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Regarding hi-def format upconversion of players.
I am format neutral with a Toshiba A35 (HD-DVD) and a Panny BD30 ( b) ). I also have a Pio DV48 (SACD, DVDA, SD) and a Toshiba HD870 (SD).

Of the lot, the A35 HD-DVD is the better upconverting player. Noticiably better. The BD30 is OK, but then again so is the Pio DV48.

That was one of the reasons I decided to keep the player.
Others included: HD-DVDs purchased at firesale prices (have acquired 10 since the announcement at an average of $4.30),
Bitstreaming of HD codecs, Playback of the 20 some odd HD-DVDs I already had.

Just got my Panasic BD30 (an hour ago). Nice machine and viva HDMI (one single cable + power chord! and 2-3 settings and I have DolbyTrueHD and so on piped directly to receiver)!

I also have an A30 for HD-DVD. The main reason I switched now (although depending on price I might get more HDDVD titles too) is that I already have 3 friends who just went Blueray. it is a lot more economical when we all have the same format so we can exchange movies and series and keep the ones we want to see more often.

I've watched over 20 Blu-ray movies on the BD30 with no problems. It seems like a solid unit. Congrats!

Couple of points
1) HD and Blu-ray both are not consumer ready. I would say we are about two months away from being main-stream ready. XA2's latest FW have some issues when it comes to MPEG encoded movies at 24FPS. (24FPS, to me, is another eye candy feature that's more marketing than anything else).

2) BD profile is over rated for me (IMHO). I will never see PIP commentary of director while watching movies so it's not big deal for me. Hence, Samsung 1400 and PS3 that I have are worthwhile investments for me.

3) My XA2 throws up errors every once in a while (as does my bluray players). It's rare, but it's annoying nevertheless.

4) XA2 does a great job of upconverting, so I'll continue to get benefit from that player.

5) I've been format neutral from the start, and I knew HD or Blu-ray player would eventually be obsolete. But I wanted to enjoy both formats. Case in point. Transformers in HD DVD is *GREAT* The EP500 gets a *REAL* workout during Transformers (one of my favorite movies now!)

6) I'm still fascinated by how strong people feel about one format over the other. I just don't remember that with beta/vhs war.

Somehow, I ended up getting all these devices! Wii is great for the family and the kids. We love it. Xbox360 is fine, and I've had it for about a year. I recently picked up PS3 and to me, the graphics is much better. I guess it took some time for the developers to take advantage of the cell processor.

Ironically, I think purchasing MX900 URC and MX350 RF/IR was one of the best investments I made. With all these gadgets, MX900 is a **MUST**

Ah the remote.

No MX here, but the 2 best investments for the Enjoyment factor for the family were:

1. good programmable remote
2. Squeezebox 3

I have a Pronto 7000 that I programmed activity based. The family and friends only have to push 1 button to do whatever it is they want to do, regardless of what is happening currently.

WAF and FAF is very high here.
Without it, they are all loss and couldn;t use a thing

The WAF was also very high on the SB3. She really didn;t understand my vision at first. When it got here (I already had a server with music ready) and she was off and going within minutes. Wow never knew we had that. Wow, I haven;t heard that forever.

It's just easier than sorting through hundreds or thousands of discs to find something you like, take it to another room, and play it.


System usage is much closer to 50 HT/50 Music now.

I second that ! PS3 was a great investment! HDMI 1.3 when it lauched!