[trains are bad]

I have a Oppo 981 DVD player, which is a pretty decent dvd player. But a local is selling his

TOSHIBA HD DVD PLAYER HDDVD
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-HD-A3-.../ref=de_a_smtd

...and 7 decent HDDVDs for $80. At that price, I'm thinking about snatching it up and using it as my primary DVD player, plus then I would be able to pick up HDDVDs for cheap when I find them. The only thing I'm worried about is if it will upscale DVDs as 'well' as my Oppo, which seems to macroblock a lot.

 

[darkninja67]

umm you do know that HD-DVD is dead right? meaning they will not release any movies in the future for that format.

 

[devin_mm]

I would never consider getting an HD-DVD player. Would you buy a beta-max player? I would pickup a PS3 because of its features, price, upgradability, and the upscaling is pretty good too. I own two HD-DVD players (Toshiba, and the XBox 360 drive) and I regret buying them.

 

[trains are bad]

But the thing is, its only $80, with 7 movies, and works as an upscaling DVD player. Fry's electronics around here has a huge fire sale of hddvds for like $8 each, including some good titles. So I don't see how I could go wrong with selling my Oppo and getting the Toshiba, then it's basically the same thing I have now, plus ablitity to pick up cheap HDdvd movies in the future when they get even cheaper. I'll probably get a PS3 eventually for bluray purposes but if I sell my oppo I can switch to the HDdvd capabilities right now for like no money.

 

[Homeless]

I would do it. I have an A3 and it upscales standard DVDs quite well to my a2000.

The bonus like you said is picking up HD DVDs for cheap. In the last 6 weeks my collection has gone from about 12 discs to probably 35 or so.

For $80 it sounds like a good deal. What TV do you have?

 

[trains are bad]

A sony HS420 crt

 

[Nicolas2305]

the thing is... when your player is gone, broken, kaput. You'll have trouble to find a player to see your marvelous collection of HD-DVD that you got for $8 or $5 each.

 

[ozz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nicolas2305 /img/forum/go_quote.gif the thing is... when your player is gone, broken, kaput. You'll have trouble to find a player to see your marvelous collection of HD-DVD that you got for $8 or $5 each.

BINGO!

 

[Kilane]

Right... but for 5$ you can buy movies you'd innitially only rent and be out 1$.

If I'd had the spare cash when the market fell I'd have bought one... and I still might if I get a TV to actually use any of the upscaling capabilities.

I'd have considered buying a Beta Max player if it played VHS tapes... you're buying a fully functional DVD player for slightly more and gaining the ability to watch whatever hidef you can scrounge out. I fail to see the downside.

 

[G-man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trains are bad /img/forum/go_quote.gif A sony HS420 crt

does that even support HD?

 

[Audio-Fi]

The PlayStation 3 upscales the same if not better than HD-A2 and it does 100x more than HD-A2. The only HD-DVD player worth getting is HD-XA2 but it's still expensive and HD-DVD player is dead. In the next year, it will be a giant upscaling DVD player but it stops there.

 

[Samgotit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audio-Fi /img/forum/go_quote.gif The PlayStation 3 upscales the same if not better than HD-A2 and it does 100x more than HD-A2. The only HD-DVD player worth getting is HD-XA2 but it's still expensive and HD-DVD player is dead. In the next year, it will be a giant upscaling DVD player but it stops there.

He said it^.

I'd take that $80 bucks, put it in a balloon, and store it away in my arse like one of those drug mules. That cash would be much better spent on acquiring the PS3 sooner than latter, IMO. This is one case where instant gratification would be just that and only that.

 

[billbillw]

6 months ago, I would have said, yes, grab one, but now the party is just about over. Most of the vendors have had their "fire sales" on the movies and prices are actually going up. Its a dead format.

 

[mbriant]

Quote:

The only thing I'm worried about is if it will upscale DVDs as 'well' as my Oppo, which seems to macroblock a lot.

I have that OPPO player and haven't noticed macroblocking. Perhaps yours is defective? I also have a play station for blu-ray, and a Toshiba HD ( I forget the model, but it upscales to 1080p). I've never actually attempted to compare the upscaling between the Toshiba and the OPPO myself, but I use the OPPO because of the Faroudja chip and it's great reviews. The OPPO also seems to play a huge number of video and audio formats as well, including SACD, which is a plus and something you'd lose by replacing it with the Toshiba. I have all three format players because I like having the capability to play all formats.

On the other hand, the Toshiba is a good deal and will play regular DVDs even if your HD library never grows. If the 7 free HD movies are ones you'd actually like to see, then you could help justify it by deducting the $35 you'd spend in movie rentals and considering the player to only cost $45. I wouldn't worry too much about never being able to play your HD library again, should the Toshiba player break. You can still find Cassette Decks, 8-track players, Laserdisc Players, and even Betamax machines if you wanted one, so there's no reason to think there won't be used HD players available cheap, for years to come.

 

[trains are bad]

Quote:

I have that OPPO player and haven't noticed macroblocking. Perhaps yours is defective?

From what I read on the trawebz, the degree of macroblocking problems depends on the source material, the TV and how it's calibrated, and the moon phase. Some people don't seem to have any problems and some do. I do. To the point that I've switched it to just 480p for certain movies. It does however play anime well and really deals well with diagonal lines, which is a real peeve of mine.