XE1 - query

[journeyman]

I'am looking at getting a HD DVD player, I've narrowed it down to the Toshiba E1 for 179.99 or Toshiba xe1 for 432.90.

My questions are as follows,
I have an Lg 1080p TV hdmi 1.3 complient and an LG 1000w suuround sound kit.
1. Xe1 is 1.3 will this make any difference over the E1 that is not 1.3)?
2. Audio - I've tryed an E1 before and found the sound to be a bit weak, ie: you need the volume up high to hear the talking then when any action happens it's too loud. Will the XE1 be an improvment on this with the 5.1 outputs?
3. Is the HD Picture Output any better on the Xe1?

Thats pretty much it, mainly its the audio I'am bothered about but as I have a surround sound amp anyway will the fact that the XE1 has 5.1 outputs make that much diffrence?

Cheers

 

[TrevorS]

I'll try to help where I can !

I'am looking at getting a HD DVD player, I've narrowed it down to the Toshiba E1 for 179.99 or Toshiba xe1 for 432.90.

My questions are as follows,
I have an Lg 1080p TV hdmi 1.3 complient and an LG 1000w suuround sound kit.
1. Xe1 is 1.3 will this make any difference over the E1 that is not 1.3)?

If there is ever a deep color update to the HD DVD spec and usage that the XE1 can utitlize, then the LG could display it. If you were using an HDMI capable processor/receiver, then you would gain the ability to send Advanced Audio bitstream via HDMI to the processor/receiver for decoding (assuming the processor/receiver has the needed decoding.) I'm not sure there are any other advantages to having the XE1 HDMI 1.3.

2. Audio - I've tryed an E1 before and found the sound to be a bit weak, ie: you need the volume up high to hear the talking then when any action happens it's too loud. Will the XE1 be an improvment on this with the 5.1 outputs?

I don't experience this problem with either my HDV5000 (A1 equivalent) or my A2 (E1 equivalent.) The HDV5000 is used with HDMI LPCM for HD DVD and both HDMI and Toslink Bitstream for SD DVD (Configuration options Auto for HDMI and Bitstream for S/PDIF.) The A2 is exclusively used with Toslink.

This leads to me to suspect it is something to do with your processor/receiver. Have you verified your 5.1 level calibration is correct?

3. Is the HD Picture Output any better on the Xe1?

The XE1 has the ability to deliver 1080p to a 1080p display, and so I would consider that an advantage since it removes any uncertainty regarding the quality of the display's de-interlacing of 1080i. The HD DVD picture at 1080i output should be equivalent to the E1. If you have a significant SD DVD collection, the XE1 would also have an advantage due to the REON upscaling.

Thats pretty much it, mainly its the audio I'am bothered about but as I have a surround sound amp anyway will the fact that the XE1 has 5.1 outputs make that much diffrence?

Cheers

Your issue of having a channel balance problem could either be caused by incorrect level calibration or by some limitations associated with the processor decoding of DTS and DD. You appear to be viewing the 5.1 outputs (XE1) as a possible workaround. That could be successful if the problem is indeed due to a processor/receiver decoding issue (as opposed to a calibration problem).

There are also quirks associated with the XE1 BM (bass management). Take a look specifically at the first post of this thread to get the lowdown:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=856083

Good luck !

 

[CARLOS]

Just looking at the specs of your LG HT902PB home cinema system it doesn't have either a HDMI or 5.1 analogue input so you wouldn't be able to use the 5.1 out from the E1 or XE1.

You would have to use the optical out into your system which would give standard DD or DTS surround.

Maybe if you plan on upgrading to a seperate AV receiver and speakers then it may make a difference ?