I’m beginning to feel like a parrot. These BR/HD questions keep coming up and I keep saying the same thing…..oh well, one more time….
Don’t worry about combo players. There isn’t any out yet that are worth a second look, plus, they are expensive as hell.
If you decide to get into the new formats, you will obviously need a player or two. You will also need an audio processor that will process HDMI audio if you want hear lossless sound unless you plan to use the multi channel analouge inputs (which is somewhat limiting in itself). You will also need a display that accepts HDMI or DVI and you’ll want a resolution of at least 720P.
As already stated, the PS3, unfortunately, is the best BR player available. It supports 1080P/24 video extraction off the disks in its native format, and it all supports 7.1 channel PCM audio decoding. It is not known if it will also support DD-HD and DTS-M, but I am betting that it will. Currently, the PS3 supports more audio and video formats than any other BR player. It does not up-convert SD as well as some of the other players sporting a Reon video processor, but it does up-convert very well.
HD/DVD players can be bought for less than $200 now. The Toshiba A2 and A3 are the bottom of the line players. They do not support 1080P in any format. They are limited to 1080i and they do not have the hardware to support anything else, regardless of firmware updates. The A20 and A30 support 1080P/24 and have HDMI 1.2, are the mid level players. The X2 and A35 support 1080P/24 as well, have HDMI version 1.3, and also have analogue outputs for lossless sound. I’m not sure, but I think the A20 also has analogue outputs. The X2 is still the Toshiba flagship player and has the Reon video processor for SD up-conversion. The A35 does not use the Reon, which is why its MSRP is $100 less than the X2. It is not known yet how fast the A35’s load time is, but it is a third generation player, so it may be faster than the somewhat ‘slow’ X2. Onkyo and Integra have both announced that they will be making HD/DVD players. It isn’t confirmed, but they both look like X2 copycats with a higher MSRP. There are a few others coming out soon, but I don’t know much about them….
If you need/want good video upconversion, then I’d suggest you pick up an X2 and a PS3. If you don’t really care about that, then the A35 and PS3 would be a good combination and somewhat future proof (as much as can be expected today).
As far as this format war debate, who cares….. just enjoy what you can, while you are alive to do so. It’s only money and you can’t take it with you.
