Where to invest?!

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I've just bought a Panasonic TH42PZ70B (42" 1080p Plasma) and now want to get the most out of it, without throwing money down the drain! I like the look of the Toshiba HD DVDs as they're not bank breakers if the format doesn't take off and also upscale. My only grievance is that they only work on Region 2 SD DVDs. Is there such a thing as an HD player which will also upscale all regions old school DVDs?

At some point down the line when I have re-saved, I will want to invest in a full surround sound amp setup, but was a bit scared about investing big with the lip-sync problems mentioned in places! Are there any particular DVD/Receiver combos I should avoid/go for as particularly bad/good for this?!

If I'm not buying my sound system for a while, is it even worth spending more on the Toshiba EP35 over the EP30? Don't really get it all!! Will the EP30 still work well with a bottom of the range amp system?!

 

[gregch]

Personally, I'd think twice about investing in HDDVD - the format is now effectively obsolete. The last remaining studios to support the format do so as part of an exclusivity agreement which expires in a few months, so although there may be a handful more HDDVD discs released, that will be it! Shame, because some of those Toshiba players looked pretty good.

 

[nads]

of the current Hi def players out there i would go for a HD DVD player as they are cheap as chips you get some free discs and there is software out there to make them region free. And they are fine upscalers. HD DVD discs will be available for quite some time and IF the big studious stop producing HD DVD's then there are still about a 1000 titles out there to watch. It is the only fully finished format with all features that work. If blu ray "wins" it will be a long time before i buy a player as it will need to be a finished format and even then a good upscaler and DVD discs will do the job with out needing to spend more money on hardware.

 

[biggus_1961]

Nads you have a hd dvd player and ive heard Andrew everhard saying the Onkyo 875 has an excellent upscaler so am i right in assuming that an amp with a good upscaler (or tv with one) would make normal dvd's look very close to a blueray and the only real advantage of bd and hd dvd is the better sound quality when plugged into a suitable amp ?

 

[nads]

Biggus i would like to not answer that question. As at the moment i would be hard pressed to give a real answer. Well a worth while answer. My current TV displays at 1080i max, and is a 32", the 46" is about 3 weeks away. The picture does seem to be better but nothing big to shout about, but the HD sound WOW. But that is the reason i bought into HD. Ok i bought the "best" HD DVD player at a good price (350) when i did, if i had bought the best BR player available at the same time it would have been a playstation which would have required additional cabling at have limitations on the audio if i have read the info correctly ie. no HD sound.

 

[biggus_1961]

Thanks nads, personally its the better sound that attracts me to HD rather than the picture as i get the impression that 1080p is more for large screens than the smaller ones and i dont think i'll be going any larger than 42" as i carnt sit far enough away from the screen even tough i like a 46" screen...using 32' panasonic crt at present

 

[nads]

At the moment i am sitting about 3.5m away from the 32" and i still have another meter and a bit to play with if needed.

 

[Anonymous]

I know this has nothing to do with this topic but I have only joined and I cant seem to figure out how to post a thread pleasssse help!!!! Fiona XXX

 

[nads]

[quote user="fionabriney"]
I know this has nothing to do with this topic but I have only joined and I cant seem to figure out how to post a thread pleasssse help!!!! Fiona XXX
[/quote]

chose a section and press the big red button.

 

[professorhat]

[quote user="biggus_1961"]Thanks nads, personally its the better sound that attracts me to HD rather than the picture as i get the impression that 1080p is more for large screens than the smaller ones and i dont think i'll be going any larger than 42" as i carnt sit far enough away from the screen even tough i like a 46" screen...using 32' panasonic crt at present[/quote]

I have a 42" 1080i screen and use a PS3 and I can tell you now, Blu-Ray discs look far and away better than upscaled DVD. Also, the PS3 will do HD sound, you just need an amp with an HDMI input. I don't have one, I just use the optical out, but the sound still seems to sound better using a Blu-Ray disc than a DVD. I suspect that's just my mind playing tricks, but who cares?!