Tired of comparisons.. Random HD DVD only shots

BBC's Planet Earth HD DVD 720p

BBC's Planet Earth HD DVD 720p

Aeon Flux HD DVD 720p

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift HD DVD 720p

Click on images to get the fine details.

More SD DVD vs HD DVD comparisons

Batman Begins HD DVD 720p

Batman Begins SD DVD 480i upconverted to 720p

The Bourne Supremacy HD DVD 720p

The Bourne Supremacy SD DVD 480i upconverted to 720p

In this specific scene of The Bourne Supremacy, the difference between the SD upconverted image and the HD image is a little more subtle. The difference in Batman Begins is night and day.

King Kong SD DVD vs HD DVD comparisons

King Kong HD DVD 720p

King Kong SD DVD 480i upconverted to 720p

King Kong HD DVD 720p

King Kong SD DVD 480i upconverted to 720p

King Kong HD DVD 720p

King Kong SD DVD 480i upconverted to 720p

Here you can see the visible differences between upconverted Standard Definition DVD and High Defintion DVD. The differences are much more apparent if you click on the images to enlarge. The XA2 is being used to play back the SD DVD as well as the HD DVD.

In summary, the HD DVD versions are visibly sharper, more detailed, have greater depth, and the colors are less muted compared to SD DVD. Viks said it best, "When we go out to the movies now, the picture looks soft."

Note: The differences are even more apparent in person vs the pictures. I took a few snaps of some facial close ups but they just didn't turn out right. For whatever reason(s), I've always struggled to take quality pictures with my Canon S400. I am not sure if it's the limitations of the camera, the auto settings or if I am doing something wrong. The camera is rested on a speaker stand so it's relatively steady but maybe not tripod steady. Maybe a camera expert can chime in? But from the shots above you can still get some idea of the differences in picture quality. Update 5/17: Per Mike's suggestion I changed the ISO to 50 and the results are much better! Thanks Mike. I re-took and re-uploaded the comparison shots above.

As great as HD DVD looks, I am pleasantly suprised by how good SD DVD looks on the player. The saying "What you don't know can't hurt you" probably applies here. If you are not exposed to the HD image, then you could probably be satisfied with the SD image. But once you get accustomed to the HD image, it really is hard to go back. My initial impression is that XA2 with the Silicon Optix Reon solution has less macroblocking than my Denon 2910 which has the Faroudja DCDi FLI-2310 solution. I'd need to go back and compare though as I could be guilty of placebo here.

My current video display setup:

• Mitsubishi HC3000 1280*768 DLP projector (uncalibrated)
• Da Lite 106" Cinema Contour High Contrast Cinema Vision
• Toshiba HD-XA2 1080p HD DVD player (output set to 720p)
• Monoprice 50 ft HDMI cable
  

Took the Red pill

A-ha! I knew it all along. God does favor HD DVD! So after a year of waiting on the sidelines, I finally broke down and picked up the Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD player.

I can't help but think many folks ("fanboys") are drunk on the whole HD disc format war. All this bickering on the forums re: which format has better technology, capacity, studio support, features, cost, short term sales figures, yada yada yada. Dammit, can't we all just get along?

I personally think Blu Ray is a great format but what led me to my decision to go with HD DVD for now:

• When it comes down to it, it's more about the movies. Technology is a means to an end. It can certainly enhance the experience but without movies you actually want to watch, what's the point? Most of the movies that I actually want to own are only in HD DVD today ==> Batman Begins, the Matrix Trilogy, and many of my favorite films are from Universal. Universal is HD DVD only today and show no indication of going to Blu Ray any time soon.
• The current pricing of Toshiba HD-XA2 vs current pricing of Blu Ray players taking into account feature parity.
• The Toshiba HD-XA2 just happens to be one of the BEST at deinterlacing/upconverting Standard Defintion DVDs thanks to it's Silicon Optix Reon chip and supposedly surpasses even "high end" video scalers like the Crystallio 2.
• Outstanding picture quality of HD DVD releases (although to be fair, Blu Ray discs have been getting a lot better since their initial releases).
• More HD DVD releases having newer and better sounding Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby True HD encoded soundtracks.
  
• I can still make good use of my old but faithful Sony ES Dolby Digital decoder as it accepts Dolby Digital Plus from the XA2 via S/PDIF. The previous 1st gen HD-XA1 could only output in DTS via S/PDIF which my Sony decoder does not have support for. Nor does my Sony decoder have analog in or HDMI to take advantage of Dolby True HD.
• More mature Interactive content support . There is no BD-J support on current gen Blu-Ray players. BD-J support will come on newer gen Blu Ray players later this year (rumored to be cause of delay of many BR titles).
• Firmware updates to update bugs and introduce new features are easily obtained via an ethernet port in the back of the unit.
• I've hedged my bet with the fact that full featured/compliant HD DVD / Blu Ray combo players will be released late this year or next. So I am not too concerned about my HD DVD discs being obsolete in the near future (possibly Samsung BD-UP5000).
• Life is short. In the grand scheme of things, it's silly to wait and agonize over something as petty as a DVD player.
  

I typically don't buy bleeding edge and the XA2 is a 2nd gen player so maybe I am still considered an early adopter. Both Blu Ray and HD DVD have are not without their own set of bugs. Since I only own HD DVD, I'll only comment on the quirks I've ran into so far. I've had two instances so far where my unit would freeze when I would fast forward or chapter skip. A quick reboot resolved the issue so not too big of a deal. However, my "Fearless" HD DVD disc now freezes at a certain scene consistenly. Luckily I bought it at Costco so it should be very easy to exchange. I'll be posting some screen shots later.

Liszt's Sonata in B Minor - Martha Argerich

If I were forced to give up my entire music collection with the exception of one CD, this would be the CD I would keep. I often listen to this piece when I need solace or when I want to reflect. I have to admit that when I first listened to this Sonata I didn't "get it." I thought the work was "OK" and dismissed it for a while. For whatever reason I started listening again and I finally came around and "got it". This was truly music with a soul.

The Martha Argerich interpretation is the difference. The technical virtuosity, the restraint, the level of maturity..I still break down in tears everytime.

I am not a musicologist but from what I've read about this piece, I've learned that it has characteristics of sonata form as well as symphonic form. Seemingly discordant, motivic elements ("cells") introduced in the beginning are "thematically transformed" and carefully woven such that as the piece is progressing you can hear the changes and different forms of character like in a multi-movement work but in the background there is unity as in a single-movement sonata. The quiet ending is so serene and so satisfying, a closing of a circle without a conclusion.

Nice Tiesto set

Tiesto - Live At Alexandra Palace (london) First Hour of Club Nouveau 004 (27-04-2007)

01. Nic Chagall - What You Need (Hard Dub) [High Contrast]
02. Snow Patrol - Open Your Eyes (Tiesto Remix) [White]
03. Radiohead - Street Spirit (Tiesto Remix) [White]
04. The Killers - Read My Mind (Gabriel & Dresden Unplugged Mix) [Island Recordings]
05. Tiesto Feat. Christian Burns - In The Dark (LIVE) [Magik Muzik]
06. Meck Feat. Dino - Feels Like Homes (Marco V Remix) [Free2air Recordings]
07. Vincent de Moor - Fly Away (Cosmic Gate Remix) [MoreMoor Music]
08. Wamdue Project - King Of My Castle (Sander van Doorn Remix) [Spinnin']
09. Tiesto - Heroes (Montana Edit) [White]

This set has tracks from his Elements of Life CD. The sets this month seem to be better than what's been out there the past few months. I also just received In Search of Sunrise 5 - Los Angeles but have not listened to it yet .