New York Area AVS Forum Insider Meeting

[rooster-x]

Just stumbled on a thread over at AVS where the members got to meet Amir preaching HD-DVD goodness, wish we could get the same in the UK

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...7&page=4&pp=30

Well, I just returned from the Insider's Meeting at Robert's Scarsdale store. I went there straight from work in midtown Manhattan so it wasn't until just now that I heard about Corey Lidle's plane crashing in an apartment building. Unreal!

Robert's small showroom store (basically a 12x12 cubicle surrounded by Hitachi, Toshiba, Pioneer, etc. plasmas/LCD's) was somehow able to shoehorn 25-30 people, including the nice Toshiba folks handing out t-shirts (I got a grey and black shirt but missed getting a brown one; made-up for that with extra pens and keychains). No ladies showed up (except for Robert's lovely SO and a Tosh rep) and, to my surprise, there seemed to be an older crowd (50+) making the majority in attendance. Somehow a little food section on the back was set to serve drinks, water, fruits and hours-devrs (or however you spell that word meant for appetizers! ) but what we were all hungry to hear was the wisdom of amirm spilling into us mere mortals.

Standing before a Pioneer 50" Elite plasma hooked up to a Yamaha distribution amplifier to which an HD-XA1 and XBox 360 with HD-DVD add-on were connected (all gear already turned on), amirm introduced himself and gave us his background and basically the insider's story of how VC1, HD-DVD and Blue-Ray came to be from inception to its current state. Stories filled with intrigue, backstabbing maneuvers, behind-the-back deals, infighting and actual villains (names were named!) that AVS Forum readers crave to know were told, but of course I cannot repeat them here. You have to hear amirm tell the tale to truly enjoy it, so if you get wind he and his merry crew of Toshiba men (and woman) are coming to your town make sure to attend. What makes amirm's stories fun is that he lets us ask questions as he's telling them to us, so its more like an informal gathering of A/V geeks rather than a lecture. Although lets be fair, I've been to AVON meetings (working as a videotape/satellite hook-up crew) more impartial about the state of the make-up industry than this HD-DVD lovefest. Amirm of course was smart enough to be as impartial as a Microsoft insider could be (Blue-Ray studios like Warner, after all, are using VC1 to encode their products) and let the Tosh reps and people in attendance ask the rethorical questions or do the snide remarks about Blu-Ray. That went on from 7PM 'till about 7:45.

Food break and a chance to stretch our legs outside of Robert's closet... I mean, showroom followed (sorry Robert! ). Then it was a MS guy in charge of interactive features on HD-DVD (Chris I believe his name was, not sure) who took over, although amirm was nearby answering questions from us based on what we were shown. We watched a couple of new HD-DVD trailers (lots of clips from released and unreleased movies) on the XBox 360 add-on hooked-up (didn't look or asked how but we know it ain't HDMI) to the Yamaha feeding to the 50" Pioneer Elite plasma. The 360 system was already turned on but, when Chris (??!!) put on the disc with the new HD-DVD trailers, the HD-DVD add-on started playing its contents in less than 10 seconds. It was a pretty finalized unit (you've seen it) so if you're sick of booting time waits of a minute or so then the 360 add-on will seem lightning-fast. Then we moved on to the HD-XA1, which initially wasn't synching with the Yamaha (had to turn it off and on) but eventually worked and allowed Chris (??!!) to explore the interactive functions of the new 'Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift' HD-DVD. To my surprise, when asked, most people in the room said they didn't own this movie (told you it was an older-skewing crowd) but I bet that changed after seeing this movie. The picture, sound and interactive features (PIP, features, etc.) were simply mind-blowing cool on Roberts' store settings. A couple of 'Batman Begins' clips (not the action scenes but casual scenes) were also shown to highlight how even clothing fibers and extrenuous detail (like the little skull thingie young Bruce Wayne hands to his little girlfriend as he's been rescued from the well, or the long-distance shots of Gotham when Bruce and his parents are riding the train) are brought to life by HD-DVD. No need to watch the action scenes since almost everybody, when asked, said they had already bought 'Batman Begins' (thank you Targert!).

We spent the next hour watching/talking about/discussing upcoming HD-DVD releases that of course we cannot reveal here (too many trolls around these parts willing to spread half-truths and rumors). For such a small showroom the sound system shook real good and was to die for (if you're in the tri-state area go to Robert's store and see/hear for yourself)! Needless to say three dozen men in a room with a Pioneer Elite plasma and a kick-ass surround system didn't sit around watching/listening to 'The Lake House'! Let's just say that, after the hour ended and everyone in attendance broke into small groups (some talked to amirm, some talked to Robert, etc.), the Tosh reps realized that instead of free t-shirts they should have brought clean shorts to give away to those of us in need of a quick change. I can only tell you that, if you're happy with the state of HD-DVD in the present, the future is as bright and full of things to look forward to (for the '06 holiday season and beyond) as are the chances you'll file for bankruptcy from buying all these HD-DVD movies. The streak of killer-apps we were shown would make even the more entrenched Blue-Ray supporter fall to his/her knees and throw dust into the air screaming 'WHHHHYYYYYYY??!!' in a deafening scream. Yes, the stuff we were shown was that good and anybody in attendance that disagrees with me is free to correct me.

Overall it was a nice evening of complete AV geekdom with like-minded fellows that have a lot more disposable income than I will ever make in a year. Robert was extremely nice and gracious with everyone (especially those of us that drank/ate more than the others and had to use his... ahem... facilities! ), amirm was personable and everyone there waited until we all left (which was about 45+ minutes after the event was supposed to end). My only complaint is that the Tosh G2 discussion was minimal and basically recycled the specs and info we already know from the ever-growing HD-A2/HD-XA2 thread. Basically nothing new other than its coming at the prices we expect. Trust me, if you saw the things we saw you'd also forget about the G2's when the G1's can feed Robert's Pio Elite plasma such fine motion picture content. More later, if I don't forget

[pixelpixel]

Nice to see the hd-dvd drive for the 360 is working fine.

[nictry]

I agree with your comments on getting the same over here but with regards to the feedback provided by Amir don't forget he works for Microsoft who just happen to be a major supporter of HD-DVD. Although I also hope HD does win (as I spent a few quid on a player ) I do tend to take his comments on the future being bright for HD with a pinch of salt!

[rooster-x]

Originally Posted by nictry

I agree with your comments on getting the same over here but with regards to the feedback provided by Amir don't forget he works for Microsoft who just happen to be a major supporter of HD-DVD. Although I also hope HD does win (as I spent a few quid on a player ) I do tend to take his comments on the future being bright for HD with a pinch of salt!

I havn't bought anything yet, but am off to the Home Entertainment Show in Manchester next weekend so I can make a decision. Unfortunately HD-DVD won't be there officially (hope to see some unofficial American machines) but BluRay will be making a big splash. This what annoys me about HD-DVD, getting some good exposure in the mainstream media. I mean if it wasn't for forums like this we would probably all have gone BluRay!

Rooster-X

[BenchyUK]

The xbox HD-DVD Drive is going to be good, i just know it.

Will having a film at 1080i (or 720p) on a 32'' LCD give the same amount of detail as the same movie but at 1080p on a 50'' plasma?

Unless you have a massive screen then 1080p won't bring any advantage, am i right?

[Avi]

Originally Posted by lee_c00per

The xbox HD-DVD Drive is going to be good, i just know it.

Will having a film at 1080i (or 720p) on a 32'' LCD give the same amount of detail as the same movie but at 1080p on a 50'' plasma?

Unless you have a massive screen then 1080p won't bring any advantage, am i right?

A 1080i or 1080p signal looks pretty much the same on a 50" 1366x768 plasma. Do you mean a 50" plasma with a native res of 1920x1080 ?

AVI

[BenchyUK]

err. i think so.

It's right that in order to get the same diefinition on a 50'' plamsa as a 32'' screen you need 1080p am i right?

All i hope is the the PQ on my 32'' at 1080i is the same as 1080p on a huge plasma except the obvious screen size

[StooMonster]

1080i and 1080p are the same thing, at least with movies.

1080p is simply the deinterlaced signal of 1080i, or 1080i is the interlaced signal of 1080p.

For movies, both are 1920x1080 pixels at 24 frames per second.

StooMonster

[Avi]

Originally Posted by lee_c00per

err. i think so.

It's right that in order to get the same diefinition on a 50'' plamsa as a 32'' screen you need 1080p am i right?

All i hope is the the PQ on my 32'' at 1080i is the same as 1080p on a huge plasma except the obvious screen size

The "i" and "p" just denotes how the signal is transmitted. I have a 50" plasma and the PQ is stunning with a 1080i signal although my plasma is only 1366x768 native res. To really benefit from a display with a native res of 1920x1080 you need to think bigger than 50". I don't think you would notice much difference between HD DVD on a 1366x768 and 1920x1080 plasma from 8-10' viewing distance.

AVI

[StooMonster]

Originally Posted by Avi

To really benefit from a display with a native res of 1920x1080 you need to think bigger than 50". I don't think you would notice much difference between HD DVD on a 1366x768 and 1920x1080 plasma from 8-10' viewing distance.

That's not true Avi, I have 1920x1080 50-inch plasma and had a 1366x768 50-inch for four years before it.

Running a 1080p signal, such as deinterlaced HD DVD, you can still tell the difference at 4 or 5 metres away (which is my viewing position). There's been posts here on AVforums.com by a couple of people who's local retailers display 1080p and 768p 50-inch plasmas next to each other, and they agree with me.

lee, go for a demo of 5000EX in Soundcraft and see what you think.

StooMonster

[rover2002]

Originally Posted by StooMonster

That's not true Avi, I have 1920x1080 50-inch plasma and had a 1366x768 50-inch for four years before it.

Running a 1080p signal, such as deinterlaced HD DVD, you can still tell the difference at 4 or 5 metres away (which is my viewing position). There's been posts here on AVforums.com by a couple of people who's local retailers display 1080p and 768p 50-inch plasmas next to each other, and they agree with me.

lee, go for a demo of 5000EX in Soundcraft and see what you think.

StooMonster

How much are they going for now?

[StooMonster]

AFAIK still £6000 (including 17.5% tax).

StooMonster