Let's Discuss HD Combo Players!

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 04 May 2008, 21:51

you do realise i'm winding you up don't you Brad

seems to be working as well

Lourdes · Post by **Lourdes** » 04 May 2008, 22:02

Ahaha, so he's at AVS as wel as AVFl. Jesus! What a sad little life.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 05 May 2008, 00:15

Yes correct I post on AVForums and AVSForum. There is virtually no talk on AVForums about Combo Player. So I went elsewhere.

Except 2 posts (maybe 1) I've not ventured outside of the Dual Format Players subforum.

saltysam wrote:you do realise i'm winding you up don't you Brad seems to be working as well

No offence but it's hard to tell with you sometimes

.

When Lourdes, Ivan, Tigercage or Shingster post I know they're being knobs and serious. Shingster sometimes has something sensible to say. When everyone else posts I know usually they aren't being sincere, when they take the mick.

You I have trouble working it out

, although you're never a knob like the aforementioned characters.

I just know if I wind you up you usually get all serious at me

p.s - Joking or not, just to show I don't encourage "people to think I am some LG Combo expert", see here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost ... count=1549

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 05 May 2008, 07:03

bradavon wrote:
I just know if I wind you up you usually get all serious at me

Only when you post private pm's on public forums

btw i went back into My Argos yesterday on the way home from work and the manager's special combo has been sold.as i thought it must have been a one only return.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 05 May 2008, 15:57

I'm so getting an LG BH200 sooner or later.

It's now possible to switch between BD Region A, Region B or Region C using the remote. It may not be possible to make it Region Free though. If you recall the hardware hacks from those Euro companies entail you switching back and fourth between Region A and Region B but there is no way to make it Region Free.

It's also possible to alter it to SD DVD Region Free and support PAL on models from the Americas.

But the best news is a Euro Region B model can be switched to Region A (which I'd leave it on most of the time) meaning I won't have to import one from America and can get one with a 220v power supply. The warranty won't be void too.

Oddly the Euro models by default seem to have the Network Update option disabled (there's literally no option) so Region B and Network Update is not possible.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 24 May 2008, 18:15

LG and Samsung pulling out of Combo Players:

"Since February this year, we have no longer been producing combo players that support the playback of HD-DVD and Blu-ray high-definition discs" a spokesperson from Samsung Electronics told The Korea Times

"Surely, it is a very tough decision for us to halt the production of the combos, however, we will stop manufacturing the Super Blu series from the second half of this year" said a spokesman from LG Electronics.

Read on: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/na ... 24018.html
Source: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthre ... st13847918

I've known about this since the 12th of May but didn't get around to posting it here.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 30 May 2008, 18:45

Just a quick update to say Samsung have finally released firmware to bring it in-line with LG's Combo Player:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1034409

Profile 1.1 support
TrueHD on-board decoding - Analogue or HDMI
TrueHD converted to DTS - SPDIF
DTS-HD MA bitstream
TrueHD Bitstream
DD+ Bitstream

As expected the LG BH200 still trumps it though:

1. PAL support
2. SD DVD Region Free support
3. Ability to switch between Blu-ray regions A, B or C - Making it effectively BD Region Free!

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 02 Jun 2008, 18:31

Yipeey my LG BH200 Super Blu Player arrived today or as I'll be calling it HD Combo Player

.

Some wee facts for you all:

1. I waited 3 months for an LG DVD Player I wanted, while a company got hold of stock then worked out how to added a Macrovision chip (before DVD Recorders took off).
2. I waited 3 months for a HDD/DVD Recorder I wanted to come to market, it didn't (a Toshiba) and a better one came along (Pioneer) so I bought that.
3. I waited a year for the right MP3 Player to come along, as all the existing Mini MP3 Players were only 8Gb at the time and I wanted more, my MP3 Player at the time already had 6Gb. My Sansa View has 16Gb (+ an Micro SDHC slot).
4. I've so far been waiting 6 months for the right HDD/DVD Recorder replacement to be released. The new Pioneer HDD/DVD Recorder/Media Centres look awesome. I suspect I'll get one of those.

So 18 months while longer than I wanted to wait is no real big deal. I've never been one to rush out and buy something that isn't right just because I'm too impatient to wait.

The LG BH200 meets everything I wanted from a HD Player (except Profile 2.0 and Analogue outputs, the former is possible) and more (DVD/BD Region changing ability). Why am I mentioning this? Because some on this forum think I was mad to wait so long, that's there loss, not mine.

I'm off to enjoy my new Player. I probably won't get a chance to watch a whole movie until later this week. I'm super busy this week.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 02 Jun 2008, 18:48

bradavon wrote:Yipeey my LG BH200 Super Blu Player arrived today or as I'll be calling it HD Combo Player .

Some wee facts for you all:

1. I waited 3 months for an LG DVD Player I wanted, while a company got hold of stock then worked out how to added a Macrovision chip (before DVD Recorders took off).
2. I waited 3 months for a HDD/DVD Recorder I wanted to come to market, it didn't (a Toshiba) and a better one came along (Pioneer) so I bought that.
3. I waited a year for the right MP3 Player to come along, as all the existing Mini MP3 Players were only 8Gb at the time and I wanted more, my MP3 Player at the time already had 6Gb. My Sansa View has 16Gb (+ an Micro SDHC slot).
4. I've so far been waiting 6 months for the right HDD/DVD Recorder replacement to be released. The new Pioneer HDD/DVD Recorder/Media Centres look awesome. I suspect I'll get one of those.

So 18 months while longer than I wanted to wait is no real big deal. I've never been one to rush out and buy something that isn't right just because I'm too impatient to wait..

talk about long winded waffle.did you write war & peace ?

bradavon wrote:Why am I mentioning this? Because some on this forum think I was mad to wait so long, that's there loss, not mine..

see this is what i mean about your ego.do you think anyone here truly gives a fuck about the length of time you took getting a player? wake up and smell the coffee Brad you just aren't that important enough for members on here to give a damn (Grim excepted) the same goes for all of us on here.

bradavon wrote:I'm super busy this week.

Have you got off your arse and gotten a job at last

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 02 Jun 2008, 18:59

Dont fry your dick when you shag its drivebay!

Not even Profile 2.0 and no Analogue outputs! crikey hahaa what a waste of time waiting all this time then

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 02 Jun 2008, 19:11

saltysam wrote:talk about long winded waffle.did you write war & peace ?

If there's one thing I do well it's "waffle"

. I don't do short posts/e-mails

.

saltysam wrote:see this is what i mean about your ego.do you think anyone here truly gives a fuck about the length of time you took getting a player?

Honest answer? No but then I also think about all the times it's been brought up ("without my input") and I start to wonder

. This thread would be half the length if it wasn't for yours (particularly) and others jabs about it

. I only intended to keep it up to date with News/Technical info.

I only posted that to respond to the dozens of times certain members have belittled me for waiting for the right player for me. I've never understood it myself.

saltysam wrote:wake up and smell the coffee Brad you just aren't that important enough for members on here to give a damn (Grim excepted) the same goes for all of us on here.

I'd hope so too but then I realise how often I'm the butt of jokes, more than most

but of course no one is particularly important on this forum, surely you don't honestly think my ego is that big? I actually have no ego. I'm surprised you think I do.

Romero, Lourdes, Mark (sometimes) and LD definitely have Egos. No one else does. Grim is great. If he was female we'd probably all want to marry him. A wife that doesn't nag, bliss!

bradavon wrote:Have you got off your arse and gotten a job at last

6 interviews and counting. 3 tomorrow, 2 Wednesday and 1 Thursday.

romerojpg wrote:Not even Profile 2.0 and no Analogue outputs! crikey hahaa what a waste of time waiting all this time then

That's actually pretty witty

.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 02 Jun 2008, 19:16

And just another bit of news:

It's been confirmed the LG BH100 Combo Player is BD Region Free out of the box (despite what the System Menu says). Oddly it's not SD DVD Region Free too, but that's easily fixed.

Not that I'd recommend anyone actually buying one.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 02 Jun 2008, 19:20

Do people try other Blu Ray regions with it then (not a and b)?

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 02 Jun 2008, 19:27

An American owner tried a confirmed Region B disc (Breaking and Entering) and it worked. Likewise a UK owner tried a confirmed Region A disc (Reservoir Dogs) and it too worked.

No Region C disc has been tried AFAIK but I'd be surprised if they're RA+RB but not RC too. It's all in the latter pages of the AVS Forum BH100 thread here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=789598

The BH200 cannot be made Region Free but it is easy to switch between RA, RB or RC. This time the System Menu does change and it's been confirmed RA/RB discs work.

This bodes well for something being possible on LG's first BD only player, being released sometime this year. I don't know when as it doesn't interest me. I'd be surprised if it's BD Region Free out of the box too, but you never know.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 02 Jun 2008, 22:31

After upgrading the firmware, switching it to BD Region A and making it SD DVD Region Free I quickly tested Die Hard USA BD works in my Euro Player (it does) then watched the opening sequence of Casino Royale.

It looked incredible, so sharp, the colours were so strong and this is with only giving the setup menu a quick once over, and crucially only on a 32" HD Ready TV (new TV later in the year). Those who reckon a 32" TV isn't big enough to see a difference between DVD and HD are talking rubbish!

The LG's DTS Re-Encode option rocks. I checked out the DD track and it sounded a bit plain, clearly the bitrate is too low. The PCM converted to Full-rate 1.5Mbps Legacy DTS however sounded awesome and to think it's not even Lossless audio.

The LG BH200 takes a short while to load a disc but it's not a huge amount of time and I hear it's better than other HD Players. I'm only able to compare it to my Pioneer DV-868AVi which loads DVDs much quicker. It's no way a big deal though.

It will probably be a few days before I get to watch a film in full but I cannot wait.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 02 Jun 2008, 23:51

as you reckon you see a huge difference even with your out of date tv i imagine when you upgrade you will buy another 32 inch tiddler.as eva said bigger would disturb the feng shei of your bedsit :twisted:

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 03 Jun 2008, 00:54

Fuck off!

I wanted to post to give my first impressions of my new Player and all you can continue to be is a dick head about it. There's absolutely no evidence stating you cannot see any difference between SD and HD on a 32" TV. Continue talking bollocks for all I care.

You cannot even get 32" Full HD TVs

.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 03 Jun 2008, 08:44

priceless,

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 03 Jun 2008, 09:08

bradavon wrote:You cannot even get 32" Full HD TVs .

You can from several brands actually

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 03 Jun 2008, 12:12

gasteropod wrote:
bradavon wrote:You cannot even get 32" Full HD TVs .
You can from several brands actually

How dare you correct the HD webmaster of AVS forums?You will end up being burned at the stake sonny

Killer Meteor · Post by **Killer Meteor** » 03 Jun 2008, 12:26

Gee, is there anything Brad is NOT clueless about?

I swear he does it on purpose.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 03 Jun 2008, 12:37

Ivan Drago wrote:
I swear he does it on purpose.

i believe you may well be right.no-one can be this thick,it's got to be an internet persona he's cultivating.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 03 Jun 2008, 15:39

You guys calling me clueless, that's hilarious

. Seriously it is, you're clueless about many things Salty.

gasteropod wrote:You can from several brands actually

I didn't know that, cheers. Which brands?

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 03 Jun 2008, 16:03

bradavon wrote: you're clueless about many things Salty.?

this gets better

bradavon wrote: I didn't know that, cheers. Which brands?

and better again

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 03 Jun 2008, 17:11

If you can tell the difference between HD and SD on a 17 inch monitor (which I can easily), your gonna tell the difference on a 32 TV inch screen, esspecially if you sit really close (I sit 3 foot away from my 40 inch and I dind it perfection at at that distance).

Difference is larger is better and you see more difference tha larger you go, for instance yes it may look better on your 32 incher, think how much of a difference it would be on a 100 incher

you would shit your pants.

I did, and do regulary when I shit in front of my screen, as long as your not that distance all the time mind you, as porno close up in HD is bad for the screen

needs cleaning a lot.