D-vhs

[Sithlord]

Just curious if anyone on this forum has experienced this format? I have read most of the reviews of the titles that have come out and they are all very impressive for both Picture and Sound. After reading the reviews I looked on Ebay and there is a JVC player the HM-DH4000 for $329US so I bought it. I have ordered 4 titles, Master & Commander, X-men 2, U571 and Alien. I guess it was just out of curiosity to see just how much beter this format is over dvd. Both DD and DTS are in their highest bitrates much like laserdisc and dvd just (for me), hasn't matched the best DTS laserdiscs that I remember being just amazing. Sure there are some great sounding dvds out there but knowing that we are only experiencing half the potential of both DD and DTS, I simply must hear what D-VHS has to offer. I know that HD-DVD is on the horizon but I couldn't wait and this bickering over a format is just ridiculous, and us Aussies have to wait even longer after it arrives in the US . Well the player will arrive by Friday but the titles could be next week. As soon as it all arrives I will evaluate each movie and post my findings. Damm I hate this hobby sometimes :B

Here is a site that did some reviews of some of the titles

http://www.docdvd.com/index.php?module=reviews&category=dvhs

[aud19]

I'm interested to see your review. That's a lot of $$$ to drop down on a "stop-gap" format..... Though as you say in AUS you have to wait even longer for tech so....

[Sithlord]

Well I thought the cost of the player was cheap. Shipped to me here it was $530AUD considering that the player was over a $1000US new. Regarding the titles I only purchased 2 as my brother bought the others. I'm sure when I'm done I will sell the player and the titles and should be fun until HD arrives. I just want to experience true surround the way it is meant to be heard. I just hope my place holds out. U-571 and a SVS B4+ sub will bring most houses to it's knees on dvd so I'm kind of worried what the D-VHS will do. Ah what the hell I'm renting the landlord can fix it :g>

[aud19]

Sorry missed that, I was going on what I've seen of MSRP's... For $329US you can't go wrong especially, like you say, it will be a while before you can get HD-DVD/Bluray or whatever they come up with (if their talks pan out)

Either way, can't wait to hear what you have to say about it :T

[Sithlord]

Step down Adapter

Well I received the player. The only issue I have now is that I need a stepdown adapter to use it. My brother has one but the D-VHS player requires one that does 120v at 60hz 42watts when operating, his does 110v at 50hz. So you can imagine what I was thinking when I hooked it all up the player seemed to work fine put a D-VHS tape in played for about 20secs then shuts off. Suffice to say that I didn't get to hear any of the movie :cry: . I'm having alot of trouble trying to locate the correct adapter for this unit here in Australia. My question is does anyone know where I can find one that will do the job? The player uses a 2 prong male connection. Any assistance would be very much appreciated.

*Update: I found one cost me $45 works fine. Having trouble getting DTS to work. No where in the manual does it mention DTS, but I read on another forum that was normal. It may have something to do with a setting on my pre-amp. I have tried all of the audio options(PCM,Dobly D Stream) on the D-VHS player to no avail

[David Meek]

A lot of rumbling has been going on for some time now about how the number of titles announced for release is not what (few) titles are being released. On the surface, it appears the small effort put into this format is already headed out the door. But heck, for the price you got a good deal! :T

[Sithlord]

Ok worked it out. No where in the manual does it mention DTS weird. Anyway after selecting Stream audio option in the menu I read in the manual that you can cycle through the audio formats via the remote. So used the allocated button and sure enough it was on DD. By pressing it multiple times the cursor goes down to stream and presto DTS. So it appears that I need to do this every time I wish to listen to a DTS tape as it defaults to DD. I'm happy now.

Now on to the review. WOW is one word that comes to mind when watching a D-VHS movie. I watched League of Extraordinary Gentleman DTS (Highest Bitrate) and my god it blows dvd out of the water for both picture and sound. The soundstage is huge and more movie like than any dvd I own. The picture I cannot describe to you how much better than dvd it really is amazing stuff. I have always thought that after watching some dvds , that my tv just wasn't up to the challenge but it's all about the source and HD quality movies are just splendid. Cannot wait now until HD-DVD comes out if this is any indication. Now all I need is to obtain some more titles.

[David Meek]

That's right. Just tease me. :drool:

I'm glad you got the audio issue settled. Enjoy Simon, enjoy.

[Sithlord]

Sorry David but as far as I'm concerned dvd is dead. I'm not buying any more titles until HD-DVD comes out. I will hire them but I'm not wasting money on an inferior product not after seeing whats on the horizon. I have just ordered Master & Commander, X-Men 2 and I-Robot (D-VHS). I know that this format is also dead but it's is the only wat to see true HD and get the best audio to date in the home. I still can't get over the quality of the picture it's just so clear and the sound... Well I could go on. All I know is the 3 titles mentioned above are supposed to sound better than LOEG!! The other titles I'm hunting for are U-571 and Ice Age, some are going for silly prices on Ebay. The most expensive title is Alien and it went for $262 Australian dollars. Anyway I should have the new movies in 4 days from today (Friday). More reviews to come. :tv:

[Kens1]

It's nice to know that eventually the new TV I spent $5000.00 on will eventually have picture quality that is worth the $5000.00. Sounds very exciting - I'll have to start saving my pennies for a HD DVD player for when it finally gets all sorted out.
Thanks for the reviews.

[David Meek]

Sorry David but as far as I'm concerned dvd is dead. I'm not buying any more titles until HD-DVD comes out.

Agreed, and my purchases have been limited to titles that most likely won't be on HD for a loooong time (or ever), and the rare "must have it now" release - ooh, instant gratification. I feel so dirty. :

[George Bellefontaine]

Well I'm still buying some new releases but I tend to go for the oldies from the 50s, 60s, 70s, etc. that are just being released on dvd. Not likely that these will make it to hi def anyway. And if I wait for the winner of the hi-def dvd format I may be not buying anything for another year +, so I will continue to buy anything I want in my collection.

I saw a D-VHS and was quite impressed, but not enough to see me fork out the $1K they were asking for players at the time. I was also skeptical about studio support and my skepticism turned out to be real. Oh, well...

[Chris D]

Yeah, if you look, you'll find just about EVERY unit of D-VHS left out there on sale. Good pickings for the people who it's right for.

[Sithlord]

I just received I-Robot,X-Men2,Galaxy Quest and Master and Commander. I haven't watched all of them yet, just the first 15min of each and all I can say is I WANT MY HD-DVD NOW.