brett_day's Full Review: Toshiba HD-A2 Player HD-DVD Player
HD DVD or Blu-Ray? Thats the question on the tip of everyones tongue right now! For me, it is HD DVD. It to me is the natural successor to the dvd and second of all it is affordable and is not proprietary like Sony's Blu-Ray! Even though Universal just pledged their undying love to the blu camp, i still think the future is hd-dvd.
Right before Christmas you were able to pick up this player for under $100! if you were one of the lucky ones to pick one up, then my, what a bargain you got! I bought my player back in September for $250 and have not regretted it since!
The HDA2 from Toshiba is a great entry level HD DVD player, it can and will do everything you would expect a dvd player to do, except play HD DVD in 1080p. This is this players biggest downfall, but that does not make it a bad player! It is indeed a fantastic player that will play your HD DVD's in full 720p or 1080i! Both modes offer fantastic clarity and quality and the Dolby Digital 7.1 sound is truly stunning!
The player itself looks very nice! dark shiny black with silver, it looks like a very expensive piece of equipment. It is a little on the large size not in it's height but in it's length and width. The Dimensions are 3.00" h x 14.00" w x 16.90" l, 13.40 pounds, so it is a rather large size compared to dvd players.
The display on the front right of the unit is large and it easy to read, and it will display everything you expect it would. Picture output (720p/1080i)chapter selection and run time. To the left hand side of the unit you will see the power button, which when the unit is off glows with a red ring around it and when it is on it has a blue ring around it, which actually looks pretty classy.
Around the back you will find all of your connections. There is the standard High Definition Multimedia Interface or HDMI connector, there is a Tos-link (fiber optic) connector so you can connect this to your home cinema system so you can experience that 7.1 surround sound. Two sets of composite outputs, a super video connector, and an Ethernet port so you can connect to the web for web enabled content (which i might add is HD DVD specific and is not a feature of Blu-Ray) so not a whole lot of connectors but what more do you need? Everything you need is right there!
The HD DVD player is basically a computer. Inside you will find a motherboard and processors much like you would a home computer, this also explains the HDA2 and other next generation movie players long start up times. When you press the power button, it will take roughly 30-35 seconds to boot to the main screen, this is only a minor annoyance though as what is in store is well worth the wait and in the future firmware updates will fix the boot time issues anyway.
Setting up the HDA2 is a piece of cake once you have all of your cables hooked up and you turn the player on, you will be taken to the main setup menu! The menu is large and is easy to read in the screen and every option has an explanation of what it will do if you alter the settings. You can set up password so that your little ones cannot watch material that is not suitable for them while you are away, you can change the picture ratio's and the sound settings, and you can also change the black levels so that the black are either darker or lighter. If you can connect this to you home network then do, this way you will be able to update the firmware for your player. This is an evolving media and as such in order to play newer movies you must have the latest firmware. IF you cannot connect to the net, then no worries! Just sign up on www.toshiba.com and have them send you the firmware updates in a cd through the mail, it is free to do that as well!
So whats the picture like? Stunning is the answer! Even though it only puts out in 720p the picture is breathtaking! You can see every detail of the movie as it was intended to be seen! Crisp, Clear highly detailed pictures will fill your room and they will put a massive smile on your face! The colors are bright and vivid and just look amazing! You really have to see it to believe it! Not only does the HDA2 playback your HD DVD movies but it will also play back your current collection of dvd's in near High Definition. Honestly on some dvd you would really think that they are HD DVD and not regular dvd's! The best example i have come across yet is the Planet Earth collection. I have that in standard def and it blows me away when played back on the Toshiba unit! Again the sound when hooked up to a surround sound unit is unmatched! Pure lossless sound coming through your speaker! You can hear everything! The dialog is loud and clear and the surround effects on HD DVD discs compared to regular dvd's are ten times better! The difference is staggering to say the least!
The HDA2 will not play Blu-Ray! Do not buy this thinking that it will! It will however play your HD DVD's, your regular dvd's cd-r, cd-rw, dvd-r and dvd-rw's. It can also play back your MP3's if you have them burned onto a cd. I have never had an issue with the playback performance of any of the above formats! The player has never skipped or jumped and does not hesitate when you put one of the above cd's/dvd's in!
The only real complaint about the HDA2 is the remote! Toshiba! Shame on you! What in the world were you thinking? The buttons are so small you need to have a magnifying glass to see them! There are no illuminated buttons so you cannot see them in the dark either! The whole layout of the remote is just really bad! Again though this is a small annoyance, if like me you have a universal remote then you won't even have to take the remote out of the box, which is a very good thing!
If you are thinking about getting into the world of High Definition and you are leaning toward HD DVD then this is a great player to start with! You can get this player for $150 now which will not break the bank and if you do decide to switch to the blu camp then you will not be greatly out of pocket. HD DVD movies are coming down in price and although Universal just switched camps, HD DVD still has over 40 studios producing content for it! This is an excellent HD DVD player that will serve you well!
UPDATE
you can now get the hd-a3 from amazon.com for $129 + 7 free movies (5 by mail and 2 in the box)+ free shipping! wow what an awesome deal! Join the hd dvd camp! I am not sure how long this sale will be on!
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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