New Player Options

[yromj]

<div>OK, I''ve narrowed my new player down to two front runners and a dark horse:</div><BR><div>1.&nbsp; The Oppo 981.&nbsp; (~$250 shipped)</div><BR><div>1a.&nbsp; A refurbed Toshiba HD-A1 off ebay.&nbsp; (~$320 shipped)</div><BR><div>3.&nbsp; A refurbed Toshiba HD-XA1 off ebay. (~$425 shipped)</div><BR><div>First off, the only reason I''m even considering either of the HD-DVD machines is because I got one for less than $100 more than the upconverting SD player I had selected.&nbsp; I feel the added media possibilities would probably be worth the $100.&nbsp; I can''t remember the differences between the XA1 and A1 though.&nbsp; Toshiba''s website sucks for comparing them, too.</div><BR><div>If it was your money what would you do?&nbsp; This is for the room and therefore will be used w/ my Sony 720p projector and 102" screen.</div><BR><div>John</div><BR>

[yromj]

<div>Oh man, you guys REALLY disappointed me.&nbsp; I thought SURELY somebody would have SOMETHING to say.</div><BR><div>John</div><BR>

[-B-]

To me, if you are getting the HD player from a reliable source (warranty etc.) than it might make sense to get that as it will provide a great picture for DVD as well. I''d probably go with the HD player at that price and maybe add a Blue Ray player down the road.<br><br>What''s the difference between the 2 HD players, other than price?<br><br>

[Jomari]

<div>hehehe. you know im biased. </div><BR><div>in this case, i would go for the toshibas, although i rarely purchase refurbished items, dont know why, but heck, go for it! considering the price of those babies i think its a great opportunity.</div><BR><div>so you choose HD over blu ray? just wondering.</div><BR>

[yromj]

<div>Actually, I don''t have to worry about picking HD-DVD over Blu-ray, because it''s looking like I will have both (oh, this is so not me).&nbsp; Santa''s bringing a PS3 and now I''m pretty sure I''m going to get an HD-DVD player.&nbsp; (If I sell my TSO tickets, since I can''t go, then that will pay for the upgrade and more.)</div><BR><div>I would really like to know what the difference is in the two players, though.&nbsp; I can''t remember.&nbsp; I do know the XA1 looks much better.</div><BR><div>John</div><BR>

[Jomari]

*grumble mumble grumble*...<BR>

[CMonster]

The XA1 has a RS-232 port and its remote has a backlight.&nbsp; I''m not sure if there are any other differences.&nbsp; Before I pulled the trigger on the A1, I read some threads over at AVSForum, and the consensus there seemed to be that the XA1 wasn''t worth the extra expense.<br><br>By the way, you can get a new XA1 from <a title="Deep Discount DVD" href="http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemid=TOS000011">Deep Discount DVD</a> for $500 (if the thought of a refurb scares you).&nbsp; Also, if you pick up one of the Toshibas you can get three free HD-DVDs.&nbsp; Just check out the promotional offer here: <a title="Toshiba HD-DVD promotion" href="http://www.toshibahddvd.com/">Toshiba HD-DVD promotion</a>.<br><br>The old DVD player in my bedroom crapped out a couple weeks ago and I struggled with the same thing: get another Oppo (already have a 971) or go with an HD-DVD player.&nbsp; Ended up finding an open box HD-A1 at Best Buy for $350 so I pulled the trigger.&nbsp; I have absolutely no regrets with this decision other than the fact that I bought the standard DVD versions of Batman Begins and The Last Samurai about two weeks before picking up the A1.<br><br>

[Rope]

<div>I'll&nbsp;be satisfied using&nbsp;my old&nbsp;regular run of the mill DVD player.&nbsp; I&nbsp;won't be purchasing either high definition player until Holographic Vesatile Disc enters the market and or someone offers a multi-format player that is less than the size of a small truck.</div><BR><div>Rope</div><BR><div>*EDIT*</div><BR><div><BR><p class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><i>Blu-Ray and HD DVD Are for Chumps<o:p></o:p></i></p><BR><p class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><i>Several companies, including Hitachi/Maxell and Optware, are working on holographic media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>In the latter�s case, projected disc space----on something the size of a DVD----will be in the multiple-terabyte range (100 times more than HD DVD or Blu-Ray).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Optware�s HVD format works by sending two lasers, one red and one green or blue, toward the disc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>A layer reflects the green or blue laser and lets the red laser pass through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The red laser reads the layer of pits and lands (like with a regular DVD).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The green or blue laser reads the data-containing layer in three dimensions (back and forth, as with a DVD, and also vertically).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>That�s thousands of hours of 1080p/24 content on one disc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span><o:p></o:p></i></p><BR></div><BR><br><BR><div>&nbsp;</div><BR><br><BR>

[Rodraid]

<div>John,</div><BR><br><BR><div>&nbsp;</div><BR><br><BR><div>I don't think you will be disappointed if you get the A1 but I would caution against getting it from Ebay unless you are sure about being able to exchange it if there are problems.&nbsp; I have an A1 and it has not given me any problems, pretty much has played flawlessly snce day 1 but I have also read stories of other people not being so lucky.&nbsp; You will be blown away by the picture on a 102" screen playing HD DVDs.&nbsp; The Oppo will not come close.&nbsp; </div><BR><br><BR><div>&nbsp;</div><BR><br><BR><div>I really don't like watching SD DVDs since most of my movie watching lately has been HD DVD.&nbsp; I never realized how poor the quality is until I got used to watching everything in HD.</div><BR><br><BR><div>&nbsp;</div><BR><br><BR><div>As I mentioned my A1 has played flawlessly but you will have to deal with the slow start up times.&nbsp; I just turn it on and go get my drink together and by the time I am back the A1 is warmed up.</div><BR><br><BR><div>&nbsp;</div><BR><br><BR><div>With Blu Ray stumbling so bad out of the blocks this format war is going to drag on for years so you might as well start enjoying it now.</div><BR><br><BR><div>&nbsp;</div><BR><br><BR><div>Oh, your question has already been answered but the only real difference is the RS232 port on the XA1 and back lit remote but use a universal.</div><BR><br><BR><div>&nbsp;</div><BR><br><BR><div>Rodney</div><BR><br><BR>

[yromj]

<div>Well, no more worries.&nbsp; I picked up an HD-DVD player for $290, shipped, off ebay.&nbsp; Let the adventure begin.</div><BR><div>John</div><BR>

[Jomari]

do let us know how it goes okay? good luck chief.<BR>