When it comes to performance, 1080p does make a real difference to the amount of detail visible on screen. Whether you can actually make it out when you’re watching a film will depend on how big your TV is and how far away from the screen you’re sitting. But as an example, the tiny "Motion Picture Association of America" text on the film rating page is crystal clear when viewed at 1080p.
Drop down to 1080i or 720p and it’s still readable, but it’s jagged rather than smooth - and at 480i it’s almost impossible to make out, unless you already know what it says. While you’re unlikely to spend that much time staring at static text, it shows the difference you can expect from full HD.
Takes almost a minute to warm up
Sit back and watch some actual movie footage, ultimately what the machine's designed for, and the results are superb – Bourne car chases at 1080p 24fps were absolutely stunning. It’s also not bad at upscaling your existing DVD collection to HD resolution. Obviously the results aren’t going to be anywhere near as good as HD DVD, but there is a noticeable difference.
Playing back the lobby scene from The Matrix at 576i there were noticeable artefacts and jagged edges. Switch up to 1080p and the quality is much improved, though still noticeably lacking compared to true HD content.
While Toshiba has managed to improve the quality of the picture compared to its previous entry-level model, there are areas where its budget roots start to show. The remote control, for example, is fairly small and basic-looking, lacking the button backlighting seen on higher-end models. That’s not to say it’s not up to doing the job, thought, and given the bargain price for the player you can forgive a little cost-cutting in the remote control department.
COMMENTS
Upscale
Are there any players that will upscale to 1600 x 1200 to a DVI?
HD DVD V Blu Ray
I'm afraid that after reading all this Hi Tech stuff, I am totally baffled as what to buy.
I agree with the chap before who said it's a case of who die's first - HD DVD or Blue Ray, then I shall decide which to go with.
In the mean time I shall purchase a cheap HD DVD player and wait for the fight to finish!
Cheers
Whatever happened to consumer choice
Well I have no googled pages to back me up here, but didn't consumers choose the victors between Betamax and VHS? I'm sure all the film studios simply released in both formats until a clear winner (the inferior VHS format) emerged.
Seems to me the guys with the biggest backhanders won this time, with studio exclusives and such like (they probably preferred the region coding in Blueray too - maybe HDDVD should have gone that route) - or maybe the film studio execs should have accepted that cinema going is a dying social disease, and the human race moves closer to a matrix like reality of not leaving the house unless strictly necessary.
If thousands upon thousands suddenly started buying HDDVD machines because their prices dropped like stones, would the film studios and 'quality' newspapers still call it dead?
Personally, I'm rewatching all my SD DVDs thru' an SD player on a HIDEF TV and loving the qualitive<sp?> difference, and whichever HD players breaks the sub £100 barrier, I (and I'm guessing) millions of other (normal folk) will make the jump to rewatch our SD films upscaled.
Apart from an extremely select few most loved movies, I will not be rebuying my DVD collection in HD format. I hate Microsoft & Sony (the corporation, not the folks who work in them) in equal measure - I realise MS don't own the HDDVD format, but they do back them, but if I had a choice I would always go with a consortium of backers of a format.
Apologies for the long post.
Tony F Paulazzo
You call that research?
From your first link.... "The DVD Forum's representatives said that the issue is still under study."
Please find me a single player or disc that uses TL51 or region coding for HD-DVD movies.
There are none.
All HD DVD players today can play all known and planned movies with all features.
Can the same be said for blu-ray?....
@kevin re blu-ray fud
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=21372
quote
However, the new HD DVD-ROM discs may not be compatible with the first generation HD DVD players, since their triple-layer nature could require the use of spherical aberration compensation techniques for reading, a feature that is not currently supported by the HD DVD hardware
also
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10863296&&#post10863296
which has a very interesting conversation on the topic as well as the PLANNED region coding with Amir Majidimehr, Corporate Vice President, Consumer Media Technology Group, Microsoft one of the driving forces behind HD-DVD.
So much for the blu-ray FUD. Unlike some, I research before commenting
