http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/ Engadget HD Comments for First impressions of Toshiba's second-gen HD-A2 HD DVD player http://hd.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://hd.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/Dec 12th 2006 2:54PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/Dec 12th 2006 3:09PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/
Are you sure?

Dolby Digital and DTS is in the specs and both are 5.1 formats.]]>Dec 12th 2006 4:07PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/Dec 12th 2006 4:00PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/
The units have optical, (but not coaxial) digital outputs.

The lack of the analog outputs are what prompted me to get the A-1 (which has really been wart-free) instead of waiting for the A-2.

-bruce]]>Dec 12th 2006 4:44PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/
Why not just route the sound (digital output) to your receiver... 5.1 decoding is pretty much a standard thing on home theater receivers these days.]]>Dec 12th 2006 4:53PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/
The analog outputs are needed for the new high res audio formats such as Dolby Digital Plus, and TrueHD. The HDMI passes them, but if you dont have an HDMI reciever then you need the 5.1 analogs to get the full bandwidth of the new formats. Digital optical and coax do not have the bandwidth to carry all the info. They will still pass a downconverted version at 1.5 Mbps to your reciever which will sound great, and better than SD-DVD's but not quite as good as the full bandwidth version.

Hope this makes sence.]]>Dec 12th 2006 11:02PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/Dec 13th 2006 12:09AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/
I DOES have optical out for 5.1. Just not the coax or the 5.1 analogs. It outputs a downrezed version of TrueHD or DD+ over the optical. You only need the analog 5.1's or HDMI to get the FULL TrueHD or DD+ without it being downrezed. Goodness. Work with me here people. LOL ;)]]>Dec 13th 2006 1:15AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/
The Sony receiver you are referring to will not decode DD+, TrueHD, or DTS Master Audio (the completely uncompressed 5.1/7.1) formats, even through HDMI. The ability to pass these formats over HDMI was only added in the (recent) HDMI 1.3 spec, and the only current receivers capable of 1.3 (and the HD audio formats) are still in the $1000-1500 range.

Best to wait a year or so until some cheaper units come out. Currently, the cheaper receivers only do HDMI video switching, with standard DD or DTS 5.1 audio.]]>Dec 13th 2006 2:08PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/Dec 12th 2006 6:16PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/
The analog outputs are needed for the new high res audio formats such as Dolby Digital Plus, and TrueHD. The HDMI passes them, but if you dont have an HDMI reciever then you need the 5.1 analogs to get the full bandwidth of the new formats. Digital optical and coax do not have the bandwidth to carry all the info. They will still pass a downconverted version at 1.5 Mbps to your reciever which will sound great, and better than SD-DVD's but not quite as good as the full bandwidth version.

Hope this makes sence.”

Yes, that actually does. So the standard DD 5.1 stuff will be just fine although the higher 6.1 and 7.1 format won’t unless you have a newer receiver with HDMI functionality. For the people that purchased new receivers recently (without HDMI functionality) they’re pretty much out of luck for the higher audio options.

Fortunately I’ll be in the market for a receiver upgrade pretty soon (bought my current one with DD decode back in ’98 when I bought my first DVD player) so an HDMI capable receiver will definitely be a consideration since I’m guessing in a few years, analog audio options will probably be limited by other players in favor of a simplified all digital setup.]]>Dec 13th 2006 5:46AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/Dec 12th 2006 11:14PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/
Thanks! ]]>Dec 13th 2006 2:38PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/
There are currently NO recievers that have HDMI 1.3. There are also NO recievers that can decode DD+, TrueHD, or Master Audio. It is also true that HDMI 1.3 IS need to pass the advanced audio when it is encoded.

However the good news is that HDMI 1.3 is NOT required to pass the info in its decoded form. All HD-DVD players currently decode the audio internaly and send it over HDMI ( All versions ) as uncompressed PCM. This has the effect of allowing you to enjoy the FULL quality of the advanced audio formats with current equipment. Many current HDMI recievers are quite capable of accepting this audio info perhaps even the Sony one you mentioned. It is true that older HDMI recievers were just video switchers so you will have to check the spec's to make sure that it accepts uncompressed PCM streams. These recievers are more to the higher end so make sure.

With all that being said CES is next month and many new recievers will surely be announced with HDMI 1.3 support. I would wait to see what is available. They will be expensive though. It may be cheaper to buy one that has the ability to accept uncompressed PCM and not worry about HDMI 1.3. It really comes down to money.]]>Dec 13th 2006 3:06PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/12/first-impressions-of-toshibas-second-gen-hd-a2-hd-dvd-player/
If the HD-DVD players uncompress the sound to PCM, it's too bad they can't just do straight PCM like Blu-Ray. I thought there might be a space issue, but Blu-ray was doing PCM on the single-layer 25GB discs. But since I have just recently experienced *normal* 5.1 DD, stepping up to DD+ and TrueHD should be simply awesome.

Thanks! ]]>Dec 13th 2006 3:58PM