One has to wonder with reviews like this one, what criteria are reviewers using to judge HD-DVD? Do these publications think that a slow loading tray or mediocre remote are really going to discourage potential buyers away from HD-DVD?

Of course not, people who are seriously considering HD-DVD are looking for one thing, owning and enjoying their favorite films in HD at their leisure. Now I?m not advocating that reviewers shouldn?t note minor bugs but let?s not lose sight of the big picture.

Well I?m happy to report that at least one publication kept in mind what potential buyers are really after, when they reviewed the Toshiba HD-XA1. Sound and Vision magazine proclaimed the HD-XA1 to be ?A Taste of Heaven? and finished their review with:

It ended up taking very little time for me to become accustomed to the stellar picture and cleaner, more open sound of HD DVD. Basically, I’m ruined ? I’ll never again be able to watch a regular DVD with an uncritical eye

The five page HD-XA1 review from Sound and Vision?s Rob Sabin paints a very different picture from that of Consumer Reports. Could this discrepancy in the reviews be due to the fact that Rob Sabin actually has a passion for AV, and not how slow a tray loads or how the remote operates?

R.Hollis

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 20th, 2006 at 5:14 am and is filed under HD-DVD, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.