New product announcement coming soon

[brodricj]

I too like to own my own content. I will not be streaming. I want the best video quality possible, and for that I'd be very happy if the new K player would support HD-SDI output. But I'm 99.9999% sure that it won't. Too bad, because (I'm guessing) K owners who use high end external video processors don't need a player with good video processing built in.

 

[Mr.Poindexter]

Ok guys, as someone who was VERY close to the inner workings of this company, I have a question.

You say Blu-ray is no big deal because "everyone" has moved on to Netflix. However, you guys are the same users who rip Kaleidescape for less than perfect video quality on their current players.

So which is it; do you want the best video quality possible, or the instant gratification and convenience of VOD with crappy video quality??? You can't have both (yet!).

I have been keeping up on this thread but I must have missed it where people say they have moved on to Netflix. I certainly have not nor do I plan to unless they can match BluRay quality. And I will complain about shortcomings in the hardware but I won't make it a ranting diatribe. The deinterlacing on the old players (pre-1080p units) just sucked when dealing with video sources or poorly flagged content. Luckily, that was my kids' Elmo videos and I didn't pay attention to them. I am kind of bummed I didn't pick up any 1080p players but I didn't think BluRay players would take this long to come out.

That their playback system lacked slow motion was a shock to me - I would have paid a premium for a jog shuttle remote if I could get one for perfect marking of scenes and analyzing film. I used one on my laserdisc collection and would love to have that power again.

I want instant gratification, but I do not experience gratification with crap quality. I want top quality. I also want ease of use - I built my own system in the past. Been there, done that. Now I want somebody to do that for me.

 

[brodricj]

....The deinterlacing on the old players (pre-1080p units) just sucked...

At least the deinterlaced output of my pre-1080p player is much better than its interlaced output, as far as my DVDO and Lumagen video processors are concerned

 

[JerryL]

Im with you Mr. Poindexter but I can tell you that 99% of the friends we have dont buy discs anymore, they just do netflix. When one asked for a BR player recommendation and I wanted to suggest Oppo and he then said the #1 important thing was netflix- so in essence he didn't want a BR player, he wanted a netflix streamer with BR ability.

I think most people will not accept crap but they will accept good enough. Whereas many here will not. Im in that group.

I require my source to provide a high level of video output (at least 9/10- something that is shockingly inexpensive to achieve now days) and I also want the same on audio and since I am a Meridian user, I need that source to decode high res audio to PCM- something the Oppo does. If you cant do those things, I am not interested.

But, those of us who have these feelings are in the vast minority.

I find the output of the pre 1080p players- of which I have several- is generally very good- at 480i over HDMI into my Lumagen I am very happy with the result. I use 480p for other rooms without video processors and its fine for that purpose. I have a 1080p player also and while its better, its not a substitute for BR.

Is HD-SDI really that much better than HDMI? I think if you really want to have it, there must be someone who could modify these players. Youd void your warranty, but it could be worth it.

 

[cinelife]

......Is HD-SDI really that much better than HDMI?

Not in my opinion. It does create a more direct signal, but in the two modified units I saw (one BR Player, one KPLAYER) it did not translate into a better image IMO. Both viewing instances were on small displays however (50" and 60" IIRC), so in fairness, it is "possible" that an improvement might been seen on a large display, but I'd think this improvement if it were indeed visible would be very minor at best (based on what I saw (or didn't see) on the smaller screens).


Jim

 

[Mr.Poindexter]

I think one of the big advantages has HD-SDI is that HD-SDI works. You can drive a very long singal with no issues because there is no HDCP handshake to deal with. I haven't used HD-SDI, but I did have SDI on an older DVD player (still have it in fact) and it was very nice.

 

[JerryL]

Ive been told what Jim says about HDSDI vs HDMI several times- that in practice its not much better but Ive never seen it. Certainly distances are an issue with HDMI but there are companies that make HDMI extenders- some even turn HDMI into cat 5 and let you run a cat5e cable.

 

[brodricj]

Yes, for me HD-SDI is not about aiming for better picture quality over HDMI, it's about having a picture at all! I get so frusted at times with HDCP, trying to work out why I'm not getting a picture and it's mostly due to HDCP. I just can't rely on turning components on in the right order, or switching a component off then on again, to correctly negotiate the handshake. For me the $1000 it's likely to cost to mod a player, if it can be done, is worth it on reliability alone.

 

[JerryL]

I completely understand your frustration. I also understand the content owners concern over copying but really, what is more likely, something gets copied over an unencrypted HDMI cable or inside a computer?