teaktart:
If you just want to see your HD videos on the HDTV (and don't care about renting HD movies), you can use a set-top box. The IO Data LinkPlayer 2 costs about $249. There are other, similar devices on the net too. Mostly they play .m2t files.

They will NOT be shipping it. They dont fully support the HD DVD functions (menus) and will be sued very shortly. An injunction is forthcoming.

Best Buy has been advertising them for a while now... "Coming soon...."

I believe the price tag was $1199.00
LG was talking about delaying because of the HD DVD problem.

My one and only (for now) HDTV is downstairs about 30' away from my upstairs editing / computer area where I have a couple of LCD monitors and a cheap little 13' tv I can output to from my CPU with the composites right now using a set topbox converter (ADS Pyro A/V Link) which I just noticed also has component out . .. Thanks for making me look back there, Glad to see I don't need to buy another box!

I guess I can get a long set of cords
(JRAZZ: just saw you have done just that....Any sacrifice running a long set of cords like that?)

And/or wait a bit and when I get a bigger HDTV downstairs and move the current one upstairs I'll have it all together.....someday.

Just takes...."Mo' Money" !

Jayster: I think I paid about $130-150 for my ADS converter which takes my CPU firewire out to the box and composite and component out from there.
Is that the same type of device you mentioned?
I haven't been able to tryout playing m2t files from timeline out to external yet, didn't know that might be possible...)

So does anyone have a Dual HD burner yet?

Teaktart

"LG was talking about delaying because of the HD DVD problem."

The "problem" is the specific language in the Blu-Ray license that prohibits such a dual-mode player.

HDMI and Component can take a long run. DVI cannot. The best and cheapest place to buy cables and such is Monoprice.

My personal suggestion for now is to stay away from dual format burners until we see how the industry is going. When it comes to Blu-ray vs HD DVD the rumors and the fake stories are incredible. I would take a wait and see attitude if I were you.

For me personally, I have a Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD player that upconverts SD video better than anything on the market today. Combined with my projector I have an incredible Home Theater and a portable way to show my videos to their fullest and then some. Last night we watched the HD DVD title The Eagles - Farewell 1 Tour - Live From Melbourne (2005). It looked and sounded amazing. Of course, so does the band.


John

No sacrifice that I can tell- looks excellent. You might want to get an additional sound cord to run with the component though.

j razz

One negative about the LG dual format player that nobody seems to be mentioning is that it doesn't play audio CDs. I, like most people, have long ago stopped having a separate CD player. If I replaced my current DVD player with the LG model, I'd need to have a second deck for CDs anyway.

Craftech,
What projector are you using?
There being a million to chose from.....
recommendations?

Teaktart

"The "problem" is the specific language in the Blu-Ray license that prohibits such a dual-mode player."

Actually, I believe that was legally shot down some time ago. Something along the lines of 'if you're willing to pay the license fee for Blu-Ray, you're fine. What you add to it (HD-DVD, telephone, toaster, etc.) is your own business'.

The current "problem" is that while the LG player is able to play an HD-DVD movie, it does not support iHD, and thus can't support all of the interactive features (overlay menus etc.). This is causing the HD-DVD group to object on the grounds that it is not really an HD-DVD, so LG can't use the logo and advertise as such.

Their next step it to either upgrade the box so that it does everything , or just market it as a Blu-Ray player that may or may not play HD-DVDs.

That's my understanding at this point in time...

Craftech,
What projector are you using?
There being a million to chose from.....
recommendations?

Teaktart
=============
I use an XGA (native 4:3 format ) projector with 3000 ANSI lumens and a 600:1 contrast ratio called the NEC LT380.

Although it is a business projector it works very very well as a Home Theater projector while also being MUCH brighter than most as the writeup correctly states. It has absolutely NO problem displaying 16:9 content and can be switched via menu to that format. Since my Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD player upscales SD video anyway it changes the size in the process so you need to move things around for 2.35:1 and other widescreen formats. Same for movies.

The advocates for Home Theater projection such as those on the AVS Forum (a real treasure of information with huge bandwidth) don't get it when it comes to the needs of videographers. To them contrast ratio is everything and room light control often via elaborate changes to the viewing area are all they seem to comprehend. As you know that is rarely possible for showing video in public or even to prospective clients. As videographers we need a "business projector" capable of relatively high ANSI lumens and "decent" contrast ratio.
Some of the highly rated Home Theater projectors are only capable of 1100 ANSI Lumens or less. You need at least 2500 ANSI Lumens. A DVI or HDMI input is a must for upscaling. The component inputs work, but not as well depending upon the upscaling player you choose.

In terms of the "black bars" at the top and bottom of native 4:3 projectors it is really insignificant. You just overshoot your screen making sure you have a non-reflective border such as black velvet or even black Gaffers tape around the "frame" of the screen. I spent around $2300 for my projector although now it goes for $1879 from the same people I bought it from. They were great by the way.

I made my own screens. That is where you can save a small fortune. The replacement projector bulbs cost an average of around $300-$350. A total ripoff.

John

John:
What screen material did you finally decide on? There seems to be a lot of hoopla on this subject.
JJK

John:
What screen material did you finally decide on? There seems to be a lot of hoopla on this subject.
JJK
===========
JJ,

I made my first screen (an 80 inch 4:3 screen) out of Parkland Plastics Plas-Tex Polywall. It is .060 x 4 x 8 plastic (vinyl) waterproof wall panel that is found at SOME Lowe’s Home Improvement Centers, Very few Home Depot stores, most Menards, and many Do-It-Best hardware stores. The price ranges from $14 a sheet to $24 a sheet. You will need most of the width to make the screen (used to be available in 5 foot widths but not any more) so any frame will have to be around it not over it. The material is translucent so the back must be painted to make it opaque or it will lose some reflectivity. Some people use the matte (duller side) of the material, but I found that there is much greater gain if you use the smooth (slightly shiny) side of the sheet and paint the duller side. There is little or no hotspoting evident. The material is flexible so it will need some support. I glued it to 1/8 inch pegboard, but it added to the weight. If you can rig up a portable collapsable frame for it you can actually roll up the sheet ( the paint on the back doesn't peel) in order to put it in a car to transport.

After that I built a bigger screen out of a 5 foot x 8 foot sheet of Wilsonart Designer White D354-60 laminate. It is used for countertops like Formica brand laminate and comes in 5 foot widths as well as 4 foot widths. You can order it from Lowes or Home Depot. The prices vary around the country with the stores in the New York metropolitan area charging the most for the sheets. My five foot by eight foot sheet cost $120 and took three weeks to be delivered to the store. Some people have paid as little as $80 at other Lowes or Home Depot stores. If you can do with a 4 foot x 8 foot sheet it can be ordered for as little as $40 or so depending upon where you live.

The material can be cut with a fine tooth table saw or scratched and snapped. I left it full size and ended up with a 100 inch diagonal 4:3 screen which is also a 120 inch 16:9 screen. I used a 4 inch velvet border on it so it was slightly reduced because unlike the Parkland Plastics material this material is rigid and has room to make the "frame " on top of the material instead of around it.
Here is a handy screen size calculator. The Wilsonart is opaque and thus does NOT require any paint on the back. I made a lightweight frame from 1x 4 pine and mounted the sheet onto it in order to reduce the weight. It is for Home Theater only. The Parkland screen is more portable. For those of you who live in the Central region and on the West Coast Home Depot carries a material that works about as well as Parkland Plastics called Do-Able 1/4 - 4 X 8 White Vinyl Panel. It is Model #63036 Home Depot number 174-278. mfg by Davidson Plywood and sold at HD.
UPC(DP #) 718793630365, SKU(HD #) 174278, model # 63036.
It is not available on the East Coast. It costs $13.95. Here are some screenshots using Do-Able.

If you can mount the screens to a wall, you will solve a lot of construction problems and eliminate the need for a frame or support. I didn't have that option (windows were in the way). For a quick and cheap way (4' x 8' or less) of mounting flexible material or even the melamine (Wilsonart) you can buy a sheet of 2" X 4' X 8' sheet of rigid foam insulation (has foil or other facing) and attach the sheet to it with Velcro strips (quite strong). That will reduce the overall weight considerably.

For a rollup screen Blackout Cloth which is a vinyl seems to be a good material. That is the stuff used to line drapes to block out the sun. It works nearly as well, is relatively cheap, and is readily available. I haven't tested it, but lots of people use it.

ProjectorPeople have a very useful ANSI Lumens Guide to help determine brightness needed for different situations. It isn't a bad chart.

John

And now back to the original post. According to Beta News the "LG Hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD Player Cannot Be Sold As Is"...."because it will not receive certification from the DVD Forum. Without such certification, LG cannot publicly claim the player supports HD DVD as it is doing now."

"........Collins explained to BetaNews that the DVD Forum could pursue legal action against LG for claiming the hybrid player supports the HD DVD and using the HD DVD logo, just like it does against pirate hardware manufacturers in Asia that build DVD players without paying licensing fees."

This is what I mean about stories always flying all over the place regarding Blu-ray vs HD DVD and why any prudent person would wait it out.

How about this excerpt from a booklet that was included with the CES Daily News publication and made available to all attendees at the 2007 CES on the first day of the show. It was full of propaganda articles with distorted information and statistics (much of it based on "projected" sales and the assumption that PS3 owners all buy Blu-ray movies). Ya like that one?



The whole thing is really ridiculous.

John