very slowly). I think they also have Van Helsing on HD DVD, I am not sure. But Transformers is probably the best I have purchased to date! Megatron was awesome! LOL

The new, remastered versions of Classic Trek seem worth buying on HD DVD.

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Orig...Frd%5Fi=507846

heath

Heath, have you purchased or rented them? How do they look? Better than the originals? I guess I could just Netflix them if they have them to see for myself, but these days for a remaster, it has to look good(like extremely!) for me to plunk down 130.00. I will have to check Netflix to see how it looks! If they look good, thanks for the link!

Damon

No idea, because I don't have an HD DVD player. I SERIOUSLY wish I'd bought the $100 player...

heath

Ok, got ya. For the 100 sale, well, thats of course a done deal, but I looked online(I believe best buy and circuit city have them for that price, but definately circuit city, better jump on it!) and they are running some 200.00 sales for the A3, which according to my friend actually starts up better and has the(I believe this is the correct name) renasis chip in it. I know he said it doesn't take like a minute to start like my A2(with the 2.5 firmware) but I am not 100 on the chip. Actually if I could find another A2 for cheap, I would pick it up myself. I like the unit that much. I actually looked at the A3 last night with a friend and I don't care for the remote. Toshiba shrunk it down compared to the A2!

Also, I read a few reviews on Amazon about the Trek, and they had good things to say! A few naysayers, but that is always going to be the case. But for the most part good things. I may wait on that one for the price to drop like that planet earth series. That one for example was 100 when I first rented it, but now, on newegg they have it for 69 and at my local best buy for 79. I figure by Christmas I may be able to pick the sucker up for like 50! Its a great time to be a consumer and "able" to buy a few things! This is going to be a great christmas season!

I didn't see it at Circuitcity.com...Do you have a link? They have up to 30% off on HD DVD and Blu-Ray players.

heath

Irony!
 

Something just hit me as very funny, as I sit here waiting for Black Friday and my chance to get the A3.

I just took delivery this week of a SL-HF400 Sony Super BETA hi-fi VCR! I have a friend/client who is an actress and needs a new demo reel. Most of the stuff she has is on BETA and so I needed the unit to capture them.

Believe me the BETA units are a hot item and cost sometimes more than they did new. So, as I sit waiting to buy the A3 on Friday, I am cleaning and hooking up my 20 year old VCR technology!

Go Figure! :)

Mike

Heath, here you go(if my linking capabilities are good today.. LOL):

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Toshi...oductDetail.do

And I still have a S-VHS deck sitting on my desk also! I don't use it, but it's still functional.


Damon

They also have it at best buy at that price when you add it to your cart, but it shows them out of stock(which is a typical move for best buy)...

Oh, I thought you meant more $100 A2s. I had a thought, btw, of looking on auction sites for the $100 A2, but then I'd have to buy HD DVDs that I'd normally get for free.

So buying a $200 A3 and getting a ton of free movies is probably cheaper than buying a $100 A2 online somewhere and buying the films.

heath

Oh no. I haven't seen more at that price for a bit. I can't remember the site, but I think it was newegg that actually had the A2's but they wanted like 269.00 for them. And definately, if it were me, I would buy the A3 at 200 and get the 7 free movies versus buying a last generation unit and having to buy the additional titles.

Even if you factor in say 20.00(which is the cheapest I have seen a HD DVD) for the seven movies, which I know the two in the box are 30.00 movies, your basically getting at least 140.00 worth of movies for free. From there, I am sure you see the math between the two scenerios.

A couple things to keep in mind that I had to find out the hard way is that it "definately" takes 8-10 weeks to recieve the discs through the mail, and also if you have to call them, there is a separate little number that you have to call for these rebates. I was soo angry when I contacted them regarding my discs, that I vowed I would never send in another rebate and actually "wait" for it. I normally don't, but I really wanted to see these movies. Not that they are the newest discs, but hey, they are free... LOL

Anyhow, yes, I would definately suggest getting the A3. I think someone posted a link on here for Sears having them tomorrow for 169.00. I am also checking walmart to see what they have. If I find anything I will post links.

Damon