af40's Full Review: Toshiba HD-A2 Player HD-DVD Player
With Toshiba recently announcing that it will cease production on its HD line of disks and players, it might seem like a bad idea to go out and purchase an HD-DVD player now. But with many of the players (such as the 720 p/1080i A2) going for as little as $60 on some retailer's web sites, the A2 is actually a bargain as both an HD DVD player and an "upconverter" that converts standard format DVD's up to 1080i.
In retrospect, had I known that Toshiba's HD DVD product would lose out in its race with Sony's "Blue Ray" technology, I would have opted for the latter instead. However, even with the knowledge that my player will become obsolete for new HD movie playing, I do not regret my choice. I purchased the A2 last year at about the same time I purchased a flat screen TV, and both go together very well (clearly, no pun intended, the HD payers, whether Toshiba's "HD DVD" or Sony's "Blue Ray", are aimed for the high resolution TV market, as it would be a waste of money to buy the HD player and not have a TV that can reveal the true picture clarity of the HD players).
Last year, before the HD "wars" reached their conclusion, Toshiba players could run upwards of $300 or more (about what Blue Ray players go for today). I cannot comment on the price-to-quality comparison between HD DVD and Blue Ray, as I have only passing familiarity with the latter. Sony touts the Blue Ray technology as being superior because it packs more "information" on its disk. But as a layperson- just a layperson mind you- I ask whether "more information" is actually "more quality" here. If both Toshiba and Sony, hypothetically, can achieve the 1080p standard, yet Toshiba uses less information to get there, isn't that the definition of efficiency and parsimony? Just a thought.
One thing I personally love about the A2 model is that it is made in Japan. Now ask yourself, When was the last time you saw any technology made in Japan? Almost all the lower end electronics we buy these days come from China. I honestly think the country of origin makes a big difference. This player plays AND looks like something made in Japan. Maybe I am biased here, but everything I buy that is from China looks like it is made from "cheapie", flimsy materials that are liable to break at any moment, and usually there is some glitch or error somewhere soon after I turn it on. But the Toshiba HD A2 looks and performs like what you might have bought in a high end electronics store in the 1980s, when Japan was king of the electronics market. It's the kind of equipment you would be proud to have sitting on your TV stand, not like some cheap obscure Chinese brand that you hide away in the closet.
If you do end up purchasing the HD A2, I suggest you take full advantage of its upconverting capabilities. Upconversion is a software-based process (that means it is artificial) that replicates 1080i- which is one notch below 1080p- resolution. Some people have been asking about an error message that states "upconvert will not work on this disk". This is neither a disk nor a player problem: in order to enjoy upconversion, you MUST use an HDMI cable, which is a special cable made for high resolution players and flat screen TV's. The A2 and TV must essentially "communicate" with each other, with the TV recognizing the A2 in order for the upconversion to take place. I had the same problem until I purchased an HDMI cable (I suggest you shop around because you can buy an HDMI cable for under $10- much cheaper that the stores that retail them for around $25-$30). The HDMI looks a little like a USB cable, even though it is not.
So what sort of quality will you get on the upconverted DVD's? I actually compared standard DVDs in a standard DVD player with the A2 on the same TV set, so this is as close as I'm likely to get to an experimental "control". The picture quality is definitely improved over standard DVD's. Fine details become more in focus, there is less haze and blurring, which can happen when you expand a lower rez image onto a higher rez TV or format. But is this upconverted image identical to an HD DVD? No. There is little comparison to a true HD DVD here. And this is to be expected.
A true HD DVD (including Blue Ray) has a higher frame per second rate, just as we might have in a Hollywood movie played in the theaters- higher frame/sec means better quality. Since standard DVDs have about half the frame rate as an HD DVD, the upconverting players mimic this by a software-based process. But any artificial manipulation pales in comparison to the real thing. If you have ever used the optical zoom on a digital camera and comparred it to the "digital" zoom (most have both), you will realize what I mean: the optical- or natural- process is superior in every case to the artificial process. And the same goes for "true" HD versus upconverted DVD.
However, if you aren't nit picky about having the best possible resolution (in all honesty, an upconverted standard DVD is just fine for 95% of most movies), then I think buying a Toshiba A2 on sale and sticking to standard DVDs (which are becoming so cheap nowadays that Blockbuster may soon be out of business), you will save yourself a lot of money. Here's what I mean:
For Standard DVDs:
-New player will run about $60.
-DVDs range from $5 to $20 (usually lower than $20).
For Blue Ray or HD DVDs:
-New Player (pre-February 2008): $250-$300
-DVDs usually $30-$40.
The Upconverted DVDs offer a perfect middle ground in price and quality:
-Toshiba HD A2 (as of March 2008): $60-$100 (shop around for the best prices)
-Standard DVDs- upconverted- $5 to $20.
You save about $10-$20 per each DVD while getting high quality upconversion.
Now, having said that, are there certain shows, movies, documentaries that you would only want in "true" HD? Yes. If you are a nature buff and you love seeing splendid vistas, lush tropical rain forests, and all sorts of natural environments in very high resolution, widescreen format, that is similar to IMAX (e.g.- "Planet Earth"), I suggest you get the Blue Ray player. But most people watch DVDs for their story content, and I don't think that in most cases having that little bit of extra resolution, going from an upconverted 1080i to 1080p- will be worth the price difference.
If you are the type of person who goes for story, content, and quality over something like CGI and the "cartoonish" superhero movies popular with teens today, then an upconverted standard DVD is just perfect for you. If you are the type who wants "the best" and you absolutely need to be able to see every hair and pimple on your favorite Hollywood actor- then by all means shell out another $250 and dump some money out the window that could have gone into your IRA. But I digress..
If you do get the A2, make sure you have the latest firmware upgrades. You can upgrade the software in three ways:
-Using the ethernet port to allow the A2 to download directly from the Internet.
-Getting a copy from the Internet on a CD and loading it in the player.
-Asking for a free copy fom Toshiba. I opted for this latter choice and got my CD in about 3 weeks.
The firmware upgrade may help in playing certain newer HD DVDs that have extra media and features, like video games. I have only had a few problems playing HD DVDs and most were related to poor quality in the so-called "combo" HD/Standard DVDs (it turns out certain movies, like the 'Bourne Ultimatum', had disk manufacturing flaws). In most cases the player is not the problem, and if there seems to be a problem with recognizing the HD DVD you might need a firmware upgrade (which you shoud get regardless).
The A2 maxes out at 1080i or 720p (the p is usually the one you look for; if it says 1080p versus the 720p, the former is better). The A3 version of this player has a maximum of 1080p, so it is technically higher resolution. However, many plasma TVs today max out at 720p, so the 1080p is only better if you have the 1080p TV to go with it. The A2 plays all sorts of CDs (R/RW) and DVD (R/RW) and has DolbyHD and DTS audio performance.
Unfortunately, the A2 does not come with the HDMI cable, which offers superior HD performance and is necessary for upconversion.
All in all, for about the price of a standard DVD player, the A2 can upconvert your cheaper standard DVDs to 1080i quality, a reasonable choice for savvy consumers who may not want to shell out $40 per each Blue Ray DVD. But get these now, as I have a hunch Toshiba will cease (if it has not done so already) production on all its HD players.
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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