Thinkpads Forum

Has anyone tried 1920 x 1080p high definition video on a T61p with a WUXGA screen? How does it look?

What video source did you use? What client did you play it with? How did it look compared to regular video?

Steve Jobs' keynote talk at Mac World got me thinking about downloading high def or playing blu-ray on my T61p. I don't think either is practical right now but maybe someone here has done it.

while i don't have one, my friend uses MOVs or .264s and they look great. Those MKV (from sources i wont mention) look pretty good. This is just playing it with the FFDSHOW codec in Windows Media Player on Vista.

Downloading HD movies legally might not be practical yet, but many are doing so in a way that's illegal in many places.

I've played HD on a Dell with lower specs than T61p, other than the 17" WUXGA, and it looked good.

You can test it legally. There's some short sample files a few places on the web. I think one or two were from companies selling HDTV products like USB tuners. There's Microsoft's page: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... wcase.aspx
Try google of:
HDTV sample
You might need VLC or another good player to play some samples.
Maybe you could use a file-sharing program to obtain longer non-copyrighted HD material.

There's also the old HD edition of Terminator 2, on a regular DVD. I think it's cheap. There's a free sample of that somewhere too, possibly from Microsoft.

Just noticed that you specified 1920x1080p. Most sources I mentioned are not at that resolution, but some samples probably are.

Some imax films might be available at that resolution, as imax film could easily support it, and some films are short enough to make it easier to fit full 1080p onto a dvd, perhaps still in 1080p even after compression.

By dvd, I mean a regular non-HD type of dvd. But one that must be played on a PC, as it contains files that regular dvd players can't handle.

If you haven't been there, avsforum.com is a great resource. There's a section for PCs as home theaters.

Wow! I just tried it with a video from the Microsoft source that Eyestrain listed (1080p IMAX). It looks incredible! In fact, this is the first time that I have been able to really appreciate the resolution and color depth in this panel. Gotta get a blueray, now (wish I hadn't opened this thread). The machine had no problem running it either - not a hitch - less than 20% CPU. Used WMP to play it.

I've made some progress since my last post in this thread. I've bought a DVI to HDMI cable to attach between my T61 minidock and my Sony HD TV. I've downloaded the Windows Media 1080p and 720p samples from Microsoft.

I really like what I see. The color seems more accurate on the T61p WUXGA screen than on the 32 inch Sony Bravia, but the screen is more vibrant on the Sony. High def is stunning on both.

The default docked mode with the DVI to HDMI cable attached seems to be presenting the video BOTH on the HDTV and the WUXGA screen. I guess I didn't need presentation manager after all.

I plan to buy some WMAHD movies from Amazon for now. I can't wait to get a Blu-Ray Ultrabay Slim drive this spring or summer.

hehe, well if you really want you could get the a HD-DVD player or the Xbox360 HD-DVD player for $129 (Amazon had it on sale for $79.99) You could then get your HD fix now instead of buying WMV HD discs that would only be playable on your PC (or a few select players) The HD-DVD player is cheap and even tho HD-DVD (FTW LOL -- yes i know i know... i wanted it to win tho) is dead you could still just use it as a regular DVD player later on for your kids room or something.

You'll still get stunning HD feeds (even higher quality too i heard) connected directly over HDMI. Feed the need!