How important is load time?

[Iguana Man]

Not layer change, but actual load time from pushing the power button to seeing an image. Is it more important than video, audio, build quality, or the 'look' of the player?

And does it hinder your options in buying a particular player?

Yes. It's obvious WHY I AM POSTING THIS! Sorry. Uhmmm, anyone care to put a priority on load time given the other options to be considered?

[Pirate]

Priority List:

1. Video
2. Audio
3. Inputs/Outputs
4. Functionality and Design (i.e., no overheating, etc.)
5. Load Times
6. Disc Tray

[dugpa]

It's not that important to me. I usually turn on the player, tv and receiver all at the same time. The blub has to get to full brightness, the reciever has it's little start up sequence to do, I have to get the lights turned off and myself on the sofa, and of course the player has to start. So by the time I sit down usually everything has run it's course and I'm ready to go.

[Pirate]

I have an "All On" button on my Pronto remote. In seconds everything is ready to go… except the HD DVD player, which is still thinking about it. My PJ warms up, but the A1 is still deciding whether or not it wants to open. I then put the disc in and have a seat. I click "lights" and the lights dim, but there’s no film to watch yet.

LOADING…

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

Priority List:

1. Video
2. Audio
3. Inputs/Outputs
4. Functionality and Design (i.e., no overheating, etc.)
5. Load Times
6. Disc Tray

I think that sums up my preferences too. And it probably took me longer to type these two sentences than most players load which is a good thing.

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

I have an "All On" button on my Pronto remote. In seconds everything is ready to go…

No, your Z2 needs time to boot too. There is no way you can tell me that thing is at it's best within 1 minute of boot up. At best, warm up on that thing is 2 minutes. So....hehehehe.

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

No, your Z2 needs time to boot too. There is no way you can tell me that thing is at it's best within 1 minute of boot up. At best, warm up on that thing is 2 minutes. So....hehehehe.

My Z2 is pretty fast, but by the time the A1 is ready to go, the PJ has lost interest and is making shadow puppets.

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

My Z2 is pretty fast, but by the time the A1 is ready to go, the PJ has lost interest and is making shadow puppets.

PH. Come on man. The Z2 (I own it too) takes several minutes to warm up just like any other display. If Video it tops for you, then you HAVE to agree that warm up on the PJ is important and thus waiting for the A1 to load is minor, at best.

[Pirate]

I agree with you, but I don't think my Z2 takes several minutes to warm up. And even if I had the slowest PJ in the world, I only need to push one button for it to start. I have to wait on the A1 to get to step two.

[MooglePorn]

Well the PS3 loads up pretty much instantly, so I don't really know how bad load times can be to compare.

When I used the 360 HD DVD drive for a brief period I don't remember it taking very long either, maybe a few seconds.

So... I can't really say without experiencing a "bad" load time. As a matter of fact, I think the PS3 goes from power on to playing the movie faster than my standard DVD Sony upscaling player.

[dugpa]

Originally Posted by piratehunter

I agree with you, but I don't think my Z2 takes several minutes to warm up.

All displays take time for the lamp to warm up and fully stabilize. 10 to 15 minutes is the recomended time, though I have to confess I'm impatient and usually start watching after a couple of minutes. It's close enough by then.

[Vonner]

For me, the load time is a close second behind how well a player plays 8-track tapes.

[chlngr1970]

Originally Posted by Vonner

For me, the load time is a close second behind how well a player plays 8-track tapes.

j

[Sehnzeleid]

I think that load time is big question for current BD players and connected to the reason I'm not buying a player just yet. I'd hate to buy a Profile 1.0 player now only to face potential compatibility issues will future Blu-ray titles. Either long load times or not loading at all have already been documented with a couple BD-J titles. Of course, HD DVD players haven't been 100% problem-free, but it would suck to be "one of those people" stuck with an Profile 1.0 device when BD-J starts getting more plentiful and complex on Blu-rays.

2008: "It looks and sounds awesome, but the disc took 4 minutes to load and the menu system had massive lag with my 64K of persistent storage player."

[Iguana Man]

Jarhead on my HDAO loaded quickly. And it looked stunning.

Spoiler (Highlight or Triple Click to Read):

Bitch!

[jriseden]

If it's any movie starring J.Lo's big round booty then it better load super duper lightspeed damn skippy fast!

There are some things that need my immediate attention!

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by dugpa

It's not that important to me. I usually turn on the player, tv and receiver all at the same time. The blub has to get to full brightness, the reciever has it's little start up sequence to do, I have to get the lights turned off and myself on the sofa, and of course the player has to start. So by the time I sit down usually everything has run it's course and I'm ready to go.

Same here. The boot up time is slow for the hd-a2, but once the disc tray opens, and I put the disc in, it loads up pretty fast. I haven't been frustrated too much by it. The ps3 doesn't have any lag at all.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by dugpa

It's not that important to me. I usually turn on the player, tv and receiver all at the same time. The blub has to get to full brightness, the reciever has it's little start up sequence to do, I have to get the lights turned off and myself on the sofa, and of course the player has to start. So by the time I sit down usually everything has run it's course and I'm ready to go.

Same, indeedee.

Though I turn on everything manually with the Harmony 880

Gotta wait 40 seconds for my tv to get a full image
Receiver doesn't take to long
HD DVD takes around 20 seconds
Get a snack
Make some coffee
Get on the sofa
Shit, already missed part of the movie!

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by Derb

Make some coffee

That's just wrong. Sorry dude, but it's wrong.

(unless it's heavily influenced with either Sambuca or Baileys!)

[Derb]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

That's just wrong. Sorry dude, but it's wrong.

(unless it's heavily influenced with either Sambuca or Baileys!)

For the amount of BDs I have to.. err mean want to sit through, coffee is the ticket!

[dugpa]

Originally Posted by Derb

Shit, already missed part of the movie!

Now that, on the other hand, is something that bugs me. I wish Warner would make their discs go to the menu first. It's especially annoying if the soundtrack needs to be switched. And while I'm on the subject of things that bug me, why is the PCM track never the default when it's offered? I want some answers dammit!

[Derb]

Originally Posted by dugpa

And while I'm on the subject of things that bug me, why is the PCM track never the default when it's offered? I want some answers dammit!

A few titles have the PCM set to default. I notice more so on Lionsgate titles than any other studio. Same with dts being default. The reason is simple, dumb, but simple. Most people do not have analog or HDMI connections for their set-up. If the default was lossless, those many few would be listening to compressed 2CH audio.

[dugpa]

Originally Posted by Derb

The reason is simple, dumb, but simple. Most people do not have analog or HDMI connections for their set-up. If the default was lossless, those many few would be listening to compressed 2CH audio.

I don't know if I buy that. I would think most people who spend on an HD player are going to have HDMI or analog to get the advanced codecs. Though I suppose there is all those people with the toy players who probably don't care about quality.