Microsoft Xbox 360 HD-DVD Drive Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought an Xbox 360 after Thanksgiving of 2006 and I was immediately impressed with the system. It was so good, in fact, that I went out after New Year's and upgraded my entire entertainment center with a new Samsung LN-S4051D, Samsung DVD-HD860, and Yamaha YSP-800. If you're going to do it, do it right. First off, the Samsung DVD-HD860 was a dismal player. The thing kept freezing up during playback and the image wasn't anything to write home about. I mean, my LCD is only 720p and I was seeing a lot of artifacts.
I returned the Samsung DVD player and decided to take a chance on the HD DVD add-on for the Xbox. The way I looked at it was it was only $100 more than what I already paid and then I could watch some movies in true High Definition. That was one of the best moves I made because not only do the HD movies look fantastic but it absolutely DESTROYS the Samsung in upconverting my standard-def DVDs. Regular DVDs look excellent.
One very big drawback is the amount of noise the Xbox makes while watching a movie. It's absurd. Not a big deal if you're watching The Matrix and you've got the volume cranked with Dolby TrueHD sound. But it's a constant nuisance when you're trying to get into a more dramatic and quiet movie like Unforgiven (which looks absolutely stunning on HD DVD).
Another concern I'm having is that my Xbox is on almost all of the time now. I'm either playing a game, watching a DVD or HD DVD, or I'm watching a movie from my iTunes library on my computer. The Xbox has truly become the center of attention in my living room. I just don't know if it can handle that kind of workload for long.
Seriously though, for $199 it's not that bad of a gamble. You can rent HD DVD movies from Netflix or Blockbuster so you don't even need to invest in the movies. I bought 4 and I now own the Matrix trilogy but I'm probably not buying more until I see what happens with HD DVD and Blu-ray. I have picked a side but if HD DVD loses I'm really not out that much. And I get to enjoy some great HD content while I'm waiting.

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Toshiba HD-D3 - HD DVD player - upscaling Review

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(More customer reviews)This model HD-D3 is the Costco version of the HD-A3...It's identical.
I had the same problems with this model as the previous reviewer did. I hooked my unit up to the internet via the ethernet port and downloaded the firmware update. It was a very large update. Following that upgrade, the unit worked perfectly.
The only problem I have with HD DVD players in general are the disk themselves. They must be perfectly clean before you view. I find even brand new disks need to be cleaned. I never get the pauses, skips, and stoppages if I clean the disk first. If you rent from a box store, or Netflix, they are especially vulnerable.
I also have an A20 as my 2nd tv is 1080P. It works great providing the the disks are clean, not damaged, the and firmware is current.
I am also getting a BLU Ray since finally the prices are coming down. This way I have more titles to choose from, and if either fails, I'll have a player for either! Enjoy!!!!

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Toshiba HD-A30 1080p HD DVD Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I didn't buy this from Amazon, but since reviews of the player are scarce, I thought I'd share some thoughts.
A few short months ago I bought the Xbox add-on to try the HD-DVD waters, and have been nothing but impressed, so when my standard DVD player died (my 7th one in 8 years, I'm a very heavy DVD watcher), I decided to invest in a player that will (hopefully) last (I also purchased a 4 year warranty this time).
The player itself is beautiful, both in appearance and on screen (watching on 1080p Samsung LCD). Picture quality of HD-DVD is, as expected, superb, and DVD upscaling is the best I have ever seen (easily destroying my 1 year old Sony).
A very few negatives. Boot times are still a bit slow, it takes about 40 seconds before the HD-DVD logo appears on screen, with another 20 seconds to load the disc, it's around 60 seconds total from power on to actually start watching the disc. Discs also don't resume play, which is odd as it seems to be a feature. If you don't power off the unit and stop a disc, it will resume where you left off, but if you power off the player, it restarts from the beginning, very odd, but Toshiba could easily fix in a firmware update.
All in all I am very, very pleased, the unit feels sold, looks amazing on your shelf and features some of the best video quality I have ever seen. The few, "problems" don't really bother me, but I wanted to mention them as it could turn off some people. Thanks for reading!

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The Toshiba HD-A30 HD DVD Player stands less than two-and-a-half inches tall but packs a long list of cutting edge features. The HD-A30 sells at a very reasonable price but has top-end features such as support for 1080p/24-frame video and HDMI-CEC compatibility.
A Refined, Slimmer Look The HD-A30's refined design--with rounded edges, a slim chassis, and a high-gloss black face plate--looks sleek and elegant in your home theater system without taking up too much real estate.
Outstanding Performance All of Toshiba's HD DVD players support the enhanced features of the HD DVD format, including picture-in-picture video, audio commentary, and Web-enabled network capabilities. With an Ethernet port, the A30 can connect to the Internet for firmware updates to keep the player up to date on new features, and to support the growing number of HD DVD titles with interactive online features and bonus content.
The HD-A30 uses the latest HDMI 1.3 interface to connect to your HD television, providing large bandwidth to eliminate any data bottlenecks and to support new technologies for the utmost in viewing experience. The HD-A30 can output video at 1080p, the highest resolution available, and includes support for 24-frame video, which maintains the native 24-frames-per-second rate of films, thereby delivering an experience more similar to one in theaters.
If you have a large collection of standard definition DVDs, the HD-A30 will upconvert them to near-HD quality for display on your HD television. Progressive scan output means the scan-lines of interlaced video are eliminated and the result is a clean image that has no motion distortion or artifacts. In addition to 1080p, the HD-A30 also outputs at 720p and 1080i if desired.
Sparkling Surround Sound The HD-A30 supports most surround sound audio standards, with built-in decoding for Dolby TrueHD 5.1ch, Dolby Digital Plus 5.1ch, DTS 5.1, and DTS HD (core only).
One-Touch Convenience You can use the CE-Link (HDMI-CEC) to connect the HD-A30 with other CEC-capable devices for unsurpassed simplicity and convenience. For example, if the HD-A35 is connected to a compatible HDTV, you can turn on both the HD DVD player and the TV and start playing a movie with a single touch of a button on the remote.
The HD-A30 is backed by a limited 1-year warranty.
What's in the Box HD-A30 HD DVD player, remote control, and power cable.

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Samsung BD-UP5000 1080p HD-DVD Blu-Ray Disc Combo Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I picked up a BD-UP5000 when limited quantities appeared in mid December 2007 and have been quite happy with the unit. It's my first venture into HD disc playback and having a single box to play all DVD formats was essential. This player delivers excellent picture and sound quality (including exceptional SD DVD upscaling). Less than 10% of HD DVD and Blu-Ray titles have only a TrueHD track which will output as 2-channel stereo. Most discs have other tracks that can be selected: Dolby Digital, multichannel PCM, DTS, etc. So lack of multichannel TrueHD isn't as big an issue as it may seem. Still even one title that limits you to 2.0 is frustrating. Lockups and strange behavior when loading and playing some discs is frustrating, but from what I've read most players go through growing pains and the content providers are at least part of the problem because they can influence the way the player behaves with custom menus and features.
The 5000 has a Silicon Optix Reon running HQV SD upconversion. SD DVD quality is amazing. You need HDMI/HDCP video as the analog components are limited to 480p based on licensing constraints. The HDMI output supports 1080p60 and 1080p24 as well as other more common rates. 1080p24 is noteworthy since it sends a film to the display at it's native frame rate of 24 frames per second without introducing a 3:2 pull-down sequence. However, the display must be capable of receiving 1080p24 AND have a refresh rate of 72 or 120 Hz to completely eliminate motion "judder".
The 5000 will decode Dolby Digital and DTS encoded sound tracks to multichannel PCM and ship them out via HDMI. Or the player can be placed in "audiophile" mode which sends the undecoded bitstream to the receiver for decoding there, again via HDMI. Some audio tracks can be sent to the receiver via S/PDIF optical or coax connections, but not the higher bandwidth tracks such as multichannel PCM. You must have HDMI for those or use the 7.1 analog outs. The "reencode" mode converts all audio formats to DTS, allowing you to get multichannel audio to your receiver via S/PDIF optical/coax if HDMI isn't an option.
The 5000 has had a rocky start and is still somewhat unstable and lacks key features. While it was announced the first part of 2007, it didn't ship until mid December 2007. Many of the disc compatibility problems have been fixed by a firmware update released in mid January 2007, but there are still some discs that have problems. The 5000 suffers from random lockups requiring a power cycle and lacks support for the advanced audio formats: Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD HR/MA. In addition, standard definition discs are always stretched to 16:9 even for 4:3 content. Most TVs and displays can't unstretch the image without reducing the size as well.
A Samsung engineer working on this product indicated they are aware of the problems and missing multichannel audio support. He said they are planning a major firmware update in the May 2008 time frame. Speculation at AVS Forum (the 5000's user thread is 3000+ plus posts!!!) is that Samsung relies on Broadcom to supply DSP firmware, so it may really Broadcom we're waiting for. This makes sense since the BH200 has the same audio format limitations and uses the same chip. Firmware updates can be done via an ethernet connection to the 5000, or you can download an ISO CD image from Samsung's web site and burn an undated disc from any PC or Mac. (Mac update procedures are not documented but work fine: use Disk Utility or Toast Disc Copy to burn the image file; do not use Finder's burn mechanism.)
Samsung announced the BD-UP5500 at CES January 2008 with availability in the May 2008 time frame. The 5500 is not a true replacement for the 5000 since it does not have the Reon upconverter, nor does it have multichannel analog outputs. Price should be lower than the 5000. This might be an option for some, but the lack of the Reon/HQV is a big deal for me since there are many more SD DVDs than Blu-Ray and HD DVD combined. Those that have a separate audio processor may also need the multichannel analog audio outputs. The 5000's true replacement will be the BD-UP6500 due out late in 2008.
Blu-Ray Java and HDi allow content providers to "enhance" the viewing experience with additional material on the disc and/or downloaded from the internet. Personally, I just want to watch the movie as the producer/director intended. The 5000 is currently Blu-Ray BDJ 1.0 with a promise for 1.1. The 5500 will have to be BDJ 1.1 based on Blu-Ray specs/timetable. The 5000 (and 5500) will never be BDJ 2.0. The 6500 should be BDJ 2.0. The 5000 is supposed to support HDi but haven't tried it.
If you want a single box solution that can play most of the HD DVD, Blu-Ray and SD DVD discs, and can live with the limitations at least until firmware updates are available, the BD-UP5000 is worth serious consideration.
Your only other choice is the LG BH200, but it doesn't have the Reon HQV upconversion or multichannel analog audio outputs. Other than that, the 5000 and BH200 have essentially identical features with similar prices: $750 for the BH200 on Amazon, currently.
However, if you need onboard decoding or bitstreams of Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD MA, Blu-Ray and HD DVD playback and can't wait for firmware updates, you'll need to look for separate Blu-Ray and HD DVD players.

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Toslink Digital Optical Audio Cable 6 ft. Review

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(More customer reviews)As stated in other reviews, bits are bits. If they get from one system component to another, you're doing just as well with a $5 cable as a $60 one. Monster and other companies are ripping consumers off with gobbledeygook buzzwords designed to obscure the mind and open the pocketbook.
I have installed this cable in my system, and its performance delivering 5.1 channel audio and DTS from my PS3 to my receiver is flawless. It performs identically to the other more expensive optical cable I have.
As of my last check of this product page, $1.31 as a list price and $2.98 for shipping makes for a total of $4.29. This is an outrageously good deal, beating even many other discount outlets. If you have a receiver that uses optical digital for audio input (as opposed to HDMI, which most newer receivers utilize), you simply can't go wrong. A definite must-buy at this price.

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RND Power Solutions High Speed HDMI (6 ft) Cable. Compatible with Blue Ray and DVD Players, PS3, XBOX 360, HD TV, 3D TV, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Vizio, Philips, and many more Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this HDMI cable for under $10 with free shipping with Amazon Prime. I originally went to BestBuy and picked up a $[...] HDMI cable.
When I saw the low price I couldn't resist and took a shot.
I tested both cables and first thing I noticed was the length.
BestBuy was 5Ft and this is 6Ft.
Test 1:
Tested Sony 50 inch HD TV.
Both cables offered the same Audio and Video quality.
Test 2:
Tested Panasonic BlueRay watching Avatar.
Might as well try on the best movie for graphics.
As expected both cables performed the same.
Test 3:
Tested HP DV7 Laptop streaming Fox TV (Bones).
As expected both cables performed the same.
End result both cables offer the same video and audio quality.
RND Version is longer and at a lower price.
BestBuy received a return and I picked up 2 more from RND.

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HDMI 3-In 1-Out HDMI Auto Switch Review

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(More customer reviews)I wanted an HDMI Switch that didn't require a remote. Unfortunately, the auto switch feature only works if the item you're switching from doesn't put out ANY current once you turn it off. Since most products (like ALL of mine) have a "stand by" mode that puts out a little juice - this feature doesn't work. For now, I'm afraid - getting one with the little remote seems to be the only option, unless you want to get up and switch it manually. It did work though on my Sony HDTV and Samsung Blu-Ray player.

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Ultra High Performance HDMI Switcher, 3to1 Switch Review

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(More customer reviews)I have to say this the no-name switch outperforms the pros. I needed to connect my ps3 (hdmi) and dish receiver (hdmi) to an hdtv which only had a dvi input (using an hdmi to dvi cable). I tried the sony str-dg720 receiver for hdmi switching, then the monoprice hdmi switcher. Neither worked (the sony manual says it doesn't play well with hdmi-dvi cables, so I was going out on a limb there).
Now this little baby on the other hand, comes with extremely poor written instructions (think google translation of a foreign language manual), so I connected it not even expecting it to work. But wonders! Not only does it switch flawlessly between the ps3 and the dish receiver (producing a perfect output), it even has a "priority" function which works perfectly.
Basically, the dish hdmi port always outputs a signal, even on standby, so I keep it on a lower priority input (port 2). I've connected the ps3 to port 1, so if I turn on the ps3 this switches automatically to the ps3. When the ps3 is powered off, it automatically switches back to the dish receiver.
It's great to find a product which actually performs as advertised. Kudos to the manufacturer and CE compass (the amazon seller I bought this product from). 100% worth the money.

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RND Power Solutions High Speed HDMI (10ft) Cable. Compatible with Blue Ray and DVD Players, PS3, XBOX 360, HD TV, 3D TV, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Vizio, Philips, and many more Review

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(More customer reviews)I didn't want to break the bank on a cable the guy at the store was pushing me; I did that on the TV. I searched amazon for a good hdmi solution and got really impressed for the price on this solution I was a little skeptical with its low price, but it turns out that it works great.

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Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'll start by saying I'm not an Audiophile. I just wanted a decent mid-range receiver that does all the latest lossless audio formats and has 7.1 channels so it's ready to take advantage of BluRay as that format evolves. So my primary focus is on a system that plays audio for movies and video games as it's primary function. Currently I have this receiver setup in a 5.1 configuration since that's the type of receiver it replaced. I have more speakers on order to expand it out but to be honest, right now if you're building a home theater from scratch, you only need 5.1 . The 7.1 specs aren't really supported yet and DVDs and Playstation/Xbox are all 5.1, so if you're starting from scratch save some money and setup for 5.1 first and expand as support grows.
I used the automated speaker calibration feature to setup all the channels. This is where you place the provided mic at ear level at three different listener positions. The receiver then sends out tones which will drive you and your dog nuts for about 15 minutes while the entire process goes on. Once it was done however, I was/am very pleased with the results.
I've heard some people ask about humming, i can detect no humming. I have some WiFi equipment close by which is 2.5 ghz and so far have not heard any humming. Some other people have said the Receiver runs hot to which I would ask those people, is this your first receiver? They do run hot ! This one runs no hotter than the old one i replaced from a different manufacturer so as far as I'm concerned, the heat issue is normal. I have it in a small component rack that's enclosed on the sides and back with a door on the front, it's got maybe half an inch space around the sides and 2 inches of space on top and so far everything is good.
The back has tons of inputs, but the primary reason I waited for the 606 over the previous model is the number of HDMI ports, the next generation audio/video cable which is a requirement for full resolution BluRay playback. They're rev 1.3a to support all the latest audio formats as well (none of which are currently supported by the discs themselves yet though). The receiver will pass through a 1080p signal from a BluRay or other high def video source. If you feed it a standard def 480i video source, it will upscale it to 1080i or 720p. It does a decent job but i would say upscaling isn't the receivers strong point, it does an acceptable job though. But lets face it, Onkyo doesn't build TV's, their bread and butter isn't video, it's audio.
I'm pleased with the performance and the styling of the receiver, it's just very basic and sleek. No built in graphical user interface and all that other nonsense that receivers 3x this price but no more times the performance come equipped with. This receiver for a mid end system for movies and video games just really can't be matched in terms of performance per dollar spent.
I have matched this receiver with some Polk Audio speakers. Specifically i have a Polk CSi3 center channel and six Polk RTi4 bookshelf speakers (all of which you can find at great prices here on Amazon where I ordered them from) and I am very very happy with the results. The Polk speakers like the Onkyo 606 receiver are over achievers for their price point, so they match together extremely well.
The only thing I have left to say is buy it, I wouldn't hesitate recommending this receiver to anyone looking for a solid movie/video game home theater experience.

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As part of the second generation of Onkyo high-definition-capable receivers, the TX-SR606 is at the forefront of affordable home theater. The key is to have the most capable version of HDMI. The TX-SR606 provides high-definition video and audio processing for four source components—another first for Onkyo at this level. From Blu-ray Disc players to gaming consoles and cable/satellite boxes, you have everything in the digital realm covered. Apart from 1080p video, the TX-SR606 can upscale all video signals to 1080i, regardless of the connection, for output via HDMI. Onkyo's own RIHD (Remote Interactive over HDMI) also gives you inter-operability with the displays and playback components from other leading brands. And with an expanded version of Audyssey's room correction technology, the TX-SR606 maintains the fullness of surround sound audio quality at low volume levels. The TX-SR606 offers all-round excellence rarely seen at this level.

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Samsung BD-P1500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been using this for 2 weeks now, and it's my first blu-ray player (no PS3). The good stuff: Excellent look, not too loud, amazing picture and sound. Working ethernet and USB port. (I haven't had to download any firmware or code updates, but I'm sure it'll work fine.)
Operations: No fan noise, no noise while playing, but during menu & loading, you hear some track-seeking which is audible at 10'... nothing offensive, though. I just noticed last night, after my 5th blu-ray a little flicker in in the bottom center of the screen during the credits of Juno... not sure if it's a bad disc or a player having a problem. It was repeatable, and the disc seemed clean. Lastly, the load time, eject time, etc seems just fine. Not instant or as fast a nice DVD player, but not noticably slow. I've heard alot about slow disc-loading, and if it is a problem on other players - it's not a problem on this one. Lastly, sometimes when you click on a menu instead of pausing, the screen with show a "progress-bar" for 2-4 seconds while the next manu loads, which isn't completely kosher, but doesn't bother me.
The so-so stuff: I'm giving this 5-stars because it's near-perfect at what it's designed to do for it's price, but it's not perfect. One reason to get a mid- to lower-cost player is to (duh) save money... if you're someone who has an older receiver that doesn't decode the two new DD and DTS formats, and (probably) doesn't decode multi-channel PCM, this player isn't for you. It only has stereo-out analog RCA plugs, not 5.1 or 7.1 analog outputs.
That means you can't bypass your receivers pre-amp to play the newer audio formats and let the blu-ray player decode them. My old Receiver (which I used the player with for a week) only decoded DD 5.1 (no DTS, and only 2-channel PCM to 48khz). This player lets you send a PCM stream to your receiver from an internally decoded DTS 5.1 signal, but this didn't work for me... as my player can't receive 5.1 PCM streams, it only saw it as 2-channel. At least the player lets you downsample 96khz PCM to 48khz, so that I at least got sound (Golden Compass only has DTS 5.1 or DTS HD Master).
With my new receiver, all formats work perfectly, all bitstreamed.
Some people perhaps are holding off for new receivers because they don't want to connect through the player's analog RCA 5.1/7.1 connectors - but this is probably mis-information. What you want to avoid is taking digital sound, converting it to analog, then back to digital, then back to analog... don't worry - you wouldn't be doing this. Basically you would be doing all your processing in the player digitally, then once it is sent out through the pre-outs to the receiver you'd bypass the receiver's processing and it would go straight to the amplifier (which is of course analog anyway).
So my conclusion for thos people with older (but good) receivers - this blu-ray player won't save you any money. The best savings would be to pay a little more for a player with 5.1 analog outputs and continue to use your existing receiver.
-Kevin Moore
Natick, MA

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Experience the Blu-ray difference with the SAMSUNG BD-P1500. You'll get incredibly detailed images with brilliant color in full high definition 1080p resolution. It's the only media capable of delivering true 1080p performance on an HDTV set. Its Anynet+ technology lets you control all your SAMSUNG AV devices from just one remote. The BD-P1500 lets you have it all. It's backward compatible with earlier formats. watch your current collection of DVDs or listen to audio CDs with the highest-quality sound available. 1080p resolution - Enjoy lifelike, vivid visuals and crystal-clear details with full high definition 1080p resolution when playing Blu-Ray discs HDMI keeps it simple by using a single cable wire to deliver the sharpest, richest images possible. Conveniently and easily transfer high-definition video and audio from your DVD player to your HDTV and other digital devices using a single cable. HDMI version 1.3 transfers deeper color and higher resolution, and handles new, compressed audio formats. Control it all with one remote - Anynet+ delivers streamlined, one-touch control over all your Anynet+ compatible devices such as the TV, AV receiver, and home theater Playback Media - BD-ROM / DVD-ROM / DVD-R / DVD-RW / AVCHD / audio CD Playback Formats - VC-1 / MPEG2 / H.264 DVD Upconversion DTS Decoder BD Profile - profile 1.1 USB 2.0 (for SW upgrade only) HDMI CEC Composite Video Outputs Component Video Outputs HDMI Outputs Optical Digital Audio Outputs Analog Audio Outputs - 2-Channel Built-in Ethernet connection - RJ45 USB Port Picture in Picture Dimensions - 16.9 in. x 3.3 in. x 10.8 in. Weight - 8.6 lbs.

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Terk HDMI-31 Smart HDMI Switch (3 X 1) Review

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(More customer reviews)When I bought my plasma TV a year ago, I never imagined that I would want to connect more than one HDMI device. That changed when I bought a DVD player with HDMI and the ability to upconvert DVD's to near HD quality. After first considering spending $400+ on a new receiver with dual HDMI ports, I opted to first try this device for about $65. Money saved. The device automatically switches between the cable and DVD inputs when I turn them on and I now can enjoy the much improved DVD video quality (I had been using composite video on the DVD player) that comes from HDMI. There is no change in the input quality from my cable box HDMI input. There was virutaly no setup involved. I simply unplugged my TV's existing HDMI connection from the cable box and plugged it into the output on the Terk box. Then I ran HDMI cables from the DVD and cable box to two of the three inputs on the Terk box and powered up. That was it. Rather than buy super costly HDMI cables, I purchased two HDMI cables from Abacus 24-7 (an Amazon contractor) at $6.99 each. They work like a charm. Since for audio I use a recevier rather than my TV speakers and my receiver is not HDMI capable, I have connected my receiver to the audio outputs of my cable box and DVD player using digital fiber optical cable and get all the capability of surround sound that I could want. Those optical cables are $5.99 each from Abacus (I found them for $12.99 to $25.99 at Fry's Electronics).
Update as of May 11, 2007. Still working like a charm. I haven't had to do anything to the unit and I basically forget it is there.
Update as of June 13, 2007. I now use my computer as a digital recording device, like a TIVO-type box. I record HDTV over the air using a Terk HDTV antenna and a Hauppauge HDTV capture card. My computer graphics card has a DVI output, so I bought a DVI to HDMI converter cable ($12 at Amazon) which connects my computer to one of the HDMI source inputs on the Terk HDMI-31 Switch. It operates flawlessly. Another reason to have Terk's multiple HDMI connection capability.

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Premium HDMI 2 Ports Mini Switch (2X1) Review

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(More customer reviews)Works perfectly. I bought my HD television before HD was the thing to have, so it only had on HDMI cable port. This switch allows me to plug both my HD SAT reciever and my Blue Ray player into the tv. I looked at the ones that has a remote for switching, but then figured "well you have to get up to put the disc in the player anyway." Plus I have too many remotes as it is, its just something else for the kids to not be allowed to play with who do anyway. It was inexpensive and does its job, what more can you ask for?

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