I just spent the last couple of nights on my SXRD with a few Japanese HD-DVD discs encoded in AVC. Chronicles of Riddick - yes this is my 3rd Riddick disc and 2nd HD-DVD version! http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/code-w/section-videos/pid-1004151588/ Shinobi - Japanese historical/romance http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-aa-77-7-49-en-15-shinobi-70-1e0i.html Keith Jarrett's Tokyo Solo 2002 Concert http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-af-77-3-49-en-15-keith+jarrett-70-1f7d.html My opinion: The VC-1 version of Riddick still takes the prize but now only by a very very slim margin. The AVC comes up a wee bit soft in a few scenes and may be described as less detailed in some action sequences but is still a very satisfying experience. The AVC disc soundtrack is still top notch. Overall the PQ is still better than HBO-HD. The PQ of the Shinobi disc is excellent as well. I got this disc because of a recommendation from a videophile website which I can't link to right now. Even without English subtitles the film is engrossing and visually rich - a similar experience to HOFD but with better PQ. The Keith Jarrett disc was specifically for my audio system (hat tip to eatsushi). I tried both LPCM stereo and DTS 5.1 and the results were amazing - my B&W speakers definitely got a good workout. The PQ is as good as you can expect from a concert video. Is AVC/H.264 ready for the big time? From what I've seen with these discs the answer should be yes.
Thanks for the mini-review. Regarding the HD-A1: Have you been using the analog outs instead of the digital coax? How would you compare the two? Do you have Dialogue Enhance ON or OFF? Thanks in advance.
I'm using the analog output now as it sounds more "full-bodied" to me (Rotel pre-pro/amps and B&W speakers). I guess it will depend on your equipment. My Dialogue Enhance is also turned OFF as I get a few dropouts with the analog outs. With digital coax I set the DE on w/o problems. This thread on avs furums has been very helpful: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=640949
I just found this interesting discussion on VC1 vs AVC/H.264: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=706748 From post #24 From post #29 Probably explains my preference for the VC-1 Riddick compared to the AVC version.
I got another Japanese HD-DVD in the mail yesterday - the region-free AVC encoded version of The Brothers Grimm: http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-ad-49-en-15-brothers+grimm-70-1f7a.html This time the AVC encoding was IMO not up to par with a little more video noise and less detail in some scenes. I wonder if they used a different master or if it's an encoder issue. For foreign HD-DVD's that don't have English subtitles I just found out that it's possible to download alternate subtitle streams using the player's ethernet port: http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=414949&SiteID=1
