Toshiba XD-E500 review coming soon

I'm really looking forward to this.

Can you guys do a comparison of a black and white movie like say Casablanca? Also something where the camera pans a lot like the Planet Earth series, or the Fast and the Furious movies (only ones that come to mind at the moment) to see how it handles panning. As a third suggestion something with lots of CGI like Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith or even Transformers? Just some suggestions.

If possible it would be great to see how this player handles different situations as I'm very interested in one of these. Can't wait to read the results.

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[Post edited by Falcon01 on Sep 2, 2008]

Try something that had an awful transfer also, like the 1982 Director's Cut of Blade Runner. And don't forget pics of both the front and rear panels. This will be interesting.

Comparisons between the SD DVD and the Hi Def versions are always a good measure of equipment capabilities. Also Single Layer transfers VS Dual Layer DVD transfers is also a good test. I noticed with my single layer disks tend to create more grain on the XA2 VS the Dual layer disks. Sharpness significantly is lost on the Single layer stuff.

How about comparing it to the Oppo. That player has always gotten great reviews for upconverting. Personally I have one and people are always fooled that they are watching a HD signal, either cable or DVD. I have the 970 and it goes up to 1080i mix that with an Anthem D2 and the picture quality on standard DVD is stunning. My friends and I did a BLU comparsion and the difference was very little. So try to compare the new Toshiba to an Oppo.
Thanks,
Scott

Great idea.

Also, I know this is asking a lot but is it possible to compare the upconversion of this player on a 50" TV and a 100"+ screen from a projector? I'm wondering if the upconversion looks even better on a bigger screen which I assume it would.

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[Post edited by Falcon01 on Sep 2, 2008]

Also a comparison of upconversions from other Toshiba products such as the XA2 and the A35.

Can I just point out that that I never started this thread

I think the Oppo comparison would be great.

Just to add that this player is due for release in Europe 1st October.

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[Post edited by Scotsman on Sep 2, 2008]

Hey, can you guys check and see how it handles Pop Tarts?

Hey Guys,
First let me say I purchased the HD-XA2 because of your review.
I hasn't failed me yet.
I have 1,600+ SDVD'S Almost all of them look great on this player which by the way is going for
$ 1,500 on Amazon now and I got it for $ 560.00
OK A big test for me was the great movie " Never Cry Wolf "
A tremendous flick which has never deserved its due for any kind of " clean-up "
The DVD is deplurable so bad I cound not watch this great flick.
I put in in the HD-XA2 and Viola !!!! It looks damn good.
Lets see what you guys come up with I waiting for your review.

By the way whats the price on this newbie ???

Quote:
Hey, can you guys check and see how it handles Pop Tarts?

My daughter put a pop tart into my old NEC VHS player when she was a toddler. It didn't play well! (it wasn't funny then, but it is now...I think)

mikek58 mentioned the DVD movie Never Cry Wolf, and it's poor non-anamorphic transfer quality.

Yep - it's a fav of mine, as the same director also directed The Black Stallion (a big fav of mine). For "Wolf", my Remastered Full-screen LaserDisc (from the 1990s) has much better image/sound quality than the DVD. While it's not in widescreen, the 4x3 transfer is excellent, and was a big improvement over the original (1st) LaserDisc release of the 1980s (poor colors).

I've long waited for anamorphic editions of both of the above movies, whether on DVD or Blu-ray. The musical soundtracks for each are excellent(!) - Carmine Coppola with The Black Stallion, and Mark Isham with Never Cry Wolf.

Note: I believe MGM or United Artists (thru Fox) still owns the home video rights for "Stallion" - (or maybe it's now under Warner's control-?) - while Disney definitely owns the rights for "Wolf".

-JOE- (Love Hendrix!)

Joe,

Disney came out with an anamorphic widescreen version of "Never Cry Wolf" several years ago:

http://www.dvdtown.com/moviedatabase/release-details/never-cry-wolf/24763

http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?userid=99365871997417&item_id=591510&searchID=340835

John

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[Post edited by John J. Puccio on Sep 3, 2008]

Thanks John for the update.

So there were two releases. The DVD version I had viewed many years ago (rented) was the original non-anamorphic release (Anchor Bay) that after checking right now I noticed you also reviewed it here.

As I see that Disney remastered it later in (16x9) anamorphic widescreen, I'm assuming this 2nd edition would look great (will have to rent it). I've just always enjoyed my LaserDisc for many years (even though it's not in widescreen).

So I assume the 2nd DVD looks fine on a decent upconverted player, based on the previous poster's comment: "The DVD is deplurable so bad I cound not watch this great flick. I put in in the HD-XA2 and Viola !!!! It looks damn good."

So I'll have to rent it, and hope that Disney gives it the Blu-ray HD treatment in the future.

-JOE- (Love Hendrix!)

Hey Guys,
Its great to know the interest is out there for great film that does not get the kudo's and treatment they deserve.
I have in my hand the copy of Never Cry Wolf
Anchor Bay.....widescreen presentation 1.85:1
No anamorphic here but lets hope the guys at DVD Town will slip this in the new Tosh and see what it does.

The Black Stallion another of my favs is also a mess at least my copy is.
Both Carol Ballard films
These are titles I would want in my Blue-Ray Library.
I just ordered "The Proposition" from Amazon for 10.95 WoW more like this !!!!
The reviews of this presentation are excellent.

Hi There,

When you post comparisons with other upscaling players, can you do it "rollover style"?
It makes it easier to see the differences, than when you do side by side:

similar to this demo:

http://www.gadgetpig.net/xde/

Also test to if it does any of the following:

-block noise reduction
-mosquito noise reduction

Please test with Disney's "Cars" (Any scene with texture details), "The Wild" (Any scene with closeups of the Lion's face fur), Also Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (The scene when Davey Jones cries by the piano).

Finally, if you could also compare SD screenshots with any of the newer BD players, especially Panasonic DMP-BD30K and Magnavox NB500MG9.

thanks!