Toshiba 65HM167/HD-XA2: First Impression

I've had my 65HM167 since Thursday of last week and managed to get it
installed on Saturday (had to get rid of a TW56F80). It took three
strong men to take the old TV away. I was able to pick the new one up
myself.

The 30 year old, broken antenna on the roof pulls in two digital
channels, both Spanish. I'm tracking down an antenna installer to see if
we can fix that. The NTSC reception on the same antenna is somewhat
better since the major Boston stations are VHF.

DirecTV SD images range from watchable to quite good. I have to decide
if I'm going to cancel DirecTV and subscribe to Charter.

DVD playback on the HD-XA2 is quite good, but HD-DVD playback is
jawdroppingly fan-tas-tic. "Dragonheart" in HD-DVD (SWMBO's favorite
movie) has far more detail than the DVD. I couldn't pick out any
artifacts, but some of the interactions between the dragon and the
knight looked somewhat worse due to the additional detail. Sometimes
more resolution shows up some things that you would be better off not
seeing.

"Planet Earth" HD-DVD is to die for. Fantastic detail, wonderful color,
nearly 3D in many of the aerial shots. The grey scale is great. I
haven't even gotten to using the "Digital Video Essentials" HD-DVD yet.
It can only get better.

Matthew

--
I'm a consultant. If you want an opinion I'll sell you one.
Which one do you want?

Its
HD DVD

Not
HD-DVD

Thanks
"Matthew L. Martin" wrote in message
...
I've had my 65HM167 since Thursday of last week and managed to get it
installed on Saturday (had to get rid of a TW56F80). It took three strong
men to take the old TV away. I was able to pick the new one up myself.

The 30 year old, broken antenna on the roof pulls in two digital channels,
both Spanish. I'm tracking down an antenna installer to see if we can fix
that. The NTSC reception on the same antenna is somewhat better since the
major Boston stations are VHF.

DirecTV SD images range from watchable to quite good. I have to decide if
I'm going to cancel DirecTV and subscribe to Charter.

DVD playback on the HD-XA2 is quite good, but HD-DVD playback is
jawdroppingly fan-tas-tic. "Dragonheart" in HD-DVD (SWMBO's favorite
movie) has far more detail than the DVD. I couldn't pick out any
artifacts, but some of the interactions between the dragon and the knight
looked somewhat worse due to the additional detail. Sometimes more
resolution shows up some things that you would be better off not seeing.

"Planet Earth" HD-DVD is to die for. Fantastic detail, wonderful color,
nearly 3D in many of the aerial shots. The grey scale is great. I haven't
even gotten to using the "Digital Video Essentials" HD-DVD yet. It can
only get better.

Matthew

--
I'm a consultant. If you want an opinion I'll sell you one.
Which one do you want?

If you wanna be picky, it's:

It's
HD DVD

Not

Its
HD DVD

:-)

--

Dave (Since 1962)

-=Perfect Picture. Perfect Sound
Live every moment in High Definition=-

Too much wrote:
Its
HD DVD

Not
HD-DVD

Hahaha

"David Zinck" wrote in message
news:[email protected]
If you wanna be picky, it's:

It's
HD DVD

Not

Its
HD DVD

:-)

--

Dave (Since 1962)

-=Perfect Picture. Perfect Sound
Live every moment in High Definition=-

Too much wrote:
Its
HD DVD

Not
HD-DVD