Is anyone using an HDMI 1.3 source & display yet?

[Owen Bartley]

I know, I know, HDMI 1.3 as a topic is getting annoying, but I've read a lot of material (both pro and con) related to this new version, and I have yet to come across an actual review of a 1.3 capable source component, being sent to a 1.3 capable display. I guess I'm more concerned with the video performance at this point, i.e. deep color and “xvYCC” color, and I want to know if people really see a difference. Or are the current sources (DVD and HD-DVD/BD) not capable of using those features yet? Are the current displays even able to use them? When I was in Best Buy a while ago, the sales guy thought that their setup with the big 70" Sony was hooked up to the BD player via 1.3, but I don't remember the models of either, and I was skeptical.

I'm not trying to beat this topic to death, just want some genuine firsthand experience.

[bobgpsr]

The Toshiba HD-XA2 is HDMI 1.3 (a ?). But I'm only using it with component video. I have plans to get a HDMI 1.3 LCD display that refreshes at 120 Hz. The models I'm interested in become available in June or July.

[MACCA350]

I posted this in this thread

This quote is taken from here

It's tough to say there will be NO advantage from "deep color", but it will certainly not result in the dramatic improvement some people seem to expect.

First of all, there's no mass market deep color CONTENT out there. Consider:

* There will NEVER be deep color content on ANY future HD-DVD or Blue Ray discs. EVER. The disc formats don't support it.

* There will never be deep color content on standard DVD discs. Same reason.

* Deep color content on disc will require adoption of an entirely new disc format that is not even on the horizon yet. Think many years. Think how long it took HD-DVD and Blue Ray to get launched.

* Adding deep color content to broadcast TV, regardless of delivery method (off air, cable, or satellite) will require the adoption of a new HDTV standard. The current one doesn't support it. Think of how long it is taking to get HDTV into local stations right now. Again, we are talking many years. Even an outfit that controls both transmission and receivers, such as DirecTV, is going to be hard pressed to do anything because there'll be nobody producing "deep color" content for them to transmit (since OTA HDTV doesn't support it).

* The industry doesn't have the tools yet to digitize traditional, film stock based movies that well. So even if there WERE a way to get the content to the consumer, the production of the content would be dependent upon digitally originated and produced live action films (a technology just getting going) or computer based animation rendering. And of course that would only work for NEW films -- not existing libraries.

So since the content isn't there, where is the mass market deep color going to come from? The answer is that it can only come as the result of various processing algorithms on regular old 8 bit content. I.e., the extra bits are used to eliminate "rounding errors" during processing inside of some device.

[NOTE: Exclude from consideration experimental stuff that might be traded around the internet, or specialty formats such as, say, a new digital tape format (which is also not on the horizon yet). These are not mass market sources. "Deep Color" WILL, on the other hand, appear in games -- basically as a gimmick.]

cheers

[Owen Bartley]

Wow, thanks Macca, that's what I was looking for. It's pretty disappointing actually, I'd thought it was going to have a bigger impact. Although the upside is now I will feel pretty safe with a TV that may or may not be 1.3 compatible. Thankfully I'm not going to be receiver or pre/pro shopping for a while, that would be more of a factor.

Bob, let us know what new display you decide on!