Performance
We loved the high definition performance of the EP30. Connecting it to
a Philips 1080p TV showed us how awesome HD DVD can look at full
resolution. We put in our HD DVD copy of The Matrix,
from our trilogy box set. The detail in faces and accurate colours were
excellent. The Matrix had the green shading that is intended to remind
us what's happening in the computer program and what takes place in the
real world.
Upscaled DVD was impressive too, with our Mission: Impossible II disc showing up plenty of detail. There was one thing we did notice, however -- using the 1080p/24 mode on M:I-II caused the picture to stutter. Switching back to just 1080p cleared it up though, so worse case scenario, you'll have to go into the menu and adjust this by hand. Perhaps a future firmware update will solve this problem.
Sound on the EP30 depends entirely on what you connect it to. We used the internal TV speakers and were very pleased with the clarity of the sound. To get the best out of the high definition sound on HD DVD you'll need to connect it to an AV receiver that can handle DTS or Dolby True HD.
The EP30 can output DTS HD (core only, up to 6.1 channels), Dolby True HD and Dolby Digital Plus. Because the HDMI socket supports version 1.3 of the standard, you'll be able to send all these glorious high-quality soundtracks to a suitable equipped receiver.
Our main disappointment is that the EP30 doesn't include analogue 5.1 outputs. This makes using HDMI unnecessary, and means people with older surround-sound systems can get some benefit from the lossless audio used on many HD DVDs.
We continue to be seriously impressed by the simplicity and smooth running of the HD DVD interactive features. If anything, the EP30 improves on the E1 in this regard, menus and other HDi features are as smooth as silk and are a joy to use.
Conclusion
We like the EP30 -- it's a great player that offers very high-quality
pictures at a reasonable price point. That said, it's still a lot more
expensive than the E1, which you can still buy if you look around.
The nearest equivalent Blu-ray player would probably be low-end Sony BDP-S300, which costs around £300. If you want to be platform independent, perhaps you should wait until the Samsung dual player comes out.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday
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User reviews2
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Count Stex 24 January 2008
Good: Superb image quality at a bargain price
Bad: Still a slow load time
Comment: Like all HD players the load times are still a little long, however once up and running I find this unit faultless. Watching PiP Bluescreen commentary on 300 is just fantastic. At it's current price point it's worth it just for an upscaller, add to the mix the quality HD-DVD aspects and it pretty much unbeatable.
Jacky Walker 8 January 2008
Good: Cheap entry level HD, good quality picture
Bad: Seriously flawed 'resume' facility
Comment: This is a competent player (though nothing warms me to it, it is just a box). The loading, deloading and open tray delays are really tedious, but I understand standard for HD.
What I found SO annoying, that I nearly threw the thing out on the first day, is that there are few circumstances where you can resume play from where you stopped, mid movie. And that becomes zero circumstances after you've put the machine on standby. So if you're like me, and frequently want to pause a film part way overnight, forget it. You're back to the start of the disc and manually finding your place again.
Toshiba tell me there is a free firmware upgrade (they can send a cd) which will improve the situation, but not completely cure it as HD disc manufacturers are apparently not yet coding the resume function into their discs.
COME ON GUYS - grow up. There are people out here who want equipment that works efficiently. If an ordinary DVD and DVd player can do this with no problems, an HD should be able to as well.
Oh, and apparently the EP30 doesn't play MP3 files, another backwards step.
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