Recent Comments:
Toshiba announces new and improved XDE600KE DVD player {Engadget HD}
Sep 3rd 2009 4:17PM I have not seen it for myself, but all the reviews I read said that indeed the Toshiba XDE is better than HQV overall.
Toshiba announces new and improved XDE600KE DVD player {Engadget HD}
Sep 3rd 2009 2:53PM I bet they do put XDE into a higher-end BD player.
Engadget HD's recession antidote: win a Dish Network DTVPal DVR {Engadget HD}
Jul 22nd 2009 2:07PM Very cool. Thanks!
Toshiba launching Blu-ray player by year's end {Engadget HD}
Jul 20th 2009 12:01PM Even better, if they allow external xbox 360 HD-DVD drives, or any external USB HD-DVD drive to connect and play HD-DVD's along side Blu-ray.
Toshiba launching Blu-ray player by year's end {Engadget HD}
Jul 19th 2009 10:45AM I would like to see these players read 3XDVD (that is HD-DVD format on standard DVD). I have a number of home movies, some OTA HDTV burned in this format. It would not require any additional hardware to support, so the cost to make the player would be the same.
But if they added true HD-DVD support, that would be fantastic, but I seriously doubt they will do that. Such a small minority of buyers would be interested in that feature. But I bet they add that cell processor to the player, to give top notch PQ.
Ask Engadget HD: What's the best mainstream Blu-ray player? {Engadget HD}
Jun 3rd 2009 4:28PM The new Samsung BD-1600. Loads discs fast, good DVD upscaling, not too expensive. The front door is annoying, we just leave it down. The remote is good. Handles all the HD audio codecs. It has Netflix and Pandora streaming, but we don't use that feature yet, maybe down the road, nice to know it's there.
Plays AVCHD discs also. Be sure to use DVD-R discs for AVCHD, or the DVD-R DL 8.5GB. The DVD+R DL will not work for AVCHD.
Ask Engadget HD: What's the best plasma to pick up? {Engadget HD}
Oct 15th 2008 12:33PM I'd skip the Vizio's and go for an entry-level Samsung or Panasonic. The PQ is hands down much better than a similar sized/priced LCD. Deep blacks, great colors and excellent viewing angles. I have a 42" 720p Samsung plasma and am very happy with it, I was comparing it to a 720p Panasonic. I liked the Samsung better (look, some features), but the Panasonic was a very nice TV and had just as good PQ.
Ask Engadget HD: Where are all the standalone OTA HD DVRs? {Engadget HD}
Sep 17th 2008 1:09PM From Echostar:
The TR50 will be sold as the DTVPal DVR, and will be available around Thanksgiving for a price of $299. It will be available online through DISH Network. At this time we do not have any information on whether the product will be available through retail outlets. An online information site is planned for the near future. Please check back with us as we get closer to the product launch date. Thank you for contacting EchoStar. Regards, EchoStar Sales Team
Ask Engadget HD: Where are all the standalone OTA HD DVRs? {Engadget HD}
Sep 17th 2008 12:47PM Yeah, what's up with that. I'd definitely buy one. I currently use a MyHD card in my PC to record HDTV. It works great with the QAM recording, but the OTA tuner is not the best. I get some dropouts, and can't tune in as many stations with it as I can with the OTA tuner in my (newer) HDTV and the new digital converter boxes (5th, 6th generation tuners I think) are much better. The MyHD probably needs a much larger outdoor antenna to record error-free. But a great feature is that MyHD works great with TitanTV. No Tivo fees. I'm not aware of any OTA DVR solution that does not require a PC today. It's definitely not a consumer friendly method though.
My *guess* to the reason is scheduled recordings. Personally I never had an issue setting a VCR back in the day, and I would have no issue doing the same for OTA HD. VCR+ could work here also. People want to see the guide on screen and simply push a button to schedule the recording. The EPG is available over ATSC, but it looks like a lot of programming/development work to program it into a intelligent application and install enough memory and that into a device and use it like Tivo. I bet after the digital transition, we'll see this happen and it may even end up inside newer TV's.
Or the MPAA is still trying to adopt the OTA broadcast flag (we see the reports that it's in there with Media Center, standing at the ready) and are strong-arming manufacturers in some way.
Eyes-on Toshiba's new XD-E500 upconverting DVD player {Engadget HD}
Aug 19th 2008 3:41PM I don't think this has the spurs engine. I went to Toshiba's site and read through everything and it sounds like a traditional upscaler with the 3 extra filters. I would like to see this player up against an Oppo or a player with one of the Silicon Optix HQV chips, and maybe a PS3.
