Toshiba HD-A3 HD-DVD Player with HDMI - Stunning Images, But Still Work In Progress
Written: Nov 25 '07 (Updated Apr 15 '08)
Product Rating:
Sound:
Ease of Use:
Picture Quality:
Durability:
Pros: Low price, amazing video and sound, 1080i over HDMI and component out, firmware update
Cons: Delays, does not play many formats, slow firmware updates, stutters on small scratches
The Bottom Line: I am very happy with the Toshiba HD-A3. Although it has its shortcomings, such as slow startup, delays in response to commands and comes with no...
dkozin's Full Review: Toshiba HD-A3 Player HD-DVD Player
I wanted to get a high-definition DVD player to complement my Hitachi P50H401 50-inch 1080p-capable plasma TV. Despite the fact that the war between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is far from over and my overall preference for Blu-Ray (mostly due to movie availability in this format), I was driven to buy the Toshiba HD-A3 HD-DVD player.
The driving force was the price - I bought it for $170 (with 7 free HD-DVD movies; 2 in the box, 5 more after rebate), which is much cheaper than Blu-Ray DVD players. When and if the winner emerges, I will be able to get the player of the winning format for peanuts. And sooner or later, I will have to get a newer high-def DVD player anyway, as it seems that the current generation of the high-def DVD players still has quite a few areas they can improve upon.
What is Toshiba HD-A3?
The Toshiba HD-A3 is a HD-DVD player, capable of playback of HD-DVD discs as well as standard DVD, hybrid HD-DVD/DVD, CD-Audio, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R and DVD-RW. There is no MP3 or WMA playback.
The player has an HDMI out, component and composite video out, analog stereo and digital optical audio out. It is capable of 1080i output through the HDMI and the component out (the latter if the HD-DVD is not mastered in a way that prohibits it). It can also output 480i, 480p, 720p.
The high-resolution audio can be passed through the HDMI out to a compatible received or downconverted to Dolby Digital or DTS and passed through either HDMI or the optical out.
The player also has a USB port (for future expandability) and an Ethernet network port (for interactive online features and to receive firmware updates from Toshiba).
The A3 has a stylish design and is somewhat heavy. In addition to HD-DVD content recorded at up to 1080i, it can play regular standard-def DVDs and output them at 480i or upconvert them to 480p, 720p or 1080i.
The only resolution missing from the A3 is the highest one: 1080p, which its more expensive siblings have.
Setup
Upon the player’s arrival, I was unpleasantly surprised by the lack of the HDMI cable in the box. The box contains the player, its power cord, remote control, batteries and manuals. There are no connecting cables whatsoever, not even the composite video/analog audio.
Now, I understand that it is better for environment if consumers buy only the cables they need. But if they are buying a 1080i-capable player, they most likely need an HDMI connection. And since it probably costs less than $1 to produce an HDMI cable, it is inexcusable that Toshiba does not include it with the player. Not only will you have to buy one separately (and possibly delay the moment when you can start enjoying high-def DVDs), you might also be under pressure by a sales person to buy an overpriced HDMI cable. Sad.
Since I did not have a spare HDMI cable, I ordered one online for $5 and connected the player to my TV using component video connection using some Monster component cables I had left over from the previous DVD player.
The player comes with two HD-DVD titles in the box: 300 and Bourne Identity.
Despite the manual's warnings that some HD-DVD titles restrict the resolution of the signal over the component video out, both played fine in 1080i over component video out.
I connected the player to my receiver using the optical digital out and set the output type to Bitstream. I also connected its supplied power cord to the player and the other end to my APC BE350R UPS to avoid improper shutdowns if the power goes out.
Operation
The A3 is pretty slow to start up. The manual warns users that it is more like a computer (rather than a DVD player) and needs to boot up and shut down properly. You cannot even open the disc tray until the player boots up (about half a minute). That is expected and is no different from Blu-Ray models.
I immediately upgraded the firmware using a CD burned on my computer with firmware update to version 1.3, downloaded from Toshiba’s web site. I have heard that people had issues with the original firmware that went away after the update, so I did not want to take chances with the movie freezing in the middle of the playback.
According to the manual, the update process can take up to 30 minutes and the power has to be supplied to the player throughout, otherwise it can become inoperative. I used my uninterruptible power supply to ensure no power outage will turn my A3 into a useless piece of plastic/metal.
The player is not only slow to start up, it also takes a couple of seconds to skip chapter forward or back and the cue/review are not very responsive either. Because of this, I am going to use a dedicated standard-def DVD player for the time being and use this A3 for HD-DVD only.
The menus are descriptive though and the remote control is adequate. The menus are designed for large screens and look very nice. The HD-DVD movies require you to press a separate button called Resume Play to resume from the moment you stopped, whereas standard DVDs only require you to press Play. I have never understood why the resume functionality is such a tricky thing for engineers to implement properly.
Picture Quality
The picture quality that this player produces is nothing short of amazing. Even over the component out, the 1080i images look super-detailed and three-dimensional. The high resolution not only allows you to see the smallest details and avoid blurry images that standard-def sources can produce on large displays, it improves your depth perception and gives images more of a 3-D look by letting your eyes and your brain better distinguish what is in focal plane and what is not (and by how much).
The color rendition is superb and the details in both shadows and highlights are excellent (I calibrated my TV prior to playing the supplied HD-DVD titles).
Update: I finally got the HDMI cable and connected the A3 to my TV using it. There is little difference (if any) over the component video connection, but I am sure some HD-DVD titles would not play over the component connection in full resolution. HDMI provides amazing video quality.
Sound
Although I do not have a receiver with high-definition sound support (or HDMI), at least yet, I used the Dolby Digital/DTS through the optical connection and the sound was excellent.
Warranty
As with any new technology, the warranty is important. The player comes with 1-year warranty for parts and 90 days for labor.
Standard DVD Playback
I tired the upconversion capabilities of the A3 and they are very good. But I plan on using my other DVD player for standard DVD playback and upconversion over HDMI as the A3 is slower in operation.
Am I Happy?
I am very happy with the Toshiba HD-A3. Although it has its shortcomings, such as slow startup, issues with small scratches, delays in response to commands and comes with no HDMI cable, its amazing picture quality and solid construction for a bargain-basement price more than compensate for it. I expect to watch many HD-DVD discs on it.
Scratches
One issue I encountered with rented HD discs is small scratches that make player stutter and freeze. The scratches are so small that I can barely see them, but the player is not happy. I predict that this will be the Achilles's hill of the high-def market if manufacturers do not deal with this issue.
Advice
Make sure you get an HDMI cable separately (and do not overpay for it as it is a digital connection and you do not need to get overprices digital cables, especially for short runs).
Get ready and upgrade the firmware to at least version 1.3. Try to have the player connected to a UPS so that if the power goes out during the upgrade, the player does not die. Since the player only draws 30 Watts and the upgrade takes less than 30 minutes, the UPS like APC BE350R will be sufficient.
The UPS will also come in handy if the power goes out during normal operation as the player likes to be shut down properly.
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