2G HD DVD players announced - HD-A2 & HD-XA2: $499 & $999 - UPDATE
By Richard Lawler 
posted Sep 14th 2006 1:55PM
posted Sep 14th 2006 1:55PM
UPDATE: Pics of both players straight from CEDIA
posted Sep 14th 2006 1:55PM
The percentage of sales people that recommend Samsung HDTVs.
Salespeople are also becoming less likely to recommend LCD sets over plasma sets, which goes against the industry trend.
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Im glad toshiba is already on their 2nd generation while samsung still cant figure out all the bugs of their first. But what my burning question is that, will either of them output video at 24fps?
Actually, Samsung is addressing problems and adding features:
http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6372143.html
"Samsung will upgrade its Blu-ray Disc players in late October to improve the picture and make it Java-compatible...Samsung said all BD-P1000 players will be compatible with movies due for release on 50GB dual-layer Blu-ray discs this fall."
Damn, this looks even worse than their firs attempt!
Dave why do you say that? besides the slow start up times, the first generation toshiba's were perfect dvd players. better than the samsung in every regard.
So we will get a chintzier looking player with less features than the HD-A1 (no 5.1 analog audio outs on the HD-A2!) for the SAME price.
I thought this was HD-DVD not Blu-ray! LOL.
HD-DVD just took several steps back today. Get the HD-A1 while they're hot!
subodh,
how are the samsung players better than the toshiba players in every regard? the pq is the same on the same vc-1 encodes, the startup and load times are much faster than the toshiba, and the samsung can play 50GB discs while the toshiba can only play 30GB discs. the only win for the toshiba is the price.
So we get a crappier looking player with no 5.1 analog outs for the SAME PRICE?
Get the HD-A1 while they are hot folks!
Bob the Samsung player hasn't been approved yet for 50GB DL discs and that's still 10GB shy of the potential of DL DS 60GB HD DVD.
The Samsung player also doesn't fully support BD-Java as well and has sluggish BDMV menus.
Both at their best are capable players but neither shows the maturity that we're used to in movie players. In time both will get there.
Correction
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents
It seems that Sammy has issues with DL BD-R. Strike that portion of my post.
The Samsung is still twice the price of an A1 player right now for inferior pic quality. How's that TrueHD sound on that Sammy Blur-Ray player? Oh wait, there aren't any TrueHD titles for Blur-Ray yet. WOW!! TWICE THE PRICE FOR LESS!!! Sign me up!!!
At least the XA2 has some component differences compared to the current lineup. i.e motorized door, RS232, lit remote. Now the XA2 has 1.3 HDMI while the A2 has 1.2. It's also odd that they say nothing about 1080p with the A2. XA2 mentions it twice....
BUT WAIT !!!! ALL IS REDEEMED. The A2 comes with GLOWING keys!! Come on Toshiba, just throw in the backlit already!
"and that's still 10GB shy of the potential of DL DS 60GB HD DVD."
We might as well talk of the potential of 100GB BD-ROM as far as evidence goes.
#5 - HD-DVDs are CURRENTLY shipping 30/9 disks -- meaning a total of 39G of data.
All BD has is vaporware. "At some point in the future, we'll be really really good, promise!"
HD DVD ALL THE WAY BITCHES!!!!
Hello,
So here I am nearly ready to click the BUY button over at Amazon and get the HD-A1 for $399 bucks and get my 3 port Belkin switch from Buy.com and now I see this. Should I now wait for the A2 or get the A1? Honestly, I like the all black, but is the functionality worth the extra $$$ and time?
To Steve Jr.,
Wait 6 months to see how the format war is going with the players then buy if still interested.
Also, invest in brain factories, you never know when zombies will take over the world.
;)
Can't say that I'm not disappointed at the loss of 5.1 analog on the -A2. Seems like a step backwards for those of us without HDMI capable receivers. But I suppose Toshiba needed something to differentiate between the two players.
I'll be keeping my -A1 for now and see if something better comes down the road, maybe from a different manufacturer of HD DVD players in 2007.
Loss of 5.1 analog audio on A2/XA2 is a cost cutting measure! but price is still 500 & 1000 bucks!
I bet new models will probably weigh less too, and I like my heavy weight & center-trayed A1/XA1! :)
The lack of coaxial and optical digital audio outputs is a mistake.
Go to the forum at www.blu-ray.com and you will see how hd dvd has only Universal, while the BDA has all the rest of the movie studios and 90% ce support. Hd dvd is pretty much dead in the water once all the rest of the companies release their blu-ray players. Let's see Universal vs. all the other studios supporting blu-ray go to blu-ray.com and look in the forum for more answers.
I am writing to tell you about my experience with a Toshiba HD-DVD player. Have
you ever used its 5.1 analog outputs?
I have a Sanyo PLV-Z4 LCD front projector paired with a 110” Stewart Firehawk and
was dying to get into the next-gen DVD format. I decided to go with HD-DVD. So, I
bought the Toshiba HD-D1 (as you most probably already know, is an all-black derivative
model of the A1). On the video side, the picture was just incredible.
On the audio side, I am limited to the downconverted DTS bitstream. Don’t get me
wrong. I love DTS. Really. But I also would like to hear DD+. And Dolby TrueHD.
Unfortunately, my 5-year old Yamaha RX-V1 does not have HDMI. However, it has 5.1
analog inputs which worked fine with the 5.1 analog outputs of my Denon DVD-2910
Universal player. So, everything is not lost yet… that’s what I thought. So, I
hooked up my Toshiba HD-D1’s 5.1 analog outputs to my receiver’s 5.1 inputs and
went to set up its digital bass management. When I reached the part where you get
to set each channel’s level using the player’s test tone generator, things began
to look bleak for me. Test tones from the 5 main channels were fine. I got to set
their levels within +/- 0.5 dB of the reference 75db. However, the test tone coming
from the LFE channel is a different story. It was almost nothing. It only registered
58dB on my sound level meter! To compensate, I tried bringing the 5 channels down
to -12dB and the LFE up to 0dB, and still it was off by -7dB. Nevertheless, I gave
it a try. I listened first to the DTS bitstream audio, then to the audio coming
from the 6ch input. The result was dismal enough to make me depressed. Then, I thought
of switching the LFE output with one of the other 5’s. I chose the Center channel
(i.e., the player’s Sub OUT went to the receiver’s Center IN and vice versa). The
result? The Center Channel test tone when outputted via the Subwoofer performed
just like the LFE channel (low-frequency rumble at 58 dB). The Subwoofer test tone
when outputted via the Center speaker sounded and worked just like the Center Channel
(high-frequency pink noise at 75dB). I gave up and reconnected them to my trusty
Denon DVD-2910 to enjoy my few DVD-Audio, SACD and Dual discs.
The next day I called Toshiba customer support and told the guy of my problem. While
he sounded very courteous (to his credit) he said that so far, they have not heard
of a problem like mine. He offered 3 solutions: First, try to use the firmware upgrade
disc (v.2) they’re sending me and see if it would correct the problem. Second, he
suspects it could just be my player and I could ship it back for repair. Third,
I could just simply return it.
Personally, I like this player very much despite its reported quirks. The spectacular
video is reason enough to justify it $450 price tag. So, I’ll try the first solution.
If the problem persists, I’ll just simply return it and try another unit. Or wait
for Toshiba’s second generation HD-DVD players – the HD-XA2 and HD-A2 coming this
fall.
What do you guys think?
Hi Mark, Your got off real easy...... I have returned 3 HD-DVD plays because they would eventually freeze up at mid point on any HD disk. Standard DVD's would play find. Each had been updated with current firmware. I call customer support and said," enough is enough" and ask for a full refund. After about a week I got a call from Toshiba and they authorized me to return the HD DVD for full credit. If you have good documented history of issues they will honor you requests. I think I will wait and see how all this CRAP plays out before I get back into in to HD. I will have to say I do miss my HD. It would seem that I have had really bad lucky with the Toshiba HD----or could it be that other guys are having the same issues??? Let me know if you have some inforamation on the reliabilty of the HD DVD A1.
Don