US HD-DVD Player

[stevos]

I am now buying more and more hd titles.

My PS3 does a good job with bluray but the 360 drive could do with replacing.

Since my PS3 is now my primary DVD player, i could do with a region 1 player as well.

So it seems sensible to buy a US HD-DVD drive.

The US model numbers seem a bit different from ours and so i am looking for a recommendation.

I want phono out for the highdef audio and 1080p24 either now or via a future update.

What would be your recommendation?

 

[Pecker]

The American 1st gen players didn't come out here, and their 2nd gen machines are our 1st.

Hence the HD-A1 has no European cousin, whilst the HD-A2 is our HD-E1.

If you want phono out for high def audio you'll need the HD-XA2 which is currently $570 at Amazon US.

Also note, if this matters to you, that this model (and indeed the upcoming 3rd gen Toshiba players, and the upcoming Onkyo) have only 5.1 outs, not 7.1 outs.

This may matter to you, or it may not, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

May I offer an alternative?

The upcoming Samsung dual-format player has 7.1 outs, 1080p/24fps, HDMI 1.3 and REON upscaling. It went up at Amazon UK for £485 (now increased to £529).

There's no price at Amazon USA yet, but it's likely to be in the same ball-park as the XA2.

You would then have the UK PS3 for UK BDs and Region 2 SD DVDs, and the Sammy for all HD DVDs and Region 1 BDs - all bases covered!

Hope this helps.

Steve W

 

[stevos]

The Sammy seems like a good idea and a reasonable price (the lower price would have been better).

Does anyone know if these players have or likely to have the ability to accept dual voltage and therefore don't need a power converter to work in the UK