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HD-DVD Player (US) - Questions
bingledee
17-11-2007
Hi all,

bought a Toshiba HD-DVD player from the US, just a quick question (or 2) .

I've read that HD-DVD is region-free, if this is true then I should be able to walk into ASDA and buy an HD-DVD film, is this true?

I know the back of the machine has the Region 1 logo, so am assuming this is for standard DVD's that can be played on the machine.

I've managed to borrow a power transformer from my father, so this should be enough to cobvert the UK power supply onto the machine...

PS: If i pick up a standard HDMI cable from ASDA while am there, will that produce as good a signal as the player throws out. Am quoting ASDA as its the only place open and am keen to play around with the player tonight
Alex Oughton
17-11-2007
Originally Posted by bingledee:
“Hi all,

bought a Toshiba HD-DVD player from the US, just a quick question (or 2) .

I've read that HD-DVD is region-free, if this is true then I should be able to walk into ASDA and buy an HD-DVD film, is this true?”

Indeed, that is true!

Quote:
“I know the back of the machine has the Region 1 logo, so am assuming this is for standard DVD's that can be played on the machine.”

You assume correctly!

Quote:
“I've managed to borrow a power transformer from my father, so this should be enough to cobvert the UK power supply onto the machine...”

It certainly should be enough. You will need to convert UK 230V to US 110V. You *MIGHT* be lucky and find that the player can accept a wide range of voltages (e.g. from 110 to 230 ). If this is the case, you will only need something to change the plug, such as an adapter or new power lead. The accepted voltages are usually printed on the back, near the input socket.

Quote:
“PS: If i pick up a standard HDMI cable from ASDA while am there, will that produce as good a signal as the player throws out. Am quoting ASDA as its the only place open and am keen to play around with the player tonight”

PS: Yes.
bingledee
17-11-2007
Originally Posted by Alex Oughton:
“Indeed, that is true!



You assume correctly!



It certainly should be enough. You will need to convert UK 230V to US 110V. You *MIGHT* be lucky and find that the player can accept a wide range of voltages (e.g. from 110 to 230 ). If this is the case, you will only need something to change the plug, such as an adapter or new power lead. The accepted voltages are usually printed on the back, near the input socket.



PS: Yes. ”



Thanks for the reply, confirmed my answers.

Took the plunge on a new HD-TV couple of weeks ago, and seems daft to have it without an HD Source from somewhere.. So got my mate to send me a dvd player over from the states when Wal-Mart were selling them dirt cheap. Lets hope the difference is noticeable..

Any recommendations on which HD-DVD I should go for first?
Jarrak
17-11-2007
Originally Posted by bingledee:
“
Any recommendations on which HD-DVD I should go for first?”






Depends what genre of movie you prefer doesn't it

Serenity, Transformers, 2001 for scifi.
Batman Begins, 300, V for Vendetta for fantasy.
Inside Man, The Shooter, Traffic for drama/thriller.
Hot Fuzz, Shawn of the Dead, Shrek3 for comedy.

Special mention to The Searchers, Robin Hood, Heroes (s1) and Matrix trilogy.
Jarrak
17-11-2007
Just a thought, didn't you get the free HD DVD promo offer with the Walmart player?
Granted the disks would have to be sent to your friends house but not a great problem for him to send them to you

Also check out both UK and especially US online dealers, disks are so much cheaper than even most supermarkets.
John Currie
18-11-2007
Originally Posted by Jarrak:
“Also check out both UK and especially US online dealers, disks are so much cheaper than even most supermarkets.”

Or rent them by post from Lovefilm.
They have a good selection of HD-DVDs.
bingledee
18-11-2007
Originally Posted by Jarrak:
“Depends what genre of movie you prefer doesn't it

Serenity, Transformers, 2001 for scifi.
Batman Begins, 300, V for Vendetta for fantasy.
Inside Man, The Shooter, Traffic for drama/thriller.
Hot Fuzz, Shawn of the Dead, Shrek3 for comedy.

Special mention to The Searchers, Robin Hood, Heroes (s1) and Matrix trilogy.”

Took the plunge and bought those 2
bingledee
18-11-2007
Originally Posted by Jarrak:
“Just a thought, didn't you get the free HD DVD promo offer with the Walmart player?
Granted the disks would have to be sent to your friends house but not a great problem for him to send them to you

Also check out both UK and especially US online dealers, disks are so much cheaper than even most supermarkets.”

My mate forgot to remove the UPC label from the box, so I need to send it back through to him... still, to get 5 films is a bargain even if it takes a few weeks to get them
bingledee
18-11-2007
Originally Posted by John Currie:
“Or rent them by post from Lovefilm.
They have a good selection of HD-DVDs.”

Already re-activated my account last week on another 3month FREE trial, so got a couple of films queued...




Apologies for the 3 replies, still trying to work out how to do the multiple quoting (I could have copied cut and paste )



Does anyone know which is the best firmware version to be running, I've seen there are a couple of updates kicking around, some specifically for Canada residents, am assuming (again) I would need to be sticking with updates that have been out for the US only?? Its the Toshiba HD-A2, by the way
Jarrak
18-11-2007
Yep you need the US specific updates, you can download the image files from the Toshiba US HD website (sorry don't know it offhand) and you should also be able to get it via the ethernet connection.
bingledee
18-11-2007
Originally Posted by Jarrak:
“Yep you need the US specific updates, you can download the image files from the Toshiba US HD website (sorry don't know it offhand) and you should also be able to get it via the ethernet connection.”

Must admit, its a bargain for a standard entry level HD-DVD player, including shipping it worked out at £95. God bless the $ to £ rate
Jarrak
18-11-2007
Originally Posted by bingledee:
“Must admit, its a bargain for a standard entry level HD-DVD player, including shipping it worked out at £95. God bless the $ to £ rate ”




I think the A2 is the second gen machine so 1080p/24 with the latest firmware and should have no problem if they ever get around to the triple layer disks as well.
bingledee
18-11-2007
Originally Posted by Jarrak:
“I think the A2 is the second gen machine so 1080p/24 with the latest firmware and should have no problem if they ever get around to the triple layer disks as well.”

makes it even more of a bargain... just did a check and its runniong version 1.2, and the latest firmware is 2.7 according to the website...

Just watching 300 now, and its a definite improvement in picture quality... some things are so defined...
Jarrak
19-11-2007
All we need now is for Asda to do a similar deal over here
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