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| Date Reviewed: 09/08/2007 |
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Strengths: The price is exelent, it works as promise, the PQ is great, and the sound is a WOW factor.
Weaknesses: I wish it has analog 7.1 conectios, but for the price I can't complaint too much.
Summary: If your are like me, and can wait too much, then go for it> The way I see it is this, for $ 247 you can experienced HD movies right now and not wait another year or so for this war to end, and maybe you can help end it sooner. If Blue-Ray wins (I don't think they will) you can still play regular DVD in a exellent up-convertion unit better that most I see in stores, and save a punch of money, that you can use to buy a BR player for lower price than you pay right now and I think you still would save money. So my opinion is this enjoy your new HDTV now and not wait for another year of this stupid fight that nobody really cares about, we all just want to see HD movies, no matter if is F***** BR or HD. Good luck guys waiting and waiting.
 100% of People (2/2) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 02/24/2007 |
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Strengths: Value for the money, sleek look, simplicity of installation, excellent backward compatibility.
Weaknesses: None so far as far as the player goes, but the jury is still out on how "compelling" is the need to upgrade to the High Definition DVD experience.
Summary: This is a solid choice for anyone who wants to upgrade to High Definition DVD viewing. This is the cheapest entry point, without any obvious sacrifices in quality and features. Toshiba's brand name is great, the player is easy to install and use, the electronics run seamlessly (fast response, good quality) on a decent range of DVD's. I connected it to a Toshiba LCD TV using an HDMI connection. I was most impressed with the "upconversion" delivered for some non-HD DVD's (Monsters, Inc., e,g) and satisfied with the way it played others. The HD DVD picture quality was good, but so far(as a point of comparison), I prefer that delivered Direct TV's HD (including the satellite network feeds. (I have not tested other HD DVD Players.) In summary, the player has delivered value.
90% of People (28/31) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 01/04/2007 |
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Strengths: Faster bootup time than 1st Generaton Toshiba HD-DVD players
Fantastic HD-DVD high def output (though not much HD sources to compare)
Relatively low price of entry for new technology
Weaknesses: Limited studio support for HD-DVD format (this is not fault of player, but should be a purchasing consideration)
Does not support dual format (HD-DVD and BLU-RAY) since LG just announced a product
Summary: I bought the HD-A2 since there is a Toshiba mail-in promo for 3 free DVDs and a lot of people have praised picture quality of HD-DVD movie titles. I also purchased a Sony PS3 to handle blu-ray discs so I can enjoy both formats.
I have a 73 inch Mitsibishi Rear Projection TV professionally ISF calibrated and the HD-DVD output at 1080i looks awesome with the few discs I have tried through the componenent video outputs.
There is currently a bug in the product which limits HDMI output to 480P even when playing a HD-DVD if the TV set has a DVI connector. Toshiba is aware of the issue and hopefully will be releasing firmware soon to address it which can be upgraded either through CDROM or ethernet (another plug of the player)!
88% of People (7/8) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 01/09/2007 |
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Strengths: I first tried out a standard DVD with this player and it looked great. Made my old player look like a joke. Then I watched an HD-DVD. Wow. The image was clearer than I could've imagined.
Weaknesses: Bootup time is still a bit much, improved or not. The hybrid HD-DVD/Blu-Ray disc incompatibility makes me feel a little uneasy, but maybe a firmware update will save the day? (Wishful thinking.)
Summary: I'd agree that the player isn't worth $500, even as good as it is. Thanks to Page's significant discount and Toshiba's 3-DVD giveaway promotion, I'm happily watching crystal clear HD-DVD movies sooner than I thought possible. And to think some guys are paying a grand for their Blu-Ray players...
For anyone who just can't wait to get their HD-DVD fix, I highly recommend the HD-A2.
86% of People (12/14) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 06/20/2007 |
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 I must have gotten a lemon Strengths: Value, design
Weaknesses: Slow boot, won't resume a film at a midpoint, seems to demand discs with perfect surfaces
Summary: This thing worked great for a handful of HD DVD films a friend loaned to me, but playing anything from Blockbuster is a crapshoot as fully 70% of the rental discs will not play. Either the machine denies that the disc is of DVD format, or it insists that there is no disc in its' mouth at all. It seems to barf on the slightest imperfection on the surface of the disc. I will take the issue up with customer support tomorrow - I'm writing this review now because it won't play my new films and so I'm bored....
86% of People (6/7) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 03/05/2007 |
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Strengths: Extremely high quality audio and video even with standard DVDs. It makes standard DVDs look almost as good as true HD-DVDs. Toshiba's customer service for HD-DVD players is EXCELLENT!
Weaknesses: A bit slow during startup. Otherwise runs great!
Summary: When I first used this HD-DVD player is was very quirky. It would lockup during playback, freeze during DVD pause, sometimes be completely unresponsive, and be generally very slow... It was VERY frustrating! I almost returned the unit for a refund.
I contacted Toshiba's customer service and got through to a real person right away. Customer service told me that Toshiba was coming out a firmware update disk that should fix the problems.
I received the update disk about 2 weeks later and performed the update (it took about 15 minutes). After the update completed, I tried it out and found that it was much faster at startup (although still a bit slow) and all other problems seemed to have been fixed. The slowness during startup could be the time it takes the unit's "HDMI handshake" process to go through my home theater receiver and HDTV.
I have a lot of standard DVDs and was thinking about replacing them for HD-DVD versions... I'm glad I didn't! With this unit, I can barely tell the difference!
I recommend this unit to anyone looking for a high quality HD-DVD player!
80% of People (8/10) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 12/21/2006 |
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 HD-A2 new player, less features Strengths: Built-in Dolby True-HD 5.1, great picture quality, ease of use, best upscale player for standard DVD
Weaknesses: Built-in Dolby True-HD 5.1 through HDMI ONLY, no 5.1 analog output, still no DTS-HD decoding, still no 1080p support, no new features really. not worth $500
Summary: As i have no real regret about buying the HD-A2, i'm still upset with the value that we the consumer are getting on these first gen HD players. first they toyed with the release date of this player, i went into best buy numerous times to pick one up as they had the tag on the shelf like a month before the player would actually arrive at stores. nice. The first dissapointment was when i opened the box and saw that there is no 5.1 analog output so out the window went my hopes and dreams of hearing Dolby True-HD any time soon. come to find out that on this new and improved model the HD sound is only available thru the HDMI output, anyone else have a reciever with HDMI input? didnt think so. if they dont come out with some kind of external HDMI decoder with 5.1 output to hook up to our still new expensive powerhouse recievers that we love i'm just going to stab someone. why? why no 5.1 output supporting Dolby True HD 5.1 and DTS-HD+core!? i guess that would just make too much sense? gotta keep the consumer confused i get it. what is the 5.1 or 7.1 inputs on our recievers good for then? i just couldnt wait to get my hands on one so i could see some movies in HD on my LCD and hear some sweet HD sound, well as far as the sound goes, HD sound is still on the horizon and not really here yet. The picture quality is awsome and as a upconverting player for my existing DVD library, the pic quality is impressive. I had a Samsung HD860 to hold me over till i got this and with that player hooked up with HDMI, the pic quality wasnt that great even when upscaled compared to the Toshiba. Standard DVD on the Toshiba HD-A2 just looked more colorful and you felt that no pixel was taken for granted. HD-DVD picture quality is instantly noticable when the anti piracy warnings pop up on screen. My tv is a 32" Sharp LCD that goes up to 720p and 1080i and HD-DVD looks great and impressive on both resolutions although i personally prefer 720p as i dont have access to 1080p at this time. something about the progressive signal that looks sharper to me.
In conclusion, i do not reccomend this player, unless you're desperate to see HD-DVD and dont have a 1080p HDTV and dont mind wasting a few hundred dollars more than this player is worth. Dont be like me, learn from my mistakes, be strong and wait it out to see which format wins or untill players come out that are cheaper and have features that can take full advantage of what HD-DVD has to offer.
75% of People (27/36) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 02/27/2007 |
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Strengths: Beautiful 1080i output.
Upconverts regular DVD's.
Weaknesses: No hdmi cable included.
No analog 5.1 output.
Summary: With new technology dropping in price nearly every week, this Toshiba HD-A2 finally fell into my target range and I bought it. To sweeten the pot, there is a mail-in form for 3 free hd-dvd's with this purchase.
I was dismayed that the only cable included in the box is a component video cable (other than the power cable). Fortunately, I had an hdmi cable laying around and used it to connect directly to the tv instead of the component one. Since I don't have an HDMI audio receiver, and this player doesn't have analog 5.1 output (the HD-XA2 does), I used a toslink optical cable to connect to my receiver.
It was a snap to get everything connected and running. After setting the date, and tweaking a couple of minor setup options, I proceeded to play an hd-dvd. It took a little bit longer to put in the hddvd and begin playing compared to my old non-hd dvd player, but when the movie finally started it was all really worth it. I tried playing some old standard dvd's and they seem to look better than I remember them to be, probably from the player's upconversion.
Apparently, there's been a recent firmware upgrade for the HD-A2, and I have the choice of sending in a little card for Toshiba to mail me an upgrade dvd, or I can simply use the player's built-in ethernet port and download it directly to the player.
75% of People (3/4) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 02/26/2007 |
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Strengths: Picture Quality - HD and very importantly Upconverting
Weaknesses: Format Support - Movie Studios.
Summary: After researching and testing both options, I have concluded that HD-DVD has superior picture quality. Not only with HD but hands down with up-converting which is very important right now as not everyone can afford a new library of dvd's, and not all DVD's are in HD. Also this makes up for the unfortunate point of less HD-DVD support by movie studios. Blu-Ray has a harsher picture and you will notice it much more when upconverting. I see the choice being: Having more support of rich, powerful companies, or having superior picture quality. I choose picture quality!!
75% of People (3/4) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 02/17/2007 |
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Strengths: Affordable price, HD-DVD playback, Excellent HD upscale of standard DVDs
Weaknesses: Doesn't auto restart DVDs when turn machine on, must start from the beginning.
Summary: This machine does TODAY what BluRay will do in a couple of years, it gives you GREAT HD viewing at an affordable cost. BluRay may give us that in a couple of years if prices come down, but this TOSHIBA HD-A2 player does that NOW.
Great upscaling of regular DVDs to HD quality as well, and for that reason alone it's worth the money. So if you want a great upscale DVD player, and want to also watch some true HD movies, buy this player and rent HD-DVD movies from Netflix. That's your best bet TODAY!
73% of People (8/11) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 02/23/2007 |
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Strengths: The HD DVDs demolish the quality of standard DVD with this player. Player has greater quality than i expected for the price.
Weaknesses: HD DVD playback of HD only at 720p or 1080i. But dont worry, Toshiba will send you an Firmware Update Disc as soon as it is available w/ request form provided, or dl update through ethernet.
Summary: For Quality enthusiasts, I highly reccommend. Everyone else looking to buy up-convert DVD players, don't bother. you're better off saving time and money in the long run. why sell yourself short when this player offers so much now and will offer you more in the future with update capabilities! Overall, i truly find no major flaws, this is a great player and am very pleased with Toshiba's product! Don't Wait! Toshiba's bonus offer of 3 free HD DVDs for limited time*
67% of People (2/3) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 02/05/2007 |
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Strengths: Excellent handling of both HD and standard DVDs. This unit does an excellent job of upconverting standard definition DVDs to almost high definition clarity. HD DVDs have excellent picture quality.
Weaknesses: Really don't see any weaknesses.
Summary: I have and HDMI cable connecting the Toshiba to a 1080P Mitsubishi 65" DLP and can't see how the picture quality can be much better. I have a optical audio cable connecting it to an older Kenwood receiver and am totally satisfied with the sound quality. This Toshiba sure beats the price of other "other" HD format players.
67% of People (2/3) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 01/12/2007 |
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Strengths: Continuing the great successful launch of the G1 units - Toshiba's HD-A1, HD-D1, HD-XA1, and the RCA HDV-5000.
Weaknesses: None, if you do minimal research on these units!!!
Summary: First off, this is a SECOND generation player, replacing the tank-like HD-A1. The lack of 5.1 outputs on the A2 has been known since info on the G2 units were released some time ago. And it is true that the A2 launch date was delayed BECAUSE of a defective part! So Toshiba did the right thing by NOT shipping the units until the problem had been fixed. Had this been a BD product, it would have shipped out crippled. You need an HDMI receiver to enjoy the new sound formats (DD+, TrueHD) from the A2, but some of today's receivers do have HDMI inputs - and had them months ago, too! So make sure you know what proper equipment is needed when you buy - don't blame Toshiba if you're too stupid to do even the most basic research!!! Geez, some people...
58% of People (7/12) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 02/18/2007 |
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Strengths: Excellent picture quality on standard DVDs as well as HD DVDs
Weaknesses: Slow start-up time.
Summary: I debated not getting the HD DVD player, but I'm glad I did. The price was much more reasonable than BluRay. The overall picture quality is excellent and I'm hoping that with the network upgrade capability, the unit will stay current longer than other standard DVD players.
50% of People (1/2) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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