Ditch Tag go HD?

I know this has been mentioned before but discussions seemed to have been based around sound. Here's the issue. My signature below shows my kit. I am considering getting a bigger screen and am considering the new Pioneer 50" 8th Gen (1920x1080p *drool) - and to make the most of it I need to think about the source.

The real thrust of the questions are:

Do I need to ditch my TAG gear and go for an HD source to make the most of this? (I'm considering a high end blu-ray or perhaps the new Samsung which can do both).
What can I hope to sell my TAG gear for? Would I get enough for it to pay for a new player/amp/processor?
What would be a recommended processor/amp - I saw the discussion on the audio differences and benefits of moving from TAG but would I really hear a difference?
Would a new HD player and receiver play SD disks better than the TAG (I understand they can scale them to 1080p etc). Is this going to be an improvement?

I am sure there are other questions but I would assume that this is something that many of us are now considering.

And finally, is UDO still lurking - and HAS he got an HD source

 

Hello

I last week ,to the better of my curiosity purchased the toshiba hd dvd player
My projector is 720p max ,its a great picture ,but so is the tag
Im sure the 1080p display would be sensational
I have it connected to the bypass on my dp
The new sound formats sound good

But the tag ,the build qualty leaves this new stuff for dead
Dont regret the purchase but when its all said and done
The tag dvd player still is my favorite
maybe I should have bought a scaler?



david

 

I'm in a similar situation, but have considered to hold off on getting either a Blue Ray or HD DVD player for the time being.

I talked to my dealer about the options of either getting an up-scaling DVD player (High end Marantz, Arcam or Denon) or spend similar money on a scaler and use the Tag as a source. We decided on the latter route.

All I have to do is decide on which screen to go for... I'm not sure if 50¨ will be on the large side .

 

The prospect of playing back the exact pixel-mapping that HD movies are shot in (which lets face it is becoming more and more) ie 1920x1080 its an exciting prospect. I mean why scale it up and predict it when you could have it as it was shot....

 

Hi, a few months ago I added a Toshiba HD-DVD XE1. This player is in addition to my TAG McLaren DVD32R and is used for HD-DVD sources only.

Unfortunately I found HD-DVD dissappointing for a single reason: there are far too few releases, particularly of recent movies. I am not prepared to purchase movies in HD, I already own in SD (although in a few instances I did, so limited is the movie count). Of course, the same issue applies to Blu-ray and is not restricted to HD-DVD.

This lack of new movie releases is - in my opinion - a valid reason not to add HD (or Blue-ray) at this moment in time.

Hope this helps.

Udo

 

I don't dissagree, it's just that I'm in no rush to jump into the world of High Def yet... Players are improving all the time, so I'm happy to wait and see what happens.

Also, I have no end of standard DVDs, and at the prices I saw for Blue Ray and HD DVD on Oxford Street last night, will not be replacing them with one of the new formats any time soon!

Have you seen the new 1080 Pioneer Panel? My dealer had the 720 Panel in, and it did look sublime.

 

Udo nice to see you still around. Your point about HD sources doesn't really apply to me as I stopped collecting and started renting a while ago so I get my sources from an online DVD rental company who have over 150 HD of each type currently and increasing. Yeah of course there aren't THAT many I know but itss a start. So how does the EX1 stack up against the DVD32R in your opinion?

 

Tantalus

Both HD-DVD and BD look better than upscaled DVD in my opinion. However there have been posts and mag reviews which say that the HD players are not so hot on upscalling DVD

As far HD sound formats you could use the analogue outputs from an HD-DVD player into the by-pass on the AV32. As for the "older" sound formats, I have yet to hear anything that beats the TAG on DD5.1 and dts.

Don't know if you have Pink Floyd's Pulse DVD or not but you can select the higher bit rate DD (624?) soundtrack to get a flavour of what the TAG can do.

There are new HDMI 1.3 recievers out there from Onkyo and Denon are joining with their offerings soon followed by a processor and a HD/BD player.

It may be worthwhile waiting to hear them coupled to your 100x5R as I would seriously doubt that any receiver could match the 100x5R in their power amps section

 

I've moved completely HD now, having BR (PS3), HD XE1 player and Sky HD. I was fortunate not to have a huge SD DVD collection, and virtually everything I have wanted to watch recently has been on one of the new HD formats.

The problem is once you get used to HD, you just don't want to go back to SD again. I loved my Tag DP, it was the bit of kit I had owned the longest without change, but a few weeks after its gone I can honestly say I don't miss it.

 

Urban T

Time you updated the pics on your site!!!

I agree that once you've seen HD, SD is like VHS

I have SKY HD and now we only watch the HD movie channels unless it is something on Sky Indie

Same with sport, switching from watching a game a Sky HD to Setanta hurts bad

 

What is you current setup ?

 

I know, its on my 'to do' list but it keeps getting put to the bottom of the pile. I will do it soon though as all the changes have now been made. I know what you mean about Setanta as well, I signed up at the weekend and the quality on the MU/Sunderland game was awful (but I did know this before I joined).

Current setup is now an Onkyo 875 poweramped by a Lexicon CX7

 

Hi Tantalus, I also had reduced significantly the number of SD-DVD I bought lately, allowing me to purchase quite a few of the 150 HD-DVD movies, but, as I mentioned, whilst there are hundreds of new SD releases every month, there are very few in HD.

Nevertheless, as many stated, once you have experienced HD, you don't want to tolerate SD anymore. A very similar experience I made when moving from WS-LD to anamorphic SD-DVD quite some years ago. Unfortunately, I still doubt that quality rules, hence I fear we will have to "suffer" from SD for quite some time to come. This is even more the case for those who are not British and hence are not covered equally well as you with Sky's HD offering.

How does the DVD32R compare to the HD-XE1? Not at all, they simply are two different things in my opinion. The DVD32R plays beautifully CDs and provides the very best of SD-DVD replay. The HD-XE1 adds HD-DVD and upscaling of SD in case your display device or video processor isn't up to the job.

If one would have to decide between them, then it would come down to the exact use of each product. If CDs are most important, then there is, in my opinion, a clear winner, the DVD32R. If it comes down to HD, then of course, there is only the XE1. If your sources are mainly SD-DVD, then it a question of your display device's upscaling capability. Without having a True HD display, I would keep the DVD32R. However, if I had none of both, I would rather purchase the XE1, because products like the XE1 represent the future. Best to keep both

Best regards Udo

 

We have had to endure Setanta for a few years ago to watch Scottish football, well Rangers & Celtic

It was only last year that they went widescreen and "stereo" so HD is a million light years off at least

 

Why not keep the dvd32r and run it alongside a Toshiba HD-XE1 (or whatever HD player)? Surely the best of both worlds if you can cope with the connectivity?

 

Good idea Ian !
Thats what I have done
Was wondering if anyone else has any trouble playing dvds output on the dvi on my 32 flr ,some play and some dont ?

Have tried changing
video /high film bias any ideas??


David

 

Hi Dick, I've had the LX508D for a week now... just finished calibrating (using CalMan s/w and SpyderTV sensor) and it’s awesome... best TV I have ever seen. The black levels and black level detail has not been over-hyped in the press.

Feeding with either DVD32R (component) or Pioneer AV989 (HDMI), both via a VP50 yields fantastic image quality…. And SkyHD just blows your mind. Interestingly, my previous set-up (Tosh 47”) showed the HDMI feed as superior to the DVD32R component… but with the LX508D, the DVD32R now looks just as good via component, although for different reasons… HDMI gives a sharper image and more detail with less noise but the DVD32R looks more film-like and pleasing on-the-eye.

Regards

 

Thanks to all. I think it may be time to move on from TAG and go HD. Issue for me is that I don't listen to CDs any more. I have MP3s through Sonos - and that my main media stuff is movies. With a Pioneer native HD screen in the frame it may seem time to move on to HD source and use that to scale my SD stuff. Not keen to move on from my TAG amps though but the Onkyo 975 seems to be a good option.

 

I kept my power amp and use the 875 as a processor only. When you buy your 905 (?) why not try it with the Tag amp to see if it makes that much of a difference

 

Yes sorry its the 875. Thats a good idea but surely a bit of a waste of the power section of the Onkyo! i know its prob not as good as the tag. What could have been eh? DVD-32HDR... AV32HDR Quad Processor....

 

It is a waste as you aren't using the power amps, but you should also get an improvement in the sound. Thats why I say try it. The 875 amps are very good, but I didn't need to sell my power amp so decided to use it with the 875, and its still available if I buy another processor in the future. It would have been great to have been a Tag!

I can also honestly say that we watched Blood Diamond on Blu-Ray at the weekend, and it had ther best sound I had ever heard in my cinema

 

Personally, I'm not getting into HD or BluRay as long as the format war keeps going. When one kills the other, when the players software finally stabilises e hidef films start getting mainstreamly published, then I'll add a hidef player to my kit and will neatly stack it on top of my DVD32R

So, I'll keep on enjoying my excellent TAG setup, and keep on watching the format war from a distance....

Luis

 

Agree with laalves; stick with TAG until the dust settles, but have dipped a tentative toe in the water with the xbox 360 HD-DVD, and I've been mightly impressed!

Not so fussed about the HD sound formats, although will be looking to integrate with the TAG through BP.

I like my blue lights too much

 

Hi,

I have integrated the HD stuff into my Tag system by ditching the "HD-Sound". I'm fine with the sound I have in my room thanks to the DP. So it's just optical in for me and I'm HD-format neutral (went for both) so I can enjoy the extra pleasure of the better picture and the sound is perfect enough


Cheers

Benzsol

 

my av32r sp is on the fritz. i want something with room correction. what is competitive with tag interms of low noise floor and smooth musicality?

 

Hi bwana,

with regards to room correction there is a few other porducts available:

• with HDMI:
• Meridian 861
• Lexicon MC12 HD
• without HDMI:
• Meridian G68 ?
• Lyngdorf TDAI 2200 (2 CH)
• Other:
• Audyssey Sound Equalizer

Some people here in the forum have or are intending to switch to Meridian.

So much for ideas. Have a look through the existing threads in this forum. You are not the first, desperate for this step.

Cheers

Benzol

 

Denon are due to release a processor or two that will include room correction as well as HDMI 1.3 connection and switching and Dolby & dts HD sound processing......may be worth holding on for?

 

My gear is also firmly from the SD generation and as I've never used my DVD32FLR as a CD transport and only ever used it for movies, I think it's time for me to make the move. The only thing really holding me back (apart from money) is the silly format war we find ourselves in.

If I do decide to make the move, what can I expect to get for my Tag gear? Both units are in nearly new cosmetic condition with original boxes and manuals. The AV32R has the 192kHz DACs and the DAB board but not the 5.1 bypass.

 

The FLR sync'd to the AV32 makes a superb CD player

Toshiba are due to give 7 free HD-DVDs during October with their 30 & 35 models

The 35 can output the HD sound formats via its analogue outputs so need to ditch the TAG processor just yet

 

This is exactly what I'm planning to do, although I'm sceptical that the DACs in the 35 will sound as good as the TAG for SD DVD playback.

I also had a listen to an Onkyo 875 over at a mate's house last week and I couldn't honestly tell the difference between DD5.1 and True HD, although it did seem to provide a very immersive surround sound that seemed to extend beyond the room. Maybe that's the audyssey, maybe my ears need testing!

I'm also not so sure that I want to compromise my CD (squeezebox 3) and SD DVD playback capabilities just yet.