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Look I love Parasound I have the 7100 and 5 channel amp and will be getting the 2250 when it comes out but it is WAY too later for these new upconverting regular DVD players with HD-DVD coming out at such cheap prices. I hope financially they can handle this odd move at such a late time in DVD's life span. I think they should scrap it. J.H.
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Well... Personally, I think it's great that Parasound finally releases a DVD that aesthetically matches the rest of the HALO line.
I would definitely get the D3, if it wasn't for the fact that I'm now considering upgrading my C2 towards a Meridian 861 in order to get digital outputs. If I'm upgrading the processor to the 861, the logical choice is to get a Meridian 800 DVD to match...
Peter -
I think its great too but just a year or 2 to late. Time to work on a HD-DVD/Blu Ray player that matches the Halo and NC lines. J.H.Comment
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And that player will once again arrive 1-2 years too late... What's the difference?Originally posted by J.H.
If you want to stay on the leading edge, I think a player like the Meridian 800 is a good choice. When technology changes, you just replace an internal board. (Ok, you pay an arm and a leg for that board but it keeps your expensive investment on the bleeding edge... :B )
FWIW, I'm still using a Sony DVP-S7700 (hardware modified to be region and Macrovision free)
PeterComment
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How much cash is the Meridian just out curiusity? J.H.Comment
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Around $20k
PeterComment
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You'd also have to replace the optical drive in the case of BluRay/HD-DVDOriginally posted by Peter Nielsen
As for the stupidity of it.... well I expect DVD to still be around for a while yet and for people who have the $$$ and want a really high performing, top end DVD player... maybe it's not so stupid. I mean do you plan to throw out your entire DVD collection anytime soon? If I had the money, I'd give them a good look myself (and the higher end Denon's). Why not get the best performance out of my hundred of discs....? Not to mention DVD-A and SACD that might be important to people. Who knows what will be available in those formats on initial next gen. players? I doubt Sony will be releasing any DVD-A friendly BluRay players :lol:JasonComment
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That's right... AFAIK, that's just another "module" in the Meridian DVD...Originally posted by aud19
Modular soultions are great, if they're supported right. (Which AFAIK is the case with Meridian).
PeterComment
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Yeah but after replacing the board and the drive....why not just get a new player...? :lol:Originally posted by Peter NielsenJasonComment
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I agree with J.H. on this one. Why put down thousands now on a high end non-HD universal player when finally Blue ray and HD equipment are arriving. Pioneer Elite has announced its releasing its Blue Ray 1080p player in a few months at $1,500 and that certainly will be no slouch. In fact, I understand that you don't need to throw away those hundreds of DVD discs since they will be compatible with the new players -- have you not heard that?AdzComment
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Maybe because you bought the Meridian player in 2001... And after replacing the boards, it's 100% up to date and offers features that nobody else on the market has.Originally posted by aud19
The Meridian 861 processor is a good example. It's several years old. Still, it has features that late models from Parasound, Lexicon, Krell, etc. are missing. (Digital outputs, room EQ, etc).
PeterComment
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Maybe because you don't have an HD display, nor will be getting one in the near future? Speak for yourselves, but until there is compelling programming (not just DiscoveryHD), finalized formats, and movies being released in HD, I won't be buying HD anything. Stuff is changing so fast, anything you buy now will be obsolete or at least not the best in a year or two. Look at all the people who went out and dropped $5k on a 720p HD display just last year. Now the top-of-the-line 1080p display is $5k. Sure, the 720p will look good playing DVDs for now, but the point is what was top-shelf went to ho-hum very quickly, and we STILL don't have any HD programming to speak of.Why put down thousands now on a high end non-HD universal player when finally Blue ray and HD equipment are arrivingComment
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[QUOTE]Huh??? Please show me the person putting down $3,500 today for a Denon 5910 for example that doesn't own an HD Display.Originally posted by CP-Mike
Here ya go, dude!Speak for yourselves, ..... but until there is....finalized formats, and movies being released in HD, I won't be buying HD anything.
Bingo. So why buy an audiophile grade non HD universal player today? One can argue its obsolete now or at least by this Spring.Stuff is changing so fast, anything you buy now will be obsolete or at least not the best in a year or two.
Do you mean programming like on Cable? I have over 20 Hi Def channels on my Hi-def Cable Box and they seem to keep adding on another channel periodically, albeit slowly.and we STILL don't have any HD programming to speak of.AdzComment
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20 thousand! Thats quite a jumo from Parasound prices then. I wouldn't expect it to sound that much better though. Thats a a lot of money. good luck if you do. Hey again out of curiosity what is the warranty on something like that? Something that expensive must come with some warranty. J.H.Comment
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CP-MIKE, that's a poor way to look at it. Look, I don't care if you wait 5 years and buy the top of the line then. The next year will come out with something better, it's the nature of the beast. Deal with it. At least we are enjoying what we have right now. As far as the TVs go, my Optoma 65" DLP looks incredible with HD content. That will not change. 1080P souces will just get downscaled to 720P when displayed on my TV and still look fantastic. That is when there actually is a 1080P source. I know they are showing up on the market now, but that's just now. If you have been missing HD over the last couple years, that's your loss. It's been awesome to say the least and worth every penny I spent on the gear needed to see and hear it. My take is that there is always something better out there and if you can afford it, great. If not, get what you can afford. Look at your speakers. I love my Veritas and they sound great. Are there better speakers, hell yes. If I bought the best ones today, tomorrow there will be a better pair. Will the ones I just bought still sound great, once again hell yes.
As far as the new universal players go, I'm getting one for sure. The Halo will be mine.
I can use it for all my DVD-A and SACD pleasures and for my DVD collection. When I find the Hi-def DVD/BluRay player I want then I will add that to my stack then. I will still use the universal player as my music player and life will be great. I just don't see the problem with buying what is available today. If you need to replace it down the road, sell it or put it in another room. Peace.Parasound Halo C2
Earthquake Cinenova Grande (5ch amp)
Crown X1000 (2ch amp)
Oppo BDP103
Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 21 Tube DAC
Xbox One
Monster Cable Signiture Series HTPS 7000
Panasonic 60" ST Series Plasma
BenQ HT1075 projector w/ 92" Dragonfly screen
Energy Veritas 2.2i fronts
Energy Veritas 2.0i center
CAT Tiburon series side surround
Energy E-XL 15 rear surround
Velodyne SMS-1
Custom 15" sealed sub (Diamond Audio TDX15)Comment
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Because "AUDIOphile" means you care about good AUDIO. I want something to play CD, SACD, and DVD-A that doesn't sound thin, shrill, or like I have a bag over my head. And that doesn't have a layer-change pause for when I do watch DVD's.So why buy an audiophile grade non HD universal player today?
My point was that with all the issues like competing formats, incompatible equipment, I can see why Parasound does not want to deal with all the crap that comes with being one of the first to adopt a new technology. And I do not want to buy in to something only to have it be obsolete a few months later. Like all the people who bought SACD only or DVD-A only players. They got screwed. So I refuse to buy anything HD until there's widespread compatibility. Compatability of an HDMI device with all other HDMI devices, including switching boxes, and compatability in terms of one player being able to handle all formats.
Of course, "obsolete" is relative. I don't mean something is obsolete if it isn't the latest and greatest, I mean obsolete in terms of, it won't work with newer stuff. An excellent SD DVD player, while not the latest and greatest, will always be an excellent SD DVD player. But an HD DVD player that has a crappy HDMI interface that won't work with the newer TVs or allow a switcher to be used, is obsolete because better players are coming if not already here.
Adz, what 20 channels do you have in HD? I can get 18 HD channels with DishNetwork, unfortunately, all of them suck. Well, there's ESPN, HBO and Showtime, which some people might like, but the rest are all inane channels that I've never heard of, like some HD news channel. Just what I need: Spend $4k on HD-related hardware so I can see the mole on the news person's face a little better. Wow. Getting local channels in HD on over-the-air antennas would be cool, except that in my area the studios are too poor to broadcast anything in HD, and even if they weren't, only select shows are in HD anyway. Not to mention that SD programming on HD displays can look far worse than SD programming on an SD display.Comment
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Originally posted by CP-Mike
Optimum from Cablevision in NY is pretty good. I'll list them out tomorrow but its several movie channels, and the gold standard INHD I And II which is no doubt the best HD picture and pretty good content out there.AdzComment
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I can't wait until Dec 31 of this year, when allegedly, all shows (or a high percentage) must be broadcast in HD. It'd be nice if it really happened, but I can just imagine the deadline coming and going, and nobody really doing anything about it. Especailly with satellite. They barely have enough bandwidth for the current programming in its highly-compressed state as it is. I can only imagine how many more satellites they'd need to broadcast all 200-some channels in HD.Comment
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Ah, I see where you are coming from now. Audiophile was a bit misleading....My comments were really meant to be directed at someone with a limited budget in the market now for a high-end DVD player for home theater viewing (not a high end CD player) who plunks down his bonus or tax refund on a player today only to be kicking him or herself in 6-8 months time.Originally posted by CP-Mike
Getting back to your other qustion, you should check to see what Hi-Def cable channels you have in your area. I have these 18
INHD I (II to follow)
ABC HD
CBS HDTV
NBC HDTV
FOX HDTV
PBS HDTV
WB HDTV
ESPN HDTV
FOX Sports Net NY HDTV
MSG Network HDTV (Knicks, Rangers, Mets)
YES HDTV (Yankees)
Universal Studios HDTV (Movies)
HBO HDTV
CineMax HDTV
SHO HDTV
STARZ HDTV
TMC HDTV
Hi-Def on DemandAdzComment
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Hey adz I have cablevision thus the same channels. I notice you put INHDII later. I would love to see that do you know when? I hate INHDI and love INHDII because they have the Movie trailer show in HD. Thanks J.H.Comment
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No offense Adz, but "someone with a limited budget" is NOT going to spend $2k+ on a DVD player period. As has been mentioned and is obvious by the people posting here with the same ideas, there's certainly still a market for people who want a good universal DVD player.Originally posted by Adz
Even if everything goes nice and smooth with the new formats, how long do you think it will be before there's a variety of mid to high end truly universal HD players out there? I mean one's with working/compatible HDMI that play DVD-V, DVD-A, SACD, HD-DVD and BluRay. And that's if either/both formats succeed at all. Until that happens, I'll wait thanks and if I can, I'll do it with a nice universal SD DVD player.JasonComment
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Jason, I think Adz meant something like "not willing to spend $10k" when he said "limited budget". Anybody who is looking for a "high-end" dvd player should know (or will quickly find out) that they need to spend about $2000 to really get to the higher end.
That sums up exactly what I was trying to say in a much cleaner, more pithy package.Even if everything goes nice and smooth with the new formats, how long do you think it will be before there's a variety of mid to high end truly universal HD players out there? I mean one's with working/compatible HDMI that play DVD-V, DVD-A, SACD, HD-DVD and BluRay. And that's if either/both formats succeed at all. Until that happens, I'll wait thanks and if I can, I'll do it with a nice universal SD DVD player.Comment
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:lol: :TOriginally posted by CP-MikeJasonComment
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Jason,
Its what CP-Mike said. There are buyers out there looking to spend $1-3k on a Universal player but who have limited budgets -- these factors are not mutually exclusive.
I disagree with everything else you said though and we'll see how it unfolds over the next 6-18 months in terms of what's out there, who waits and who jumps in. I know I'd rather buy Pioneer Elite's Blue ray universal player (even though it won't play HD DVD) for $1,500 then put down $2,000-3,500 for a non-HD player, that;s for sure.AdzComment
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Never under estimate the insane obsessive-compulsive nature of us want-a-be audiophiles. I might. I haven’t yet. But I think about it a lot.Originally posted by aud19
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ADZ, comparing the high def schedules of local broadcast HD for NYC, and anywhere else in the US where most of us live outside a major market, would be like comparing the Broadway show schedule too, just fyi-
This thread seems all over the place, but I'm going to make a general comment, and you can decide how "on" it is.
You'll find that decisions concerning processor based items, whether advanced DVD, or pre-processor, will be slower decisions for US based smaller companies, than decisions concerning amps, speakers, and so on.
They have to make agreements in advance to secure the imported works and this takes time. I think that's why you see US companies and others fall behind in processing time for products like this. Yeah, sometimes even an entire product line behind.Doug
"I'm out there Jerry, and I'm loving every minute of it!" - KramerComment
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Agree. I don't have Over the Air local broadcast though. It's Cablevision but I think that's what you meant. NY Area cable is divided into Cablevision (called Optimum IO), and Time Warner.Originally posted by LexAdzComment
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HD locals are pretty solid here in WashDC (even though we're only the #9 TV market) plus all the goodness I get from D* (ESPN-HD, ESPN2-HD, HDNet, DiscHD, etc etc), makes it all worthwhile. My HD set is almost four years old and I can't imagine just getting into the ballgame now. So many years of beautiful pictures and "feels like you're there" sports...
You don't have to be in the #1 market to enjoy it...
-MikeComment
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