Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems The one of MANY HD-DVD threads (No bashing Blu-Ray)

Cliff,
Welcome to the club- I think you will be really impressed with the quality (picture and audio) on these new discs- I think the big difference is not just resolution but color depth.

best regards,
Jerry

Another reason to rate HT higher than the 'plex' ..... when I originally saw Elizabeth in the theater they had the film mixed up so we got reel 1 .. reel 3 .. and then reel 2. Movie is excellent, but a bit complex ... mixing up the reels made it even more so .... 'hey, didn't he die!".

LOL! Elizabeth - "the Tarantino cut".

.... the funniest thing of all was that of the 25 or so people in the movie theater I don't think most even noticed. I overheard one chap comment, upon leaving the theater, 'sure was a convoluted plot, don't you think'.

You can't make this stuff up!

Elizabeth - The Golden Age is expected on Hd-DVD in February 2008


~M~

I suppose it was inevitable once Criterion released one or two of his movies ( Many years from now we may find out why ? ) but ENOUGH ALREADY ! This isnt really helping either format !!

MICHAEL BAY FOR PRESIDENT ! The campaign starts here

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/s...D-Backing_Microsoft_of_Dirty_Tricks/1235

~M~

P.S.Check out his website , the misinformation and inaccuracy is astonishing

I have been sitting on the fence for long enough I think, with the Toshiba EP 35 now selling under �250 with 7 discs I think I can take the risk and possibly end up with 2 players, one HD and one BR. This will probably be just as cheap as a dual player and will hopefully be of better quality. The new release of Blade Runner being the straw that broken this camels back.

Does anyone have experience of the EP35 and secondly linking up via a Meridian system?

The system is as set up by a dealer about 18 months ago. On the basis it ain't broke I have left it alone to date so don't fully understand how its is connected although I am sure I have the techical capabilioty should I put my mind to it.

I have a sky HD box and a G98 feeding HDMI into a Max421 box into a pioneer 5000EX. Both the Skybox and G98 feed audio into a G68ADV, the skybox by both optical and std audio (not sure why both). The G98 / G68ADV are connected by the 4 way Meridian digital link.

What would be the prefered audio connections for the EP35 to the G68ADV? (DSP5500 x 3 + 2 x DSP3100, no sub)

Presumably the EP35 HDMI would feed directly into the max 421 and bypass the G68 ADV? If I play around with the setup presumably I can switch via the remote both visual and audio as I do with the Skybox and G98?

Does anyone know whether the G98 will outperform the EP35 for standard definition DVD playback?

Sorry a lot of questions but no better place to ask them.

regards

David

Hi David

I've just purchased an EP35 and overall I'm quite impressed. I have mine connected to my G68 by both analogues an the optical digital out and have set up a phantom source so I can easily switch between the two. I would have thought that this set up would be suitable for you also as you have ample input options on the G68. You can then compare Dolby THD via analogue and DTS etc via the digital input. In this respect (to date) I prefer a well mastered DTS track via the digital output.

SD performance of the EP35 and G98 compares favourably although haven't done many A/Bs in this respect. Comparisons I have done have been into my 720p projector. Let's put it this way, I was happy enough with the EP35 to sell my G98 recently.

There are a few annoying features of the EP35. You have to enter a time and date everytime you turn it off. Also when switching from analogue to the digital output you have to toggle between PCM and bitstream out in the menu. If you leave it on bitstream, the bass managment setting on the analague outputs don't function correctly. Lastly, although quiter than its predessors, the EP35 is not as quiet as I'd like.

Overall though I rate the player quite highly and with the current disk offer, I think its purchase is a no-brainer.

Cliff

If I may piggyback on David's question as I am thinking of doing the same thing in the future.

I understood that the EP35 does not upsample with standard DVDs as the G98 does, so this might be a downside?

I am so excited again with my HD-XA2. I upgraded my projector to a JVC DLA-RS1 and using the XA2 for SD and HD DVD's at 1080p/24 is absolutely amazing. SD DVD's look stunning with the XA2/RS1 combo. If HD DVD dies its still a great SD player. My 598 will only be used for CD's and my small collection of DVD-A's. I got a squeeze box for christmas so evenually even the 598 will not be used for much of anything. Wireless router is on the way to my door step as I type this.

The EP35 can upscale SD DVDs to 1080p over HDMI

Cliff

Excuse my lack of expertise. I thought that 1080p was upscaling which both units do but upsampling was "signals are upsampled to 176.4/192kHz for digital to analogue conversion - DACs can offer better performance at higher sampling rates - and 88.2/96kHz is used for the digital outputs, all at 24-bit word lengths."

I could be totally out to lunch as I have also read that my "G91 upsamples in stereo only not 5.1" If I understand that correctly I am not getting upsampling with my standard DVDs anyway?

Totally off subject, I love my Meridian set up but it is too complicated for an average guy like me who wants great sound without having to get a Phd in Audiology.