My machine takes forever to boot up and open the tray or play a movie. Is this normal?
Yep, about 45 seconds, but it's worth the wait I think.

"off"

....and in the audio part of the A2 setup.....set your SPDIF to "bitstream" and HDMI to "downmixed PCM"....

So glad I read this, I've been perplexed about the audio since bringing home this unit yesterday. Everything was DTS to my Sony receiver until I switched to the above settings. Now I'm actually seeing my Dolby D 5.1 in the receiver's display panel.

Another thing curious. I'm going HDMI into my Sony E50A10 display. Out of the Sony into the receiver with a digital optical. When viewing HD TV channels broadcasting in 5.1 I get 5.1 Dolby to the receiver. Not so using the same audio input for the player. So I had to run a separate digital optical from the player to the receiver. Why is this happening? You'd think I'd get the 5.1 just like I get it when watching HD TV. I'm not exactly ready to take the 500+ plunge for a receiver that has an HDMI I/O, but the audio is sounding a lot better now after changing to the above settings.

Anyhow, the upconversion of SD discs is way better than with my original Sammy upconverter, and the HD discs look awsome. The native res of my Sony display is 720P, but it's taking the 1080i just fine, and looks better, I think.

Just tried to play The good sheperd and Children of men,message on screen says can't play disc.This is the first time this has happened,just these two discs,every other disc plays fine.-MOMMACUX
mine did the same thing with good shepard.i was ticked.

Picked up my A2 at CC a couple of days ago. My projector (JVC RS-1) doesn't show up for a while, but I thought I would test out the audio ahead of time. I am connecting the optical out to my somewhat old JVC RX-6000V receiver. I have SPDIF set to Bitstream, HDMI set to downmixed PCM, with dynamic range compression and dialog enhancement off. The audio sounded tinny and lacked low frequencies. I cycled through the audio input choices on the JVC (analog - auto/pcm - dolby digital - DTS), and when I hit DTS, voila! Great sound, with all five speakers working as they should. King Kong sounded great. The problem came when I stopped the HD-DVD and restarted. Even though the JVC was in DTS mode, the tinny sound was back with the HD-DVD menu and looping soundtrack. I cycled the JVC once through the choices, returning to DTS, and the normal sound was restored. As soon as I selected Play to start the movie, the tinny sound returned and I now (for the second time) had to cycle through the audio input options, returning to DTS. That played fine for the rest of the movie, but manually intervening twice on each movie is ridiculous. Is there something basic I'm missing, or is my JVC receiver, despite its being "DTS capable", just incompatible with the HD-A2? Thanks in advance,

KevinDo you by chance have an analog audio connection as well as the optical between your receiver and the A2? If so, your receiver is probably defaulting to the analog audio. There is usually a setting on the receiver to force the choice of the digital connection.

I tried "The Departed" as my first HD-DVD. I was curious about the audio options. When I brought up the setup menu to see the audio choices, I get the pop up display along the bottom of the screen, but all it seems to indicate is to hit the audio button on the remote. However there doesn't seem to be anything to indicate what the audio option is when going through all of them by hitting the audio button. I mean, it's obvious when it's French or another foreign language, but there were a couple English speaking options. I'm guessing one is normal and the other is a commentary, but it might be 2.0 vs 5.1 or something like that. The display button doesn't seem to indicate anything either.

Is there another way to go through the audio options with more info like a standard dvd?

IndianaGeorge: No, there was no analog connection. The front panel of the receiver clearly indicated that DTS was selected, but each time that sound transitions on the HD-DVD, the tinny effect returns. On Chronicles of Riddick, it occured once for "A message from the director", again during the looping audio for the menu, and again when I pressed play. By the way, SD DVDs auto-select Dolby Digital, and play fine. I have written to both JVC and Toshiba, but if this can't be resolved, I will have to replace my receiver. Annoying. Thanks for helping.

Kevin

I can not connect to the internet at all. I've tried everything and it always give me the "can not find server" error message. Anybody know what it could be.

I can not connect to the internet at all. I've tried everything and it always give me the "can not find server" error message. Anybody know what it could be.

First make sure your internet connection is correct, and that you have an ip address and dns server address. Then make sure you don't have a disc in the player when you try it.

Well my A1 works and I didn't have to set anything on it regarding the dns and ip address.

Well my A1 works and I didn't have to set anything on it regarding the dns and ip address.

I don't know about the A1; maybe it defaulted to DHCP automatically. On my A2, I had to go in and set it to DHCP and hit confirm before it would do the DHCP request. You should at least go into Ethernet->DHCP and verify the IP and DNS adresses.

IndianaGeorge: No, there was no analog connection. The front panel of the receiver clearly indicated that DTS was selected, but each time that sound transitions on the HD-DVD, the tinny effect returns. On Chronicles of Riddick, it occured once for "A message from the director", again during the looping audio for the menu, and again when I pressed play. By the way, SD DVDs auto-select Dolby Digital, and play fine. I have written to both JVC and Toshiba, but if this can't be resolved, I will have to replace my receiver. Annoying. Thanks for helping.

KevinMaybe this is another case of an older receiver not being able to handle the 1.5 Mb/s DTS? You've probably seen the other reports about certain older Sony receivers that can play DTS, but not at full rate. Good excuse to get something with HDMI, but that has is own potential problems. Better get the HD DVD DVE calibration disc and buy the receiver from a place with a good return policy. Good luck and let us know what you end up with!

I have a Denon 887/2307. The sound is excellent with my HD DVD A2 but True HD doesn't show up on the front panel, it is DTS. Should this be an automatic thing or must I do it in the setup?

Thanks,

Bill

Well, I'm offically neutral. :D At least I will be when my Samsung BD-P1200 arrives. I just got off the phone with ***call and ordered the HD-A2 based on everybodys positive comments about this player. It's on sale for $299.95 + 25.00 shipping and NO tax. Lowest price out there....and believe me , I searched. It arrives friday...can't wait. Thanks to everybody who had posted comments about this player, bot positive and the few negatives.

I have a Denon 887/2307. The sound is excellent with my HD DVD A2 but True HD doesn't show up on the front panel, it is DTS. Should this be an automatic thing or must I do it in the setup?

Thanks,

Bill


Bill....see posting #141 on page 5 in this forum. I believe that posting is the answer you're asking about. :)

Is there a way to make this unit region free for SD-DVD?

Well, I'm offically neutral. :D At least I will be when my Samsung BD-P1200 arrives. I just got off the phone with ***call and ordered the HD-A2 based on everybodys positive comments about this player. It's on sale for $299.95 + 25.00 shipping and NO tax. Lowest price out there....and believe me , I searched. It arrives friday...can't wait. Thanks to everybody who had posted comments about this player, bot positive and the few negatives.

Amazon has it for $310 delivered. Price is dropping there evey day. Luckily they have a 30 day price match. I purchased it about a week ago for $356 and so far I have been adjusted 4 times. :D

Going to make a more detailed post or thread on this soon.

But a heads up.

For those that have been irritated on the HD XA2 displaying old non-anamorphic HD DVDs in a window box, I've found the solution to the problem. (It should work on all the HD DVD players out there) .


Go to the Picture: Resolution Setting: and change it down to 480p.

That should re-enable your displays zoom functions so you can enlarge the picture from the window box and fill your 16:9 screen from right to left and get the right OAR and proper sized letterbox.

Obviously the picture might be a bit softer because the Reon is only going to 480p and the quality of the zoomed picture is up to your displays capability, but its cool for those older non-anamorphic DVDs that you have.

Maybe, someone posted this before, I didn't see it, but the picture quality still looks more than ok on my HD XA2 and my front projector combination, and its a lot handier than using optical zoom on the HD upconverted 720p or 1080i image.

It works because most displays will not zoom HD content but the will zoom 480p content.

Apologize if this has been posted before.

just ran into a review for the XA2 that describes the problem I see on my A2, anyone else experience it? I was sort of going crazy trying to figure out who was causing the problem and was blaming my tv.

Toshiba, We Have a Problem

All of this sounds pretty good so far: terrific picture quality, less glitchy than previous models, 1080p output. So where's the catch, you ask? Sadly, I did find one.

On certain discs, both HD DVD and standard DVD, I found the HD-XA2 to have a video stutter issue. To the eye it looks as if the player is dropping a frame here and there. It doesn't affect every disc, but on those it does, the problem is reproducible in the same location with repeated playback. The effect is subtle, but it's definitely there if you look for it, and it's not present on the HD-A1. I first noticed this in several spots early in 'Serenity,' during the scene where Simon is talking to the scientist and then later after the camera tilts up to reveal River hiding on the ceiling, but that movie has some jerky handheld camerawork that may mask the issue for some viewers.

The most blatant example I found is in 'World Trade Center.' At the 3:50 time code there's a static shot of a pedestrian walking from left to right across the frame. His movement clearly jerks forward unnaturally in two spots. This happens every time the scene is replayed. The same disc played in the HD-A1 shows perfectly smooth movement during that scene. I'll note that these are just some easily referenced examples. On affected discs the problem is persistent throughout the movie, not just in isolated spots. I've also found this on selected Standard-Def DVDs, including the "Mixed 3:2 with Titles" test pattern on the HQV Benchmark disc. Watch the words "typical" and "crawl" in the horizontal scrolling text.

Fearing that I might just have one bad unit, I was fortunately able to test two separate HD-XA2s (thank you again to Value Electronics) but found the same artifact on both.

Again, this problem is not present on every disc played. The majority of titles I've tested played smoothly. I can't seem to determine any common factors linking those that are affected. I tested the player at 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p resolution settings, none of which made any difference, so the player's deinterlacing and scaling can probably be ruled out as the source of the problem. I've spoken directly to Toshiba management to make them aware of the issue, and they say they are confident that they can replicate this and resolve it in a future firmware update. I'm eager to test that as soon as it's ready (note that the most recent 1.3 firmware upgrade does not solve the problem).


from
http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/hreview_hdxa2030207.html

Anyone here using the URC MX-700 or similar URC remote?

I would like the HD-A2 codes if possible.

Just got the HD-A2 and LOVE it.

It is interesting that different DVDs use the "in movie" experience differently thought - may take awhile to figure all that out.

Dwaine

how do you guys get dd+ out of ur A2 i have mine connected to my reicever via optical.

how do you guys get dd+ out of ur A2 i have mine connected to my reicever via optical. all i can get is dts

1: HDMI (toslink does not have the bandwidth.)

2: Your Receiver needs to be able to decode it (and I'm willing to bet it doesn't.)

Has anyone else got their free movies? It's been 4 months for me, and I'm still waiting....

Has anyone else got their free movies? It's been 4 months for me, and I'm still waiting....


I got them a bit after 3 months

Has anyone else got their free movies? It's been 4 months for me, and I'm still waiting....

Did you include the receipt and the box's UPC code along with the thing?

Did you include the receipt and the box's UPC code along with the thing?

Ya, I sure did.
And I just found another thread where some people say they have been waiting since January as well. And that Toshiba upgrades from 3 free movies to 5 free movies if call customer support - hmmmmmmmm....

It wouldnt let me post a link, but it's a thread # 832327

Has anyone else got their free movies? It's been 4 months for me, and I'm still waiting....

Same here. :(

1: HDMI (toslink does not have the bandwidth.)

2: Your Receiver needs to be able to decode it (and I'm willing to bet it doesn't.)

I have an older receiver too but the DD+ comes through it as DTS. I can't imagine the DD+ decoding (newer receivers) sounding THAT much better than DTS. Unless someone can convince me otherwise, I'm sticking with my old receiver. It sounds fanatstic and has sounded that way for a few years now. Any comparisons between DD+ or Dolby True HD vs DTS??

I'd love to see the A2 be able to pass thru 640kbps DD+ to receivers without converting it to DTS... if it's enabled in the menu. Most standard Dolby Digital decoders can handle 640kbps Dolby just fine.

But the receivers can't handle DD+. And what about the 1.5mbs DD+ tracks? Doesn't Paramount use 1.5mbs for their DD+ tracks?

Which is why I specified, only the 640kbps ones could be kept in native format. I haven't done the research... is DD+ a completely different codec? Or is it Dolby Digital, just at higher bitrates, and possibly with foreign file header information? If it's the 2nd, there's no reason they couldn't allow only the 640kbps to pass thru untouched (except for a header change so the receivers will read it, if that's the case).

I also have a feeling that when the HD-DVD has a DD+ track at 640kbps or 1.5mbps, you might end up with better sound by downconverting it to 448kbps or 640kbps Dolby Digital instead of the 1.5mbps DTS. I say this because it's already gone thru Dolby Digital compression once... by going thru that same compression algorithm again, it would just lose a bit of detail in the sound. But instead, the A2 is compressing it into a completely different format... albeit at a higher bitrate... but still - now it's going thru TWO acoustic limiters instead of just one (different formats use different acoustic techniqus to achieve their compression). This doesn't at all apply to the HD sound formats or the varieties of DTS - I'm glad those can go into compatible DTS... I'm only speaking of DD+. Any thoughts on this?

I have the HD-A2 and just had the same problem. I really don't understand the restriction given the source is a standard definition dvd. I mean really this DRM stuff can be debated either way, but restricting the ability of my player to upconvert SD to HD? That is just retarded! Anyone have the complaint link for toshibia handy?


Hello: I am wondering if anyone else has seen a message when loading a Std DVD into the HDXA2, that says, "Output Restricted, the ... will be played at/converted to 480P" or something like that. The message only flashes on the screen briefly.

Disks where this has been observed: Superbit version of Air Force One, and Casino.

I am guessing there will be many others.

Most important: If you push the DISPLAY button on the remote, the screen indicates 1080P output, NOT lower res 480P

Anyone know what's gone on here?

HDXA2 connnected via HDMI to Samsung 1080P DLP RP TV.

Is anyone (who is not using a video processor) getting the A2 to pass BTB via HDMI to HDMI? No luck for me - I'm using firmware 1.3. Waiting to get 1.5 in the mail from Toshiba.

I am having the same problem on my Epson TW-700, the player is not passing BTB ?

I am running it through my Denon 2307 via HDMI, I do not understand this since the A2, here in Europe it is called E1, should pass BTB, right ???

Same here. :(

Same here too:(

I got a letter stating basically, they couldn't meet the demand and something about refunding our money back or wait another month. It didn't make a whole lot of since to me.

Same here. :(

Same with me. I bought the a2 around Jan 1. I called them to confirm that they had my paperwork. The did and only said it was being processed. No date to expect them was given.

Bill

Is anyone (who is not using a video processor) getting the A2 to pass BTB via HDMI to HDMI? No luck for me - I'm using firmware 1.3. Waiting to get 1.5 in the mail from Toshiba.

Would you please explain what is/is not happening and what you mean by BTB? Blacker than Black???

Amazon has it for $310 delivered. Price is dropping there evey day. Luckily they have a 30 day price match. I purchased it about a week ago for $356 and so far I have been adjusted 4 times. :D

$348 now....

i was lucky enough to land the A2 at CC with the "get 4 free HD DVD" deal they were doing about a month ago. The way the guy did the rebate was the player was priced at 240$ or so and they just tacked on each of the HD DVD prices that i picked, i wish i had known this when i bought it and i wouldnt have picked Combo discs like Happy feet which were more expensive (and could be found cheaper elsewhere) but all in all i ended up with 4 HD DVDs and a brand new A2 for 350$ total.

so far i am very pleased, i havent upgraded firmware at all yet due to how far away my router is and the fact that ill be moving in a week once college lets out, but i have found no problems that would lead me to think that i need a firmware update.

own and have played successfuly and beautifully over 20 HD DVD's in the past month and im 100% satisfied, now to work on the 'ole sound system ^_^

$348 now....


Where ??? ;)

Where ??? ;)

Amazon.com. Now they have the price listed as 341.61.

Thank you

Quote:
Originally Posted by dougb415
$348 now........


***call.....$350.00 total, includes 3 day shipping

*** is actually one

Is it possible to play HD DVD bought from Europe with the Tosh HD-A2 ???

Thank you

Most HD-DVDs will play (a few french discs have trouble and we don't know why) but note that for SD the player is Region 1 and so far we don't know how to change that.

Anyone else out there having lip sync problems with this player? I am using it with on Onkyo TX-SR604 receiver and a Samsung plasma, all connections are w/ HDMI.
If I turn the TV volume up, there is a distinct echo. This does not happen with my Xbox 360 (component to TV, optical to receiver). Anyone have advice? Maybe some specific settings I should try/

BTW, I haven't yet done the firmware upgrade, would that fix this by any chance?

So are you saying if you have the receiver on and the speakers on the TV also, they are not in sync? If so that is perfectly normal since one will produce the audio faster than the other. It will happen with every HDMI device since the TV is processing the signal at a different speed than the receiver. You need to use the delay in the receiver.

Why would you want your speakers on your display on?

Anyone else out there having lip sync problems with this player? I am using it with on Onkyo TX-SR604 receiver and a Samsung plasma, all connections are w/ HDMI.
If I turn the TV volume up, there is a distinct echo. This does not happen with my Xbox 360 (component to TV, optical to receiver). Anyone have advice? Maybe some specific settings I should try/
BTW, I haven't yet done the firmware upgrade, would that fix this by any chance?\


Don't know about the firmware. I just got mine 3 weeks ago ( Dec '06 build date ) and when I downloaded the firmware is was version 1.5
I have mine hooked up by optical to my Pioneer Elite VSX-45TX and running the HDMI straight into my Toshiba 56HM195 and have no problems ( audio or video ) what so ever. Also....I don't use my tv speakers at all. You might as well upgrade your firmware too.

\


Don't know about the firmware. I just got mine 3 weeks ago ( Dec '06 build date ) and when I downloaded the firmware is was version 1.5
I have mine hooked up by optical to my Pioneer Elite VSX-45TX and running the HDMI straight into my Toshiba 56HM195 and have no problems ( audio or video ) what so ever. Also....I don't use my tv speakers at all. You might as well upgrade your firmware too.

I just turned my speakers up to see if there was a difference. I'm going to try an optical cable, enough of this newfangled HDMI crap.

Is anyone (who is not using a video processor) getting the A2 to pass BTB via HDMI to HDMI? No luck for me - I'm using firmware 1.3. Waiting to get 1.5 in the mail from Toshiba.

I just got DVE and checked this out. My A2 is failing BTB via HDMI. I normally run through my receiver but I also tried it straight to my TV and it still failed.

I then hooked up component cables and it passes with flying colors. I'm pretty sure it is not my TV since my old DVD player could pass BTB via HDMI.

BTW, my TV is a Samsung 4674 DLP 720p.

Any others finding this issue? I can't figure out why this would occur.

I just hooked up my A2 this past weekend & have a question. I noticed what, to me, seems like a significant drop in audio when playing an HD disc. By that I mean, I had to turn my Yamaha A/V receiver up much higher to get the same volume level as my previous set-up which was just a standard Sony DVD player. I'm using optical from the A2 to my Yamaha (just like I was on my SD DVD unit) & HDMI from the A2 to the input of my display. (BTW, my Yamaha is displaying DTS when playing the HD movie, which was King Kong, just like it's suppossed to). I changed nothing else at all.
Could this perhaps be an issue with my optical cable? I always thought optical cables either worked or not (no in between).
Any ideas?

Ken

I just got DVE and checked this out. My A2 is failing BTB via HDMI. I normally run through my receiver but I also tried it straight to my TV and it still failed.

I then hooked up component cables and it passes with flying colors. I'm pretty sure it is not my TV since my old DVD player could pass BTB via HDMI.

BTW, my TV is a Samsung 4674 DLP 720p.

Any others finding this issue? I can't figure out why this would occur.

yep, posted the same results awhile back in this thread. FYI, PS3 fails BTB/WTW for both component and hdmi

yep, posted the same results awhile back in this thread. FYI, PS3 fails BTB/WTW for both component and hdmi

I sent mine in for service due to a audio drop out issue during CD playback. They are also going to take a look at the BTB issue.

Can't be a wide spread problem or more people would be complaining about it. I have heard from assorted people who passes BTB.

I'll post after they return it and I can comment if they fixed it or not.

WHat would I select for audio once (using the HD-A2) I hook it up via HDMI to get the TrueHD/Master? It's at Bitstream right now because I'm using optical (right now I have a SA-XR57 so I haven't given much thought to the new audio codecs.)

I have a Onkyo 605 on preorder (it's HDMI 1.3 and True HD / Master audio capable) and I want to get the new codecs out of my HD-A2 once it arrives.

Thanks.

I just hooked up my A2 this past weekend & have a question. I noticed what, to me, seems like a significant drop in audio when playing an HD disc. By that I mean, I had to turn my Yamaha A/V receiver up much higher to get the same volume level as my previous set-up which was just a standard Sony DVD player. I'm using optical from the A2 to my Yamaha (just like I was on my SD DVD unit) & HDMI from the A2 to the input of my display. (BTW, my Yamaha is displaying DTS when playing the HD movie, which was King Kong, just like it's suppossed to). I changed nothing else at all.
Could this perhaps be an issue with my optical cable? I always thought optical cables either worked or not (no in between).
Any ideas?

Ken

Any ideas on this?

Thanks,

Ken

I have a Onkyo 605 on preorder (it's HDMI 1.3 and True HD / Master audio capable) and I want to get the new codecs out of my HD-A2 once it arrives.How? HD DVD's authored in Advanced mode require decoding of audio codecs by the player and then mixing with HDi commentary audio. Players are not supposed to output the new advanced audio codecs raw bitstream. This might be a user option (non-default) feature in some future audiophile HD DVD player -- maybe. No such mode for a HD-A2.

How? HD DVD's authored in Advanced mode require decoding of audio codecs by the player and then mixing with HDi commentary audio. Players are not supposed to output the new advanced audio codecs raw bitstream. This might be a user option (non-default) feature in some future audiophile HD DVD player -- maybe. No such mode for a HD-A2.

So with my HDA2, and my Onkyo 605 (True HD and Master Audio capable) what would I set the HD-A2 audio output to to ensure that I'll be getting proper True HD / Master Audio for the titles that support it?

Any ideas on this?

Thanks,

Ken

yep optical is digital so signal level will not vary because of cable quality. In the manual there is some sort of setting related to HDMI audio, you need to disable it or something similiar, so the optical audio level is correct. I think there is a note on the bottom that mentions it.

edit: here

Page 21

If you use the SPDIF optical output or analog outputs to connect your
audio system and have the "Digital Output HDMI" ( page 53) set to "Auto" or "PCM", the audio output level from these jacks will be reduced when listening to a multi-channel disc. To restore the audio output level, set "Digital Output HDMI" to "Downmixed PCM".

So with my HDA2, and my Onkyo 605 (True HD and Master Audio capable) what would I set the HD-A2 audio output to to ensure that I'll be getting proper True HD / Master Audio for the titles that support it?For TrueHD set the A2's HDMI out to Auto. Then your AVR will get already decoded multichannel Linear PCM (LPCM) via HDMI.

There is no way now (with HD DVDs authored in Advanced mode) to get dts-HD Master Audio decoded (even with your new 605 :( ). The player will decode the lossy 1509 kbps legacy "dts Core" part and provide LPCM via HDMI.

I have the same audio drop with my King Kong HD disc playing on HD-A2 ... the sound levels are strong at the beginning of the movie ... but then drops off significantly somewhere in the middle of the movie. This is the English DD+ signal ... but if i switch to French or Spanish DD+ signal ... the sound levels are normal. Just bought the HD-A2 and have firmware 1.0

I just hooked up my A2 this past weekend & have a question. I noticed what, to me, seems like a significant drop in audio when playing an HD disc. By that I mean, I had to turn my Yamaha A/V receiver up much higher to get the same volume level as my previous set-up which was just a standard Sony DVD player. I'm using optical from the A2 to my Yamaha (just like I was on my SD DVD unit) & HDMI from the A2 to the input of my display. (BTW, my Yamaha is displaying DTS when playing the HD movie, which was King Kong, just like it's suppossed to). I changed nothing else at all.
Could this perhaps be an issue with my optical cable? I always thought optical cables either worked or not (no in between).
Any ideas?

Ken
I have the same audio drop with my King Kong HD disc playing on HD-A2 ... the sound levels are strong at the beginning of the movie ... but then drops off significantly somewhere in the middle of the movie. This is the English DD+ signal ... but if i switch to French or Spanish DD+ signal ... the sound levels are normal. Just bought the HD-A2 and have firmware 1.0

I have the same audio drop with my King Kong HD disc playing on HD-A2 ... the sound levels are strong at the beginning of the movie ... but then drops off significantly somewhere in the middle of the movie. This is the English DD+ signal ... but if i switch to French or Spanish DD+ signal ... the sound levels are normal. Just bought the HD-A2 and have firmware 1.0

I don't recall now if it was louder at the beginning or not. Seems to me on mine it was low from the beginning. That's the only HD DVD I have to test. Suppose I'll have to pick up another & see..If the difference had only been slight, it probably wouldn't have concerned me, but it was a fairly significant difference in volume level vs. my prior unit/set-up.
Oh & BTW, my Digital Output HDMI is set at Downmixed PCM.

Ken

For TrueHD set the A2's HDMI out to Auto. Then your AVR will get already decoded multichannel Linear PCM (LPCM) via HDMI.

There is no way now (with HD DVDs authored in Advanced mode) to get dts-HD Master Audio decoded (even with your new 605 :( ). The player will decode the lossy 1509 kbps legacy "dts Core" part and provide LPCM via HDMI.

OK, thanks.

I just hooked mine up Monday night, works great.

2 quick questions...

1) Is there a way to change the resolution out put setting without stopping the DVD and entering the A2 setup menu?

2) What resolution output setting are most of you using for SD DVD's?

I am currently having SD and HD DVD's chosen at "Upto 1080i", and everything has looked good. Only watched one SD and one HD DVD thus far.

I have it hooked up to a Pioneer 768P plasma via HDMI.

Any insights or advice would be appreciated.

Doug

Doug,
Try comparing 720p and 1080i output to see which looks better with your 768p display (there is no correct answer since it depends on your specific equipment). I found no significant difference between those 2 outputs for my 720p DLP.

Doug,
Try comparing 720p and 1080i output to see which looks better with your 768p display (there is no correct answer since it depends on your specific equipment). I found no significant difference between those 2 outputs for my 720p DLP.

I didn't see much difference either.

Am I correct in the only way to change it is by stopping the DVD and going into the A2 menu?

It is just tough to see which one looks better with that much of a delay between viewing the 2 resolutions.

Thanks

Am I correct in the only way to change it is by stopping the DVD and going into the A2 menu?


Most DVD players won't let you adjust setup menu options while playback is occuring...I found this to be true of my HD-D2, also. (Hope this is the right thread for the HD-D2 -- Costco HD-A2 plus HDMI Cable)

Would this player be as good at upconverting SD DVD's as say an Oppo 981?

I am just putting a home theatre together and cant decide between the Oppo, the 360 add on or this. Cant afford to buy both

I am projecting onto a 102" screen with a Mits HD1000U


Any comments appriciated

Would this player be as good at upconverting SD DVD's as say an Oppo 981?

I am just putting a home theatre together and cant decide between the Oppo, the 360 add on or this. Cant afford to buy both

I am projecting onto a 102" screen with a Mits HD1000U


Any comments appreciated

I picked up this player at Best Buy and don't know if its the discs I'm using or I got a lemon. I put in "Smokin' Aces" and the player just froze and it took me plugging and unplugging the player for it to finally spit out a disc. Now there's not a disc in there and it won't eject. I'm guessing I should take it back and get another?

Most of the later model pioneers, will take 480i via the HDMI input. I am not sure about the older DVI input models like the Pioneer 503 series.

In any case for standard DVD, you would ALWAYS want to feed the Pioneer 480i.

The reason for this is the Pioneer plasmas that I know of have( I don't know about they very latest models ) a slightly different resolution in pixels of 768p, more like a computer monitor resolution setup.

If you feed it upscaled input of any resolution instead of 480i, the panel then rescales the ALREADY once rescaled non 480-i input a second time to fit the 768p and you loose some detail and quality.

I feed my Pioneer 5060hd 480i via a Pioneer 59avi and the result is simply hands down the best SD upscaled image I have been able to find..

I suggest this, because I believe I read this particular Toshiba player with output 480i in a web post. I could be wrong about the 480i or the very latest Pioneer panels but the result is simply great when you can feed 480i in to any plasma and let the panel do the native scaling just once.

I have an HD-A1 which I have never hardly any problems with and was looking at the HD-XA2 but it will not output 480i according to the specs, so I am researching this HD-A2 for this reason.

I will also add the 1080i HD-A1 SD upscaled input was very good, not quite as good as the 480i from the Pioneer Elite player but very close, close enough that if I did not have the Pioneer 59avi I would not go out and buy one if I had purchased the HD-A1 first. As I posted a while back the HD-A1 upscaled image had more vivid colors to my eye, but the Pioneer 59avi had more detail. I am speculating the more vivid color is due to the higher speed laser in the Toshiba's used for the HD-DVD.



I just hooked mine up Monday night, works great.

2 quick questions...

1) Is there a way to change the resolution out put setting without stopping the DVD and entering the A2 setup menu?

2) What resolution output setting are most of you using for SD DVD's?

I am currently having SD and HD DVD's chosen at "Upto 1080i", and everything has looked good. Only watched one SD and one HD DVD thus far.

I have it hooked up to a Pioneer 768P plasma via HDMI.

Any insights or advice would be appreciated.

Doug

Doesn't the new Sony SXRD XBR2 60" and 70" support Deep Color
as well as 1080p?


I have read two articles that also claim Deep Color support on HDMI 1.3 is useless without content that supports it as well, though I have no idea if that is true or not. Does anyone know of a technical reference we can use to answer this question?

What did the v1.5 update do?

I picked up this player at Best Buy and don't know if its the discs I'm using or I got a lemon. I put in "Smokin' Aces" and the player just froze and it took me plugging and unplugging the player for it to finally spit out a disc. Now there's not a disc in there and it won't eject. I'm guessing I should take it back and get another?

I think this seems to be a common problem with this player. Mine has done this to me several times. I don't think if I return mine I will get one without this quirk. I have had two already and they have both done the freeze up thing. Looks good when its working though :rolleyes:

I think this seems to be a common problem with this player. Mine has done this to me several times. I don't think if I return mine I will get one without this quirk. I have had two already and they have both done the freeze up thing. Looks good when its working though :rolleyes:

Have you updated the player to the latest firmware? If not that may be the problem.

I picked up this player at Best Buy and don't know if its the discs I'm using or I got a lemon. I put in "Smokin' Aces" and the player just froze and it took me plugging and unplugging the player for it to finally spit out a disc. Now there's not a disc in there and it won't eject. I'm guessing I should take it back and get another?


Maybe a lemon. Have you updated the firmware to the latest version ? It's version 1.5

What did the v1.5 update do?


Bump for this, and also... when will Toshiba have the Firmware 1.5 discs?

I picked up this player at Best Buy and don't know if its the discs I'm using or I got a lemon. I put in "Smokin' Aces" and the player just froze and it took me plugging and unplugging the player for it to finally spit out a disc. Now there's not a disc in there and it won't eject. I'm guessing I should take it back and get another?

This just happened to me for the 1st time last night. It was not with an HD DVD, but rather the SD version of "The Queen." It froze & then I tried to stop & eject; the player hung up with the read-out saying "opening." The only way I could get the DVD out was to unplug the unit.
I will say however that once I did this & then cleaned the DVD, it then played just fine. Maybe this glitch is strictly related to a DVD being dirty.

Ken

It must have been the player, because I did take it back to Best Buy and got another and this one works fine. I didn't upgrade to the newest firmware yet, I have the .iso on my desktop but burning it with Roxio gives me an error. Guess I'll have to download Nero...

IMHO, there's just too many folks reporting this freeze-up glitch for this to be the player itself. If so, based upon the number of complaints I've read, there's a lot of bad units out there . Since, in my case, cleaning the DVD allowed it to then work fine, for now I'll just say it's quite possible it's related to the DVD itself. I had read somewhere where the A2 is extremely sensitive to any dirt at all on the disc. Maybe this sensitivity issue can be addressed in a future firmware upgrade.

Ken

The 1.5 has been out contact Torshiba and they will send it to you.

I'm on Toshiba's distribution list to automatically send out the firmware upgrades as they become available on DVD. As of Friday, 1.5 was not available on disc yet; only via online. Besides I haven't read where the release notes for 1.5 say anything about addressing this issue. I'm not even sure Toshiba knows it's happening as frequently as it is, although I have e-mailed them about it.

Ken

I have a receiver (Dennon 2805) which will accept the 5.1 optical output from my new A2. Is there any reason that I would need to use the analog output (which I assume must be only 2 channel) from the A2?

To play standard DVDs?
To play CDs?

Thanks.

IMHO, there's just too many folks reporting this freeze-up glitch for this to be the player itself. If so, based upon the number of complaints I've read, there's a lot of bad units out there . Since, in my case, cleaning the DVD allowed it to then work fine, for now I'll just say it's quite possible it's related to the DVD itself. I had read somewhere where the A2 is extremely sensitive to any dirt at all on the disc. Maybe this sensitivity issue can be addressed in a future firmware upgrade.

Ken


I don't think it is disc related. It has happened to me with brand new discs without a smudge on them. It definitely has to be the player. Had some friends over the other night for their first HD DVD experience and it got hung up on the menu. Powered it down and re-started and then it ran without a hitch, but it's kind of embarrasing to have this happen on a brand new player when you are trying to impress your friends.

I have version 1.3 by the way. Haven't updated to 1.5 and I haven't seen anywhere yet what 1.5 improves on 1.3. It's a pain for me to hook my player up to the internet everytime it needs an update.

I was on there list also but it wasn't until I called that I got one in the mail.

I don't think it is disc related. It has happened to me with brand new discs without a smudge on them. It definitely has to be the player. Had some friends over the other night for their first HD DVD experience and it got hung up on the menu. Powered it down and re-started and then it ran without a hitch, but it's kind of embarrasing to have this happen on a brand new player when you are trying to impress your friends.

I have version 1.3 by the way. Haven't updated to 1.5 and I haven't seen anywhere yet what 1.5 improves on 1.3. It's a pain for me to hook my player up to the internet everytime it needs an update.

I just upgraded from 1.0 to 1.3 to 1.5 in an about 45 minutes. It's soooo much easier downloading and burning ISO firmware updates to a CD-R and then popping that into the player. Definately the way to go if internet connection is a pain :)

It must have been the player, because I did take it back to Best Buy and got another and this one works fine. I didn't upgrade to the newest firmware yet, I have the .iso on my desktop but burning it with Roxio gives me an error. Guess I'll have to download Nero...

Don't worry about Nero, I just downloaded and used this program, a whole lot easier.

Quick steps to burn an ISO to CD-ROM:

1) Download and install ISO Recorder (http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/download/ISORecorderV2RC1.msi) (for Windows XP SP2 and W2K3 only. 360KB).
2) Load a blank CD-ROM into your burner.
3) Browse to the ISO file on your computer using Windows Explorer.
4) Right-click the ISO file.
5) Select 'Copy Image to CD'. The application will start.
6) Click the 'Next' button. The image will be burnt and the CD-ROM ejected. Done.

You can download the 1.5 ISO update from Toshiba Canada at 1.5 firmware update (http://209.167.114.38/support/ceg/downloads/index.asp)

Cheers

Equipment chain: Toshiba HD-A2 --> HDMI cable --> DVI cable --> M1 connector --> Infocus SP5000 projector.

HD-A2 Picture setting: Started with "upto 720p", then tried "upto 1080i", then tried "upto 480p".

SP5000 setting: "Native", which means 1280 x 720p with no video scaling.

DVD Title: Highlander 2 Renegade version.

Problem: Upscaling produced a 1280 x 720p image with a black border all around, and a smaller picture image inside.

Attempted workarounds: Set picture menu on player to 1080i, and 480p. Still got the black border, although 480p produced a smaller overall image. Tried rebooting.

Resolution: Switched to Oppo 971 and everything worked fine. I could see that the aspect ratio of the DVD is 2.35:1 on the Oppo.

Other comments: HD-A2 has worked well with HD DVDs on both HDMI-to- M1 connection on SP5000, and on component to SP5000. HDMI has occasionally had a synchronization problem, producing high definition snow.

Question: Any ideas?

Is it non-anamorphic? The A2 only plays non-anamorphic discs, framed, like you described.

I just checked, Highlander 2 The Renegade version is a Non-Anamorphic disc so it will play it framed.

Thank you for your quick replies. I did not know about this limitation. I am guessing that "The Matrix" was anamorphic, because that up-scaled correctly on the A2. I can see that the Oppo will stay in my equipment rack for now.

Lots of 1.5 update talk,but what does it do?

Is it true that "Enhanced Black Level" has no impact if you are connected via HDMI?

It is to a Pioneer plasma if that matters.

Thanks

Doug

Equipment chain: Toshiba HD-A2 --> HDMI cable --> DVI cable --> M1 connector --> Infocus SP5000 projector.

HD-A2 Picture setting: Started with "upto 720p", then tried "upto 1080i", then tried "upto 480p".

SP5000 setting: "Native", which means 1280 x 720p with no video scaling.

DVD Title: Highlander 2 Renegade version.

Problem: Upscaling produced a 1280 x 720p image with a black border all around, and a smaller picture image inside.

Attempted workarounds: Set picture menu on player to 1080i, and 480p. Still got the black border, although 480p produced a smaller overall image. Tried rebooting.

Resolution: Switched to Oppo 971 and everything worked fine. I could see that the aspect ratio of the DVD is 2.35:1 on the Oppo.

Other comments: HD-A2 has worked well with HD DVDs on both HDMI-to- M1 connection on SP5000, and on component to SP5000. HDMI has occasionally had a synchronization problem, producing high definition snow.

Question: Any ideas?

Hi,

For widescreen, non-anamorphic DVDs try experimenting with the "Letterbox" option on your aspect ratio settings of your InFocus projector.

If you refer to page 25 of your user manual you will see the following:

Letterbox: preserves the 16:9 aspect ratio. If you have a 16:9 source and screen, the image fills the screen. If your source is letterboxed, the image is expanded to fill the screen.

I try to avoid non-anamorphic DVDs, but this seems to work on my InFocus ScreenPlay 7205 for the titles that I do have.

Larry

SP5000 setting: "Native", which means 1280 x 720p with no video scaling.
Question: Any ideas?

When I leave my Optoma projector in NATIVE, I have the same problem when I let the Toshiba do 1080 or 480 because there is no scaling. I have a setting 16:9, which I suppose your projector has a setting for which scales to 720 when the input is not 720. I don't think there is any getting around your problem unless you send a 720 signal when left on NATIVE.

Would this player be as good at upconverting SD DVD's as say an Oppo 981?

I am just putting a home theatre together and cant decide between the Oppo, the 360 add on or this. Cant afford to buy both

I am projecting onto a 102" screen with a Mits HD1000U


Any comments appriciated

I don't have the Oppo and have the same question (kinda), but in my system with a screen as big as yours with my Optoma HD72, the picture is unbelievable. With good Superbit SD discs, I could swear it was HD sometimes. I almost can't believe that you could get much better than the Toshiba provides.

When I leave my Optoma projector in NATIVE, I have the same problem when I let the Toshiba do 1080 or 480 because there is no scaling. I have a setting 16:9, which I suppose your projector has a setting for which scales to 720 when the input is not 720. I don't think there is any getting around your problem unless you send a 720 signal when left on NATIVE.

Hi Steve,

The aspect ratio settings of the projector have nothing to do with setting the projector's resolution. The fact is that the poster's projector has a native 720p display and ALL input resolutions at ALL aspect ratios must be rescaled by the projector to 720p.

With all due respect, I believe that my response just prior to yours will offer the poster a solution. As I mentioned this would require using the "Letterbox" option rather than "Native" for non-anamorphic titles.

Larry

I'm having a problem with the hdmi output hooked to my philips lcd tv (about 1 year old). The video is fine, but I lose the audio on hd-dvds after 4 seconds. I tried a standard dvd, and that worked fine (I tried two so far). The port and cable are fine, I don't have any troubles with other hdmi sources. This is going directly from the a2 to the tv. The tv gets the sound if I turn the speakers on, it just won't pass through the digital out. I'm on the latest firmware.

Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Thanks,

Greg

I don't have the Oppo and have the same question (kinda), but in my system with a screen as big as yours with my Optoma HD72, the picture is unbelievable. With good Superbit SD discs, I could swear it was HD sometimes. I almost can't believe that you could get much better than the Toshiba provides.

You did not mention what dvd player you have that plays superbit sd disc and it sometimes hd like quality.

Would this player be as good at upconverting SD DVD's as say an Oppo 981?

I am just putting a home theatre together and cant decide between the Oppo, the 360 add on or this. Cant afford to buy both

I am projecting onto a 102" screen with a Mits HD1000U


Any comments appreciated


I have hd a2 dvd player and I am very satisfied with upconversion
and I don't know about oppo but for what I heard it is a very good
upconversion dvd player, I would suggest buy hd dvd or blu ray.

You did not mention what dvd player you have that plays superbit sd disc and it sometimes hd like quality.

The HD-A2.

Hi,

For widescreen, non-anamorphic DVDs try experimenting with the "Letterbox" option on your aspect ratio settings of your InFocus projector.

If you refer to page 25 of your user manual you will see the following:



I try to avoid non-anamorphic DVDs, but this seems to work on my InFocus ScreenPlay 7205 for the titles that I do have.

Larry

Thank you for your reply. I expect you are correct, and the "letterbox" setting in the menu would have removed the black frame. I am in the habit of leaving the SP5000 on "Native" and using the scalers in the Oppo. The scalers in the SP5000 have mediocre performance, and I don't use them.

The real question is why doesn't the H2-A2 scale the letterbox DVDs similarly to the Oppo? Upscaling DVD players are approaching commodity status, and I thought this premium player would upscale DVDs, like the spec says. The spec did not disclaim wide screen letterbox DVDs, or restrict upscaling to anamorphic wide screen DVDs. There are corollary questions, such as "Do the more expensive HD DVD player models upscale more types of DVD formats?"

Thank you for your reply. I expect you are correct, and the "letterbox" setting in the menu would have removed the black frame. I am in the habit of leaving the SP5000 on "Native" and using the scalers in the Oppo. The scalers in the SP5000 have mediocre performance, and I don't use them.

The real question is why doesn't the H2-A2 scale the letterbox DVDs similarly to the Oppo? Upscaling DVD players are approaching commodity status, and I thought this premium player would upscale DVDs, like the spec says. The spec did not disclaim wide screen letterbox DVDs, or restrict upscaling to anamorphic wide screen DVDs. There are corollary questions, such as "Do the more expensive HD DVD player models upscale more types of DVD formats?"

Hi,

You're welcome.

I appreciate that you've gotten used to the operation of your Oppo, which is a very fine and reasonably priced upconverting player. And I further appreciate your disappointment in the operation of the HD-A2 with respect to non-anamorphic DVDs. However, to put this in perspective, we are talking about a button press of the projector's remote control to put it in Letterbox mode and an other press to return it to Native.

While its quite possible that the Oppo might handle non-anamorphic DVDs better than the HD-A2 in conjunction with your projectors aspect ratio options, nevertheless don't you think trying Letterbox first would be prudent before reaching your conclusions?

I realize that we have slightly different InFocus projectors, but I've found its scaling to be quite good.

Larry

Don't worry about Nero, I just downloaded and used this program, a whole lot easier.

Quick steps to burn an ISO to CD-ROM:

1) Download and install ISO Recorder (http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/download/ISORecorderV2RC1.msi) (for Windows XP SP2 and W2K3 only. 360KB).
2) Load a blank CD-ROM into your burner.
3) Browse to the ISO file on your computer using Windows Explorer.
4) Right-click the ISO file.
5) Select 'Copy Image to CD'. The application will start.
6) Click the 'Next' button. The image will be burnt and the CD-ROM ejected. Done.

You can download the 1.5 ISO update from Toshiba Canada at 1.5 firmware update (http://209.167.114.38/support/ceg/downloads/index.asp)

Cheers

Wow; I followed these instructions exactly & low & behold, the A2 took the update perfectly; it worked like a charm! To me, so much easier than the ethernet method and certainly quicker than waiting for the CD. Thanks for the "easy to follow" instructions.. :)

Ken

I have hd a2 dvd player and I am very satisfied with upconversion
and I don't know about oppo but for what I heard it is a very good
upconversion dvd player, I would suggest buy hd dvd or blu ray.


Thank you

Thank you

You are welcome, I noticed that you also have mits hd1000u.
same thing here I also have it, got it last feb with projectorpeople.com
and loved it so far. I am projecting it with 106'' diy screen.


hd-a2 does a very good job with my sd dvd with my mits.
my hd a2 is set up with 1080i.

Goodluck to you..

I might be crazy, but someone tell me if they've noticed this also.

1. Ever since the 1.5 update, it seems my LFE channel just isn't doing as much as it used to. Anyone else notice this?

2. Sound formats that are supposed to be passed thru "unouched"... such as standard DVD Dolby Digital or DTS, just don't seem to sound quite as high in fidelity as I'm used to. (Although according to my receiver the bitstreams are in the correct native formats, so I'm not seeing DD getting transcoded to DTS for example.) Maybe I'm listening too hard, but I feel like I'm hearing more compression in the audio than I used to on my standard DVD player. I haven't done a scene-to-scene comparison test yet, but I'm tempted.

Thoughts?

I watched Discovery Atlas: Australia Revealed. The film plays nicely in my A2 with 1.5 FW. However, I'm having problems with the extra esp the "HD Technology". It keeps freezing, thus unwatchable. :(

Amazon has HD A2 for sale for $277.88

Up to $310. Now

That was quick

Amazon itself is offering it for $310, but if you order it from Electronics Expo (through Amazon) it's still $277.88 (plus shipping, which appears to be $19). I still want to hold out for an 'XA2, but damn that's tempting...

Hi,

You're welcome.

I appreciate that you've gotten used to the operation of your Oppo, which is a very fine and reasonably priced upconverting player. And I further appreciate your disappointment in the operation of the HD-A2 with respect to non-anamorphic DVDs. However, to put this in perspective, we are talking about a button press of the projector's remote control to put it in Letterbox mode and an other press to return it to Native.

While its quite possible that the Oppo might handle non-anamorphic DVDs better than the HD-A2 in conjunction with your projectors aspect ratio options, nevertheless don't you think trying Letterbox first would be prudent before reaching your conclusions?

I realize that we have slightly different InFocus projectors, but I've found its scaling to be quite good.

Larry

I did try letterbox on the ScreenPlay 5000, not long after I bought it, and that was when I reached my conclusion. The video scalers on the SP5000 cannot be (favorably) compared with the SP-7205. The Oppo 971 and the 7205 both use the Faroudja chip for up-scaling, and they have similar performance. The scalers in the SP5000 are there so that InFocus could say they had them. You wouldn't want to be using them on a regular basis. I know I don't. That is why I have come to depend on the Oppo for upscaling, and it left me frustrated when I realized that the HD-A2 was not going to replace the Oppo for all DVDs.

I'm new at being an early adopter. My son said it, "Dad... you're an early adopter? You're not going to sit-out the format war? I think BD will win." So there you have it, the format war is tearing apart families now, and I suppose I will have to suffer through my all-format-video-scaling problem for the privlege of taking a side.

Question Guys..

My fellow employee and I were at work yesterday, testing out the A2 on different TV sets. (We work at Circuit City). A2 is set to 1080i, and we hooked it up to 2 1080p sets. On both, random pausing during fast moving scenes revealed scan lines which we assumed to be us catching a frame which was being deinterlaced. Why is this happening? I thought that most current 1080p displays properly deinterlaced? We tried the a2 from on the Toshiba 42HL167 Regza set, and the set could not deinterlace worth crap. The loading screen that shows the "HD-DVD" logo in white in the corner was all jagged and you could see the blocky lines.

However- all this was remedied when we switched the a2 to 720p. No more lines when pausing during a fast moving action scene, and no more distorted HD-DVD logo.

Also, my HLS5087w REALLY shows its inability to deinterlace in 4x3 mode. My girlfriend was watching her box set of "Charmed" and when ever the camera pans quickly, or switches angles quickly, it' lace mania. I've been told this is because my set failed 3:2 pulldown (as cited by hometheater mag.)

So, what's the real answer to all these questions?

yep, tv probably has problem detecting 3:2 pulldown. You sure you had it turned on? my sharp has a option to enabled/disable it, called film mode. Also trickplay seems to mess up the film mode detection sometime too, tv seems to get out of sync.

720p is doing the 3/2 repeat of frames to get up to 60 fps from 24 but since the whole frame the tv just needs to display it so it doesnt need to detect anything. Sometimes the dvd players has problems doing 3:2 pulldown too so in that case 720p would be messed up too:D

also I think tv shows dvds are flagged improperly too for what type they are so dvd player gets messed up. Friends box set is flagged incorrectly .

I did try letterbox on the ScreenPlay 5000, not long after I bought it, and that was when I reached my conclusion. The video scalers on the SP5000 cannot be (favorably) compared with the SP-7205. The Oppo 971 and the 7205 both use the Faroudja chip for up-scaling, and they have similar performance. The scalers in the SP5000 are there so that InFocus could say they had them. You wouldn't want to be using them on a regular basis. I know I don't. That is why I have come to depend on the Oppo for upscaling, and it left me frustrated when I realized that the HD-A2 was not going to replace the Oppo for all DVDs.

I'm new at being an early adopter. My son said it, "Dad... you're an early adopter? You're not going to sit-out the format war? I think BD will win." So there you have it, the format war is tearing apart families now, and I suppose I will have to suffer through my all-format-video-scaling problem for the privlege of taking a side.

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to explain your point of view.

Yes, if you're going to be an early adopter, you really do need to develop a higher threshold of pain. ;)

I consider myself an early adopter, but not one of those ultra-rabid enthusiasts that are compelled to be the first on their block to buy a first generation gizmo without waiting for the professional reviewers to provide their insights. In fact, I tried valiantly to ignore this latest format war for as long as possible, but a buddy of my kept egging me on. (By the way, he has yet to wade into the fray. :rolleyes: ) I told him that THIS time I was going to wait until the second generation players were released. However, I was very surprised to see how quickly Toshiba came out with their second generation players and, of course, I succumbed. :o

In 20-20 hindsight, had I to do it over, would I have waited longer? No, I really don't think so. My biggest problem is the way the second generation players currently incorrectly handle colorspace over an HDMI to DVI connection. I'd really like to see Toshiba fix that with a firmware upgrade. But fortunately, I went with the HD-XA2 that has user adjustable picture settings so I have an acceptable interim workaround. Other than that, as a seasoned early adopter, I haven't had any major problems that exceed my admittedly higher pain threshold. ;)

With regard to your tongue-in-cheek remark about your son, I get the impression from his statement that he's actually displaying admiration at your surprising bravado in taking a position early in the format war. He's going to be even more surprised when it turns out that the "Old Man" actually had the insight to pick the right horse in this race. Take my advice as a fellow early adopter, stop focusing on this minor annoyance about standard definition, and start in earnest to enjoy the exceptional qualities of HD DVDs together with your son. I'll bet it won't be long before he sees the light. :D

Enjoy!

Larry

I am loving every minute of our A2. It has played every HD disc we've put in without any problems. For $300 with free shipping to Hawaii and 5 free discs... it seemed the time was right for me.

Hello: I am wondering if anyone else has seen a message when loading a Std DVD into the HDXA2, that says, "Output Restricted, the ... will be played at/converted to 480P" or something like that. The message only flashes on the screen briefly.

Disks where this has been observed: Superbit version of Air Force One, and Casino.

I am guessing there will be many others.

Most important: If you push the DISPLAY button on the remote, the screen indicates 1080P output, NOT lower res 480P

Anyone know what's gone on here?

HDXA2 connnected via HDMI to Samsung 1080P DLP RP TV.

I have this message too. Does anybody know what is going on when it happeneds? Is it really outputting at 480P?

What exactly does the 1.5 fix? I've tried to search for it but couldn't find any info. I have downloaded it from Toshiba but I'd like to know what it does before I install it,

Does the HD-A2 automatically upconvert SD movies to HD, or do you have to program it to do so?

Also, does it have picture adjustment options?

What exactly does the 1.5 fix? I've tried to search for it but couldn't find any info. I have downloaded it from Toshiba but I'd like to know what it does before I install it,

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/tacpassets-images/notices/hddvd2firmware.asp

1.5 works well for me and handles std def DVD's nicely including dual layer discs (DVD +R)

Does the HD-A2 automatically upconvert SD movies to HD, or do you have to program it to do so?

Also, does it have picture adjustment options?

Yes & yes :)

Any idea if they will ever firmware update the A2 from 1080i to 1080p?

I have a my HD-A2 connected with HDMI to my Denon 2807 reciever and it works really nice with Dolby Ditgital + and Dolby ThruHD it gets converted to PCM.
When I play SD-DVD´s I get bitstream to my reciever for (dolby Digital and DTS) but when i watched the european version om RAMBO which has DTS Master HD I thought I would get a 1536 DTS to my reciever but I only get a PCM (Multichannel in on my reciver).


I have set my HDMI on auto in the sound option of HD-A2.

Can I get the DTS 1636 (core) directly through HDMI to my reciever?

Does anyone know how to get rid of the horizontal black bars usually seen when playing a HD DVD? I believe I would prefer an Upconverted SD picture without the bars over a HD DVD with them.

Thanks, Bill

If you "get rid" of the bars by manipulating the display settings, you will be cutting off part of the picture. A lot of movies are shot in an aspect ratio wider than 16:9 (1.78:1) and thus the bars need to be there if you want to see all the image. I have several that are 2.35:1.

An upconverted SD DVD should still have the bars assuming it is the same aspect ratio as the HD DVD (which it will be unless you bought a "full screen" DVD).

I prefer to watch things as the artist intended them in their original aspect ratio and not "mutilated" (uh, formatted) to fit my screen.

<sarcasm> I'm just waiting for the day that "full screen" means 16:9 and they start P&S with 2.35:1 discs </sarcasm>...just more confusion for the consumer. We already are seeing the "I bought a wide screen TV, why do I still have black bars" complaint...sheesh....

It will never happen n that's why they want you to pay more for A20 for its 1080P feature.


Any idea if they will ever firmware update the A2 from 1080i to 1080p?

This is so frustrating to me...

Does anyone know how to get rid of the horizontal black bars usually seen when playing a HD DVD? I believe I would prefer an Upconverted SD picture without the bars over a HD DVD with them.

they are not black bars! They just aren't there. I don't even notice it because I am watching the picture - not the "black bars."

I wonder... when people go to a movie theater, do they go to the manager and complain that the whole screen is not being utilized with a picture... "Excuse me Mr. Manager, can you please get rid of the black bars above and below the picture."

Why is this such a big deal to people?

Oh and another thing - when watching SD tv on your wide screen - STOP STRETCHING THE PICTURE - Just watch it!

Sorry, this is very annoying to me. I know, I need to chill out, sorry.

Dwaine

I wonder... when people go to a movie theater, do they go to the manager and complain that the whole screen is not being utilized with a picture... "Excuse me Mr. Manager, can you please get rid of the black bars above and below the picture."

No because the manager hides the unused portion of the screen with curtains, so you don't know that the aspect ratio is greater than another movie :)


Oh and another thing - when watching SD tv on your wide screen - STOP STRETCHING THE PICTURE - Just watch it!

I'm almost at my 100 hours on my plasma (when burn in will most likely occur), so I can start watching 4:3 programming again :)

This is so frustrating to me...



they are not black bars! They just aren't there. I don't even notice it because I am watching the picture - not the "black bars."

I wonder... when people go to a movie theater, do they go to the manager and complain that the whole screen is not being utilized with a picture... "Excuse me Mr. Manager, can you please get rid of the black bars above and below the picture."

Why is this such a big deal to people?

Oh and another thing - when watching SD tv on your wide screen - STOP STRETCHING THE PICTURE - Just watch it!

Sorry, this is very annoying to me. I know, I need to chill out, sorry.

Dwaine

I have to explain these things all the time to my parents and my wife's a parents. I finally got my father-in-law to stop buying fullscreen DVDs. I helped my dad get a Sony 60" SXRD unit, and he doesn't stretch the SD picture anymore, either. You gotta convert'em one person at a time. ;)

It will never happen n that's why they want you to pay more for A20 for its 1080P feature.

Never say never.......

It may not be official Toshiba firmware but never say never, ;)

OK, I've been using my HD-A2 for a couple of hours. Played HD and SD, everything worked fine. Until....

I Dropped in Digital Video Essentials, the HD DVD version. Now the unit is stuck with a flashing "LOADING" message. I tried pulling the plug and that didn't help.

Any suggestions????

OK, I've been using my HD-A2 for a couple of hours. Played HD and SD, everything worked fine. Until....

I Dropped in Digital Video Essentials, the HD DVD version. Now the unit is stuck with a flashing "LOADING" message. I tried pulling the plug and that didn't help.

Any suggestions????

I called Toshiba, they said pack it up and send it to them. Unit lasted 2 hours. :mad:

I called Toshiba, they said pack it up and send it to them. Unit lasted 2 hours. :mad:

Why not exchange it where you bought it from if it has only been a couple of hours? Surely you didn't let it sit in the box for a month or more :eek:

The A2 only upconverts over hdmi, If this isn't the stupidest limitation ever...

The A2 only upconverts over hdmi, If this isn't the stupidest limitation ever...

There are very few players that upconvert "protected" content over component...the LG LST-3510A (DVD Player / HDTV Tuner) is one that I can think of that will do it with some "tricking." All current players that upconvert will only do it over HDMI

I called Toshiba, they said pack it up and send it to them. Unit lasted 2 hours. :mad:

Plug it back in, wait for it to fully boot-up, then hold the power button down for 10-15 seconds. That should reset the unit & you should be able to retrieve the disc.

Damn that sux. I've been so happy with mine

Plug it back in, wait for it to fully boot-up, then hold the power button down for 10-15 seconds. That should reset the unit & you should be able to retrieve the disc.

Damn that sux. I've been so happy with mine

Well, I unpacked the unit to give your advice a try. Plugged it in and darn if it didn't work. I didn't have to do anything.

I wonder if it's over-heating? The shelf it's on isn't very well ventilated. I guess I just keep an eye on it.

nm

How does the SD upconverting capabilities of HD-A2 compare to Oppo 981?
Im having a hardtime deciding which player to get since I have a huge DVD collection and Id like the best upconverting possible on my system from any of these two players. ( I cant afford HD-XA2).
Any thoughts?

I don't have the Oppo, but my HD-A2 does a really good job set at 720P to my Vizio 60" plasma. I can't see buying a regular DVD player now, with these in the $300 range.

MIKE

How does the SD upconverting capabilities of HD-A2 compare to Oppo 981?
Im having a hardtime deciding which player to get since I have a huge DVD collection and Id like the best upconverting possible on my system from any of these two players. ( I cant afford HD-XA2).
Any thoughts?


I have the Oppo 971. I see very little difference between it and the HD-A2, also there will be no macro blocking with the HD A2.

I don't have the Oppo, but my HD-A2 does a really good job set at 720P to my Vizio 60" plasma. I can't see buying a regular DVD player now, with these in the $300 range.

MIKE
The Oppo is multi region where as the A2 is stuck on R1 SD DVD playback.

I know this question has been asked several times, and I read a few pages until I realized HOW many posts were on this thread. How does the Dolby TrueHD audio work? Does it only work via HDMI? I bought a new Denon receiver a couple years ago, and it doesn't have an HDMI connection. I'd love to step up to HD DVD, but can't purchase a new receiver with HDMI too. If DTHD is only available via HDMI, how does it sound compared to standard 5.1 via a Fiber Optic Output?

If you are using optical for audio then the A2 transcodes all the new audio formats it supports to 1.5Mbps DTS. Sounds good to me, better then the standard DD that my PS3/Dvd outputs. I dont have a HDMI avr to compare it with so cant answer that question.

Does HD-A2 have a problam upconverting the DVDs that are full frame (not widescreen)?
c

No problem. I just watched '88 minutes' by Al Pacino last night in full frame that fill up my 92" 16x9 screen.

Hi there: I have noticed that on my full-frame copy of Phantom of the Opera, upconverted to 1080i, it did not fill the screen and had black bars on the sides.
Not sure how to correct it.

Hi there: I have noticed that on my full-frame copy of Phantom of the Opera, upconverted to 1080i, it did not fill the screen and had black bars on the sides.
Not sure how to correct it.

only way I know how to correct it is to use your tvs zoom option. I dont think there is a option on the A2 to zoom

It wouldn't be "correct" if you stretch or expand.
I prefer black bars to stretched faces and missing edges, but whatever is pleasing to you is correct.

Hi there: I have noticed that on my full-frame copy of Phantom of the Opera, upconverted to 1080i, it did not fill the screen and had black bars on the sides.
Not sure how to correct it.

Give your copy to a friend with a 4:3 TV and buy the HD DVD version...then you will have the correct "blank space" (black bars, per se) on the top and bottom as it is a 2.40:1 aspect ratio.

[B]Specific title problem - Children of Men

[B]I just put in a XA2 and moved my XA1 to the bedroom. Children of Men will not load on the new XA2 but does load on the XA1. I did the firmware upgrade to 1.5 and it still won't load, get's to chapter 1, time 1 second hangs for a while and gives MSSG on panel and disk won't play to set. Anyone seen anything like this?

With all the deals going around I am thinking about getting an A2 or A20. I just wanted to know how good the a2 upscales DVDs. Is it on par with the A20? I know the A20 will upconvert to 1080p but besides that I just wanted to know how the 2 compare in that aspect. Also does the A20 have the same limitation as the A2 in which The A2 only plays non-anamorphic discs, framed? Thanks in advance for any help.

Well, I unpacked the unit to give your advice a try. Plugged it in and darn if it didn't work. I didn't have to do anything.

I wonder if it's over-heating? The shelf it's on isn't very well ventilated. I guess I just keep an eye on it.


This happened on my xa2 and you CAN eject it if you hit eject on the remote (several times) just as the toshiba logo shows up. It may take a few trys but the tray will open.

With the deals being announced, I'm really considering the A2. Question regarding Upconverting. Those who have the A2...how is the upconversion of Standard DVDs?

read up in this thread for upconverting answers. Bottom line, it will do better than the $100 upconverting player in the big box stores.

This happened on my xa2 and you CAN eject it if you hit eject on the remote (several times) just as the toshiba logo shows up. It may take a few trys but the tray will open.
on my xa1 and a1 players..if you flip down the cover..there is a tiny pin hole you can push a small paper clip into to eject a disc..same as a drive on your pc that gets stuck

With the deals being announced, I'm really considering the A2. Question regarding Upconverting. Those who have the A2...how is the upconversion of Standard DVDs?

I am about 6 weeks into the HD DVD scene and I am quite pleased with the A2 upconversion. Though my vision is declining, I can definitely see the improvement over a standard player. I remember spending almost $500 for my first VHS machine. I figure with the prices going where they're going, it's a no brainer.

Thanks to all for the feedback to my question on full-frame Phantom of the Opera not filling the screen when played on the A-2. Had a similar problem last night with the "Evening with the Dixie Chicks". This is widescreen, as far as I know, but may not be anamorphic. Used to play just fine of my LG 7832 (upconverted to 1080i) and filled the screen just fine.
Only way I could fill the screen on the A-2 was if I upconverted to 480p max.
It seems that non-anamorphic widescreen cause a problem. Anyone else experience problems like this ? Thanks !

If I stop a movie on the A2 in the middle and turn off the player will is resume from where I left it when I turn it on again?

If I stop a movie on the A2 in the middle and turn off the player will is resume from where I left it when I turn it on again?

No.

non-anamorphic widescreens are 4:3 aspect ratio and have the "black bars" as part of the 4:3 picture, so even it you upconvert, the black bars will remain. It should actually be Window Boxed (black bars on all 4 sides) if watched in the correct aspect ratio (I.e. no stretching on the TV or zooming on the TV)

Huge variation between SD quality on the HD-A2. I doubt if it has much to do with the player, or my projector (JVC RS-1), but I watched Blood Diamond and The Prestige on the last tqwo nights. Both are recent mainstream, big-budget films. Blood Diamond was grainy and looked SD, with very obvious digital artifacts around the occassional subtitles. The Prestige, on the other hand, looked very nearly HD - incredibly crisp and clean. What gives?

Kevin

The last two HD-DVDs from Netfix, The Good Shepherd and Smokin’ Aces, will not play. The message I’ve gotten: this disc not DVD format. I’ve tried my personal HD-DVDs and they all work. I was glad to see it wasn’t the player, but not happy I’m not getting to see them in HD. SD side works fine.

The last two HD-DVDs from Netfix, The Good Shepherd and Smokin’ Aces, will not play. The message I’ve gotten: this disc not DVD format. I’ve tried my personal HD-DVDs and they all work. I was glad to see it wasn’t the player, but not happy I’m not getting to see them in HD. SD side works fine.

I have had the A2 since before Christmas, and just recently I am starting to see the same message. Fortunately, I been able to eject the disc, reload, and it plays fine.

The discs in question have been "The Departed" amd "Forbidden Planet", both are pristine.

FTR, I am running 1.5 firmware.

Brian

I did the reload 3 times last night and twice this morning to no avail. I’m familiar with the store bought procedure and that works for me, but something is going on with these Netfix discs. I currently have 1.3 and never had a problem with any Netfix HD disc (other than those that are well known) until I installed 1.3. I think this is the 3rd time since 1.3 that I’ve had that message come up. I’m putting this on Netfix being as my free discs work fine, but it does make me wonder.

Hi I am new to this forum. I have been reading various posts and I just recently purchased an Onkyo 604. I had to replace my Old 5.1 sony. Of course now that I had a reciever that can handle HDMI I decided to take everyones advice and purchase the HD-D2.

Well I ran the firmware update I think it was 1.5. Orginally I had it set the audio to both auto for Bitstream and HDMI and my reciever said 48 KHZ. So I tweaked it around set the player HDMI Auto and Bit Stream to PCM. Well I changed the Sound to Dolby TrueHD and turned the volume up to 70 and Wow the bass and the clarity was amazing. Also when I hit display on the reciever it showed 96Khz. Does any body know why this is.

Anyways the sound is great and I am very pleased with the player.

Also since I bought this model at BJ's instead of CC do you think I will have quality issues?

I hopped on the Costco HD-D2 train yesterday and I have a few questions. I have not tested it with the HD-dvds yet and I’m going to do that today but I was able to test out some regular dvds last night. I read up on the A2 and believe I got my unit set up properly regarding audio & video.

I have a Toshiba 52HMX84 720p DLP

In the past I bought an up converting player but to be honest I could really not tell a difference between that unit (a Toshiba, forgot the model #) and my old 5-disc progressive scan Toshiba dvd player so I returned the unit.

I tested out Bourne Identity and Spiderman 2 Superbit. The audio for both discs (dts) sounded phenomenal and I thought it was better than my old progressive scan player. I was however disappointed with the up conversion. It just seemed rather blah to be honest; washed out colors and just overall flat and no pop. I have the D2 set up to output 1080i and I’m obviously hooked up via HDMI. I tweaked with my DLP picture settings and it still looked off. I’m not new to HT game and I know I’m not going to see anything close to an HD picture, but I was hoping for something better. BUT I got this player for HD and sold off most of my SD collection over the past year in anticipation of the new format.

Any ideas why I’m not happy with the up conversion? My firmware is 1.3, will the 1.5 help this at all?

Thanks.

I hopped on the Costco HD-D2 train yesterday and I have a few questions. I have not tested it with the HD-dvds yet and I’m going to do that today but I was able to test out some regular dvds last night. I read up on the A2 and believe I got my unit set up properly regarding audio & video.

I have a Toshiba 52HMX84 720p DLP

In the past I bought an up converting player but to be honest I could really not tell a difference between that unit (a Toshiba, forgot the model #) and my old 5-disc progressive scan Toshiba dvd player so I returned the unit.

I tested out Bourne Identity and Spiderman 2 Superbit. The audio for both discs (dts) sounded phenomenal and I thought it was better than my old progressive scan player. I was however disappointed with the up conversion. It just seemed rather blah to be honest; washed out colors and just overall flat and no pop. I have the D2 set up to output 1080i and I’m obviously hooked up via HDMI. I tweaked with my DLP picture settings and it still looked off. I’m not new to HT game and I know I’m not going to see anything close to an HD picture, but I was hoping for something better. BUT I got this player for HD and sold off most of my SD collection over the past year in anticipation of the new format.

Any ideas why I’m not happy with the up conversion? My firmware is 1.3, will the 1.5 help this at all?

Thanks.

I upgraded to 1.5 and I still am unsure as to what this update improved. But I do not believe 1.5 will have any effect on your upconversion though.

Cool thanks.

Any ideas why I’m not happy with the up conversion? My firmware is 1.3, will the 1.5 help this at all?

Thanks.

I'm in the same place as you. I have a 7 year old 480i Toshiba DVD player using components to a Sony rear projection LCD (50A10, circa 2005) and picked up the D2.
The D2 is using HDMI and the HDMI input settings were set using settings from the TV's thread. So, not officially calibrated but it should be pretty darn close.

Using my 2-disc Cream at Albert Hall DVD, I bounced between the inputs used by the two players.
I did not see any difference that justifies getting the player as an upconverting player. In other words, the D2 doesn't appear to upconvert any better than my TV. (I tried both 720p and 1080i settings.)
That said, I will be picking up the (SD) Avia disk from the library and running that through the player to see if I modify the settings as a result. And then re-run the tests.

I have not run any HD-DVDs through it either. So, if HD-DVD blows me away, I'll keep the unit. Otherwise, I'll probably return it and use the $270 for other purposes for the time being and wait until my 7 year old player actually stops working.


Mitch

Got back form 2 week road trip and loaded HD version of The Departed. No screen but audio after 3 minutes. Removed Monoprice 5X switcher and connected A2 to Sony 40" Bravia S. No probelms with picture or sound. (Guess I'll have to try and sell Monoprice switcher. Picture quality of "The Departed" --stunning.

H2 audio output set to Digital PCM--connecting to JVC 884v receiver. Good sound now. Had proplems with first HD-DVD "Dreamgirls". But I still have a Onyka TX-SR605 on order from Amazon-- when they come in. I assume that the two HDMI inputs on the 605 will have no handshaking issues with the A2. For now have to remove HDMI from DVR to A2 to play HD-DVD's. Anyone else have a Monoprice switcher with the A2?

Don't know what firmware I have with A2 ordered in mid April, nor know how to determine what version I have--cannot find in manuel. Am still waiting for firmware upgrade from Toshiba. Downloaded 1.5 ISO, but have little trust in my burn on a Mac 20" G5, so I guess I'll continue along until something stops me. Have 4 disk version of Planet Earth to view next. Anyone help me to access my A2 to see what version of firmware I have?

I need to buy a HDMI cable for my new HD-A2. I was wondering for the best performance possible; should the cable be HDMI certified or not?
I intend to buy a Onkyo 605 receiver and Im planning to use this for 5.1 PCM audio and 1080i picture.
does any HDMI cable will do the job or is there any special consideration I need to be aware of?
cheers

I need to buy a HDMI cable for my new HD-A2. I was wondering for the best performance possible; should the cable be HDMI certified or not?
I intend to buy a Onkyo 605 receiver and Im planning to use this for 5.1 PCM audio and 1080i picture.
does any HDMI cable will do the job or is there any special consideration I need to be aware of?
cheers

No. Do yourself and your wallet a favor and just order an HDMI cable from Monoprice.com. Great prices and products.


Mitch

Got back form 2 week road trip and loaded HD version of The Departed. No screen but audio after 3 minutes. Removed Monoprice 5X switcher and connected A2 to Sony 40" Bravia S. No probelms with picture or sound. (Guess I'll have to try and sell Monoprice switcher. Picture quality of "The Departed" --stunning.

H2 audio output set to Digital PCM--connecting to JVC 884v receiver. Good sound now. Had proplems with first HD-DVD "Dreamgirls". But I still have a Onyka TX-SR605 on order from Amazon-- when they come in. I assume that the two HDMI inputs on the 605 will have no handshaking issues with the A2. For now have to remove HDMI from DVR to A2 to play HD-DVD's. Anyone else have a Monoprice switcher with the A2?

I've had exactly the same problems with the A2 and the Monoprice switcher. I've tried everything other users have suggested here, such as making sure the A2 is in the fourth or fifth switcher slot, but no matter what I tried I couldn't get a reliable connection. Sometimes it would work flawlessly for hours, but most of the time I would lose video after about ten minutes. I finally gave up and just ran the HDMI directly to my TV. It's rock-solid that way.

There is now a firmware upgrade 1.6.

Does anyone else have a problem with doing a frame-by-frame advance with hd-dvds? It works fine for dvds but I've tried it on a handful of hd-dvds with no luck.

Anyone help on how to access menu on HD-A2 to see what firmware is installed?

Hi everyone,

Y'know....I'm really confused by my HD-A2. I have an SXRD XBR 1 50" and a Yamaha RXV-2600 receiver with HDMI. I hooked up my HD-A2 via HDMI, and to be perfectly honest, have been nothing but underwhelmed by the audio.

I purchased Batman Begins and The Matrix Trilogy today. Updated the firmware online before playing them. Both discs had the same problem: when I switched from Dolby 5.1 to Dolby TrueHD, they sound virtually the same. The TrueHD even sounds a little softer and lower than the 5.1 mix.

I have a PS3. As an example, Casino Royale and Rocky Balboa's uncompressed PCM is LEAPS ahead in terms of dynamics and sound quality when compared to their respective DD 5.1 mixes.

The settings on my receiver are the same for when I play Blu-Rays. MPCM+Standard+PLII.

The A2 is set HDMI to "auto" and SPDIF to "bitstream".

I'm by no means trying to diss HD-DVD, and am simply stating what I have experienced. I would love to know what I'm doing wrong, if anything. I can't figure this sucker out! Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hi everyone,

I purchased Batman Begins and The Matrix Trilogy today. Updated the firmware online before playing them. Both discs had the same problem: when I switched from Dolby 5.1 to Dolby TrueHD, they sound virtually the same. The TrueHD even sounds a little softer and lower than the 5.1 mix.



Don't you have to use the multichannel analog outputs/inputs to get TrueHD? I thought it takes the new HDMI v1.3 standard to get TrueHD over HDMI.

Got this message from Toshiba on how to determine what version of firmware your A2 has installed:

Checking Firmware:
Enter "Setup Menu"
Go to "Maintenance"
Click on "Update"
A small box will display with the firmware version.
If you need the firmware, please write back with your name, address, phone#, model#, and original request. We can then create a file on you and send you a copy. Thanks!



For further assistance, please write back or call our Customer Solutions Department at 1-800-319-6684. They are available Mon-Fri, 8AM to 7PM Central time.

Thank you guys for helping me out
I have still few more questions:
1)when I plays DVD in my HD-A2 it seems a bit slower than standalone DVD players when changing chapters. is it normal or it should be as fast as a standalone DVD Player?
2)while playing 4:3 DVDs (which unfortunately I have few) how do I make HD-A2 to play them full screen? is there such an option?
Thank you again

Thank you guys for helping me out
I have still few more questions:
1)when I plays DVD in my HD-A2 it seems a bit slower than standalone DVD players when changing chapters. is it normal or it should be as fast as a standalone DVD Player?
2)while playing 4:3 DVDs (which unfortunately I have few) how do I make HD-A2 to play them full screen? is there such an option?
Thank you again

1) Mine is a tad slower, too...but nothing annoying
2) Please don't watch the 4:3 DVD's in stretchy vision...either watch them as they were butchered (formatted to fit the 4:3 screen) or replace them with widescreen anamorphic copies.

I wouldn't have to replace any of my DVD's if they had thought about it and made anamorphic DVD's back in the late '90's :(

Don't you have to use the multichannel analog outputs/inputs to get TrueHD? I thought it takes the new HDMI v1.3 standard to get TrueHD over HDMI.

to me he is comparing the PCM output via HDMI, decoding of TrueHD is done by the A2, same as PS3

to me he is comparing the PCM output via HDMI, decoding of TrueHD is done by the A2, same as PS3

I guess that's what I'm doing. So is there a problem, or am I just crazy? :-) Do I need to use analog???

Forgive me if this has been covered in this thread already, but I have a question. If you use the HDMI connection on this unit hooked straight to the TV can you also enable the audio out through the optical connection?

yes

I guess that's what I'm doing. So is there a problem, or am I just crazy? :-) Do I need to use analog???

there is no analog out of the A2 minus the stereo jacks, you are doing it correctly. I dont have a AVR with HDMI, I use toslink, so I cant help on the settings, someone else want to chime in?

I got my HD-A2 yesterday and I'm very pleased with it. All the titles I tried played flawlessly and I had zero synch issues with my Westinghouse LVM-42W2 using HDMI.

The firmware update took a bit longer than I was expecting, but it updated to 1.6 on the first try once it was connected to my network.

My only complaint about this player is that it won't play back PAL DVDs, which is a minor issue.

So the appears to be a probelm with this player and the monoprice switcher..Does anyone know if the 1.6 firmware fixes this?

there is no analog out of the A2 minus the stereo jacks, you are doing it correctly. I dont have a AVR with HDMI, I use toslink, so I cant help on the settings, someone else want to chime in?
The A2 sends decodes TrueHD itself and pushes it out HDMI, you don't need 1.3.

Ok i just got this unit through amazon(electronics expo) Anyway, i have some questions.
1. The welcome screen pops up when i turn it on but it never goes away on the first try. I have to unplug it and then it comes up after about 30 seconds. Anybody else have this?
2. About the 3rd hd disk i put in there, i got the not a dvd notice. as soon as i ejected and put back in it worked. is this normal for it to glitch like that?
Any help with that welcome screen would be great, I really like the player but its very frustrating to have it freeze up like that.

try the firmware update, if that doesn't help, send it back for an exchange. I haven't experienced either of those problems with mine...about 5 different HD DVD's and multiple SD DVD's.

try the firmware update, if that doesn't help, send it back for an exchange. I haven't experienced either of those problems with mine...about 5 different HD DVD's and multiple SD DVD's.

Ill try that, altough i just tried to get the internet connection working and that also is a no go.

Quick question. If I hook this up to a 1080p TV, would I then have 1080p picture, even though the player is only capable of 720p?

Quick question. If I hook this up to a 1080p TV, would I then have 1080p picture, even though the player is only capable of 720p?

Mine is capable of outputting at 1080i.

Quick question. If I hook this up to a 1080p TV, would I then have 1080p picture, even though the player is only capable of 720p?

The HD-A2 outputs 1080i. Where did you get 720p?

well i did the firmware update and now i can not get past the welcome screen. But i found that if i unlpug the hdmi it goes through. so this must have a bad hdmi port.

2. About the 3rd hd disk i put in there, i got the not a dvd notice. as soon as i ejected and put back in it worked. is this normal for it to glitch like that?
Any help with that welcome screen would be great, I really like the player but its very frustrating to have it freeze up like that.

Hi All,

I just picked up the A2 and I seem to have run into a similiar problem as bambam. Only thing is none of my movies are playing and I've tried 5 different ones including some SD DVDs. This happened with v1.3 and even after I updated to v1.5. It looks like a faulty player, but thought I'd throw this up here in case anyone has an idea of what's going on. Thanks.

Got my A2 from Amazon last night with the Matrix set, Departed, and Children of Men. ($356!) I had the 360 Add-on previously, but wanted to step up to get the lossess audio since I upgraded receivers since then.

The A2 showed up with 1.3 firmware. I hooked it up using HDMI to a Pioneer Elite 82TXS running to a Mistu 65732 65" 1080p DLP.

Decided to let it ride, and not update it until I found problems. The Matrix played through completely and was spectacular!

Just some random things I noticed...

- Make sure you set the Optical out to PCM on the audio settings. This allows the PCM on the HDMI to be 96hz instead of 48hz. The Pioneer 82TXS reported the change.

- The startup time wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be. The time it takes to boot up the Xbox, and then start the movie is comparable. Still not as fast as the PS3 though.

- I don't know if it is just the switch from component to HDMI, but the picture has a noticeable increase in contrast or depth. This was verified by my eyes using the HD DVE disc. The gradient ramps where cleaner at the low and high ends of the test patterens.

- The remote sucks. But I will live.

- Upscaling was excellent. I have a multitude of upscaling options. A C2D HTPC, running the Xbox standard DVD though the Elite 82TXS which has special upscaling properties, the A2, and soon tonight the PS3. I still like the HTPC the best, with the A2 being a close second, the 82TXS is third, and the PS3 is TBD.

- The 65732 has no problem properly deinterlacing the 1080i to 1080p. I am 99% sure that I would have seen no improvement getting the A20. I believe that the part of the reason is the extremely clean video.

- Played parts of Children of Men, Superman Returns, Batman Begins, and DVE. No loading problems. Matrix played beginning to end with no problems.

Quick question. If I hook this up to a 1080p TV, would I then have 1080p picture, even though the player is only capable of 720p?


Good question, obviously your TV can't display 1080i, so it will either take the 1080i and convert it to 1080p or down to 720p...I'd check you TV's user's manual.

Can someone repost a link to the A2 PDF Owner's Manual please...I can't find it by searching for the life of me.

http://tacp.toshiba.com/tacpassets-images/models/hd-a2/docs/hd-a2_om_e.pdf

I am going to get delivery on the A-2 today so at this point, I do not know what update I might have but I suspect it won't be 1.6.

From reading the Toshiba sight, it indicates that if one has a hdmi to DVI-d connection, we will need to download 1.6 firmware to get anything but 480i, which is exactly the setup that I have.

Does the player come with the usb cable that will enable me to download or do I need to obtain it elsewhere?

The HD-A2 outputs 1080i. Where did you get 720p?

You can set something like maximum output to either 720P or 1080i – I have mine set to 720P because my projector is 720P.

Does the player come with the usb cable that will enable me to download or do I need to obtain it elsewhere?

You need to buy / obtain an Ethernet cable to download and you hook it up to your router or modem.

You can set something like maximum output to either 720P or 1080i – I have mine set to 720P because my projector is 720P.

Yes, but Uegis said "even though the player is only capable of 720p" which is incorrect.

You need to buy / obtain an Ethernet cable to download and you hook it up to your router or modem.

Right. Also make sure that once you have configured your Ethernet set up in the A2 to RESTART the unit. You have to do that for the ethernet configuration to take hold. If you don't, you won't be able to get the update.

I just got my A2 today and I've got to say I was blown away by it. I did the ethernet config and got the 1.6 update. That took what seemed like forever. I tested it with Babel, Pitch Black and We Were Soldiers in HD-DVD and tried both anamorphic and non-anamorphic in SD. All worked superbly.

Upconverting of SD disks was much better than my Sony HDMI DVD player and I thought it was superb.

Other info :

Monoprice 2-1 HDMI switcher works just fine with it

My JVC HD-iLA 61" never looked so good, even with Dish HD

And my Pioneer DV-940 HTIB never sounded so good

For info I plugged the ethernet into my Apple Airport Express that I use on my mac mini and the config was just as simple as following Toshiba's instruction. The Airport Express just responded quite well to it.

The only thing I'm sorry about is that I didn't do this earlier!

I tried to look but no luck, I know the answer is here somewhere..
question here............

What is your set up in picture menu (a2)

mine is:

16x9
1080i
video mode

with this set up: which way to go....for better picture....

video mode and 1080i
video mode and 720p
or
film mode and 1080i
film mode and 720p

Thanks,

Mine is setup for 16x9, 1080i and video mode is auto.

ok i just got one 2 days ago and it looks great. i have had a strange issue: the lord of the ring EE wont upconvert! i have firmware 1.3 (gona try to update here tonight, but have to go to a friends place as he has a router and my service wont let me out, needs user name which is an email address.....). also i have it set to do 720p and its going through component. any ideas?

i just got one - my first hd player. but i have a problem. i only have one hd dvd right now. pitch black. when i paly it on my hitachi 4:3 tv, the bars above and below are gray instead of black?!?! however when i put in a standard dvd, the bars are gray. anyone have a helpful hint for me? i've tried everything i can think of. im hoping its just this particular hd dvd since its in a 2:35 aspect instead of 16:9.

ok i just got one 2 days ago and it looks great. i have had a strange issue: the lord of the ring EE wont upconvert! i have firmware 1.3 (gona try to update here tonight, but have to go to a friends place as he has a router and my service wont let me out, needs user name which is an email address.....). also i have it set to do 720p and its going through component. any ideas?
From page 20 of the manual: "HD DVD and DVD video disc creators have the option to include copy protection instructions in their discs that prohibit
the output of some standard video or high defi nition video (original 720p or 1080i or up-converted 480i or 480p) from
the COMPONENT OUTPUT jacks. If such instructions are present in the disc you are playing, you must use the HDMI
OUTPUT jack to view the disc in a high defi nition format and the COMPONENT OUTPUT jacks, if activated, will output
video only in 480i or 480p resolution."
Hope that helps.

ok i just got one 2 days ago and it looks great. i have had a strange issue: the lord of the ring EE wont upconvert! i have firmware 1.3 (gona try to update here tonight, but have to go to a friends place as he has a router and my service wont let me out, needs user name which is an email address.....). also i have it set to do 720p and its going through component. any ideas?

the a2 does not upconvert via component unless it is a burned dvd minus copy protection. But it will play hd dvd via component 720/1080.

I picked up the Costco model a couple of days ago and since then I have watched a couple of movies. I watched the HD-DVD King Kong and the standard DVD The Prestige. I have a Sharp DT-500 and I had an Oppo 971 DVD player. The Toshiba is set for 720P maximum because the DT-500 is a 720P projector.

I don’t think WOW would be an over exaggeration. HD DVD is, of course, awesome. The HD-DVD picture is very similar to HDTV but even better because it seems to have better blacks and more contrast and depth. VERY VERY film like. I think this may be simply because I was able to calibrate the DVD player with AVIA. (BTW - the projector/DVD combination was very close to being perfectly calibrated out of the box. I only need a couple of ticks up or down on a couple of settings)

The thing that I was floored by was the standard DVD quality. My view is that it is clearly better than any DVD player I have ever had and the picture (this may sound crazy) in standard definition looks “nearly” as good as HD. No Macro, totally smooth, deep contrast and nearly perfect colors. Amazing for $250 bucks. Easily the best upgrade I have made to my system!

From page 20 of the manual: "HD DVD and DVD video disc creators have the option to include copy protection instructions in their discs that prohibit
the output of some standard video or high defi nition video (original 720p or 1080i or up-converted 480i or 480p) from
the COMPONENT OUTPUT jacks. If such instructions are present in the disc you are playing, you must use the HDMI
OUTPUT jack to view the disc in a high defi nition format and the COMPONENT OUTPUT jacks, if activated, will output
video only in 480i or 480p resolution."
Hope that helps.

Interesting. Is there a list anywhere of DVDs that have included their own copy protection? I have always used component (and am doing so now with my A2) so I'd be curious as to what I have watched that was not being up-ressed on my DVB-318.

Interesting. Is there a list anywhere of DVDs that have included their own copy protection? I have always used component (and am doing so now with my A2) so I'd be curious as to what I have watched that was not being up-ressed on my DVB-318.

I think pretty much all DVDs have copy protection enabled so they wont be allowed to upconvert over component, you need to use hdmi.

Right. Also make sure that once you have configured your Ethernet set up in the A2 to RESTART the unit. You have to do that for the ethernet configuration to take hold. If you don't, you won't be able to get the update.


Bless ya. I just got mine from Amazon last night and hooked it up today, I was getting POed that it couldn't contact the server using DHCP or static. Updating it now.

Haven't had much time to play with it, just popped in a disc to check out the picture. Gee, I was getting used to the thin and light players that I'd bought last like the Philips 642 and Oppo 971, kinda depressing to have a big ol player again, but at least it looks at home with the Toshiba VCR at the bottom of my pile :) I was a little afraid to see a fan on this unit, but I'm happy that it's pretty quiet, not any louder than my directivo. I'm not put off by the startup time, I'm used to waiting for my consoles and PC to startup, so this isn't anything new compared to what I deal with every day. On the down side, I forgot to account for how many optical inputs I have on my video switcher, oops. :) Time to rig something up.

Interesting. Is there a list anywhere of DVDs that have included their own copy protection? I have always used component (and am doing so now with my A2) so I'd be curious as to what I have watched that was not being up-ressed on my DVB-318.
I think pretty much all DVDs have copy protection enabled so they wont be allowed to upconvert over component, you need to use hdmi.
As an aside, it should be noted that the initial production wave of the Zenith DVB-318 (as well as its LG counterpart) were among the very last upconverting players released that can do so via component before the mandated restriction took affect. Therefore, it is completely plausible that Sonnyboy's DVB 318 has been upconverting all this time. Just keep in mind, Sonny, that your model was released earlier this decade, and things have changed a bit since then regarding SD DVD upconversion. And that's why your A2 (or any other late model player) upconverts only via HDMI or DVI.

As an aside, it should be noted that the initial production wave of the Zenith DVB-318 (as well as its LG counterpart) were among the very last upconverting players released that can do so via component before the mandated restriction took affect.

Ah...the LG LST-3510A is also one...what makes it really nice is that not only does it up-convert over component (with the older firmware), it also has a built in HDTV tuner. Mine is relegated to the bedroom now on a 20" $75 CRT :(

Hello everyone,

I've gotten myself in a bit of a pickle here. I thought maybe i would set my A2 at 480i and use the DVE disk to get a good idea of where to set my standard cable calibration. Now the A2 is showing on my TV screen unsupported mode and I hit the setup on the remote to change it back to 1080i and the screen stays there, but I can see setup on the LED display on the A2 itself.

How can I reset it back to 1080i if I can't see anything but a blue screen on my TV?

As an aside, it should be noted that the initial production wave of the Zenith DVB-318 (as well as its LG counterpart) were among the very last upconverting players released that can do so via component before the mandated restriction took affect. Therefore, it is completely plausible that Sonnyboy's DVB 318 has been upconverting all this time. Just keep in mind, Sonny, that your model was released earlier this decade, and things have changed a bit since then regarding SD DVD upconversion. And that's why your A2 (or any other late model player) upconverts only via HDMI or DVI.

But the A2 is in fact doing 1080i over component with HD DVDs, is it not? Are you saying that no upconversion will occur over regular DVDs with the A2 via component?

Edit- got the answer. So, upconversion only via HDMI on the A2. Hmph! Welp, looks like a switch box is in the offing for me. In the meantime I have switched my Dish box back to component and am now using my one available HDMI spot for the A2. No biggie since the Dish box looks the same over component (a bit smoother picture) than HDMI.

Just took the plunge. The A2 is working perfectly, and WOW....even the rental and "old" DVD's are like watching new ones with this unit. The HD DVD's, of course, look spectacular.

My biggest (and favorable) surprise so far is just how terrific the audio sound in my dedicated Home Theater w/7.1 surround....incredible sounds on concerts, special effects, and just plain dialog.

Even the firmware update to V1.6 via wireless network went flawlessly.

For me, the HD format war is over - HD DVD wins hands down (yes, I checked out Blue Ray - thanks, but no thanks).

Hi People,

The user's manual on the A2 indicates that it can play discs recorded in DVD-RW or DVD-R. The manual doesn"t talk about DVD+RW nor DVD+R. Can the A2 play DVD+RW and DVD+R discs?

Hello everyone,

I've gotten myself in a bit of a pickle here. I thought maybe i would set my A2 at 480i and use the DVE disk to get a good idea of where to set my standard cable calibration. Now the A2 is showing on my TV screen unsupported mode and I hit the setup on the remote to change it back to 1080i and the screen stays there, but I can see setup on the LED display on the A2 itself.

How can I reset it back to 1080i if I can't see anything but a blue screen on my TV?

I had a similar problem and solved it by entering the TV setup and switching the TV inputs. (One input did 420p only, the other 1080i). Hope this helps.

quick question here/why does hd movies on my cable system look better than hd movies on my player?i have calibrated with new dve disc and just not the pop i am expecting with hd dvd.by the way my standard dvd upconversion looks great/some movies can hardly see difference between hd/sd
brian

I just bought an A2, have been trying to set up optimally for days.
My current problem is that I cannot seem to get beyond PCM 48 on the receiver. I have it set up at HDMI Bitstream and PCM Downmixed. I have the receiver set to AUTO DEC.
What am I missing?
Any help much appreciated. Setting this system up is a real bear. Dennis

Direct TV
Sony KDS-R50XBR1
Sony 710
Boston Acoustics speakers

I just recently purchased a A2 and I love the picture that I am getting, but I am having some problems setting up the sound.

My problem is that I am waiting on a new receiver to be released, and I am stuck using an older Sony that doesn't have Dolby Digital + or True HD. I am trying to get the receiver to decode just regular Dolby Digital on movies like the Matrix and Children of men, but I am only getting 2.1 sound out of them. I have a feeling that I need to change settings in the A2, but nothing that I seem to do is working. Right now I am getting better sound out of my Matrix standard DVD than I am with the HDDVD version.

I am connecting the A2 to the receiver through an optical cable, if that helps. I have two other components hooked to the receiver through a optical switcher, and they both seem to be working properly so I don't think it is any settings in the receiver that I need to change.

I have tried searching for an answer, but I haven't been able to find what I need, so I am sorry if this has been discussed already. If it is I would appreciate it if someone could give me a link to the answer, or PM me and let me know what exactly to search under because the 10 or 15 searches that I have done haven't come up with a post that answers my question.

Is it possible that I can't get regular old Dolby Digital through HDDVDs? If that is the case I will just wait until I got he Onkyo 605 once it starts shipping and I won't have this problem.

Thank you for any help in advance. Sorry for the long post.

I just recently purchased a A2 and I love the picture that I am getting, but I am having some problems setting up the sound.

My problem is that I am waiting on a new receiver to be released, and I am stuck using an older Sony that doesn't have Dolby Digital + or True HD. I am trying to get the receiver to decode just regular Dolby Digital on movies like the Matrix and Children of men, but I am only getting 2.1 sound out of them. I have a feeling that I need to change settings in the A2, but nothing that I seem to do is working. Right now I am getting better sound out of my Matrix standard DVD than I am with the HDDVD version.

I am connecting the A2 to the receiver through an optical cable, if that helps. I have two other components hooked to the receiver through a optical switcher, and they both seem to be working properly so I don't think it is any settings in the receiver that I need to change.

I have tried searching for an answer, but I haven't been able to find what I need, so I am sorry if this has been discussed already. If it is I would appreciate it if someone could give me a link to the answer, or PM me and let me know what exactly to search under because the 10 or 15 searches that I have done haven't come up with a post that answers my question.

Is it possible that I can't get regular old Dolby Digital through HDDVDs? If that is the case I will just wait until I got he Onkyo 605 once it starts shipping and I won't have this problem.

Thank you for any help in advance. Sorry for the long post.

You may want to read page 18 of this thread it may help. Also, you may want to change your mind on the receiver your looking at.

You may want to read page 18 of this thread it may help. Also, you may want to change your mind on the receiver your looking at.


Thanks for the reply, but I didn't see anything on page 18 of this thread (posts 511-40 for me) about audio setup.

Also, why do you say that about the receiver? (You can PM me so I don't get off topic)

Thanks

Thanks for the reply, but I didn't see anything on page 18 of this thread (posts 511-40 for me) about audio setup.

Also, why do you say that about the receiver? (You can PM me so I don't get off topic)

Thanks

Oops try this link hope it helps.
A2 audio issue (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9394388&&#post9394388)

I had a few issues at first and got them sorted out. The receivers need to be able to maintain the LFE level for your sub and quite a few are unable to do so.
The fix for those receivers are to get up and adjust the sub to a higher setting manually during movies.

My Onk 504 could not hold the LFE and it was irritating. I don't think the 603-604 can either. The Den 2807 and Marantz sr7001-8001 are all excellent. The Onk 804 can hold the LFE too, but quite a few exhibit a nasty hum. Its to bad as the 804 did sound very good during movies.

quick question here/why does hd movies on my cable system look better than hd movies on my player?i have calibrated with new dve disc and just not the pop i am expecting with hd dvd.by the way my standard dvd upconversion looks great/some movies can hardly see difference between hd/sd
brian
There should be almost no way cable HD would be better than an HD movie. Might want to take look and make sure the A2 output matches your TV's resolution. There's also an issue if your not pushing your A2 signal via HDMI. What kind of connections are you using & what AVR?

I just recently purchased a A2 and I love the picture that I am getting, but I am having some problems setting up the sound.

My problem is that I am waiting on a new receiver to be released, and I am stuck using an older Sony that doesn't have Dolby Digital + or True HD. I am trying to get the receiver to decode just regular Dolby Digital on movies like the Matrix and Children of men, but I am only getting 2.1 sound out of them. I have a feeling that I need to change settings in the A2, but nothing that I seem to do is working. Right now I am getting better sound out of my Matrix standard DVD than I am with the HDDVD version.

I am connecting the A2 to the receiver through an optical cable, if that helps.

Short answer--set SPDIF output to Bitstream. All DD+ and TrueHD tracks are then transcoded to DTS. Of course, your receiver must also be DTS capable.

I just bought an A2, have been trying to set up optimally for days.
My current problem is that I cannot seem to get beyond PCM 48 on the receiver. I have it set up at HDMI Bitstream and PCM Downmixed. I have the receiver set to AUTO DEC.
What am I missing?
Any help much appreciated. Setting this system up is a real bear. Dennis

Direct TV
Sony KDS-R50XBR1
Sony 710
Boston Acoustics speakers

If your audio is via HDMI I think you don't want to set it to downmixed PCM. Per page 53 of the manual:

PCM
Select this when an HDMI device which has multi channel input
is connected to this player. When you play an HD DVD or DVD video disc recorded in multi channel in Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS
or DTS-HD format, the sound is decoded and output in multi
channel in linear PCM format.

Downmixed PCM
Select this when a 2 channel digital stereo AV receiver or
processor is connected to this player.

I guess it depends on how the 710 handles 2 ch DM PCM. See the chart on page 60 of the manual also.

I am not nearly as sophisticated as most are on thise site with understanding of the new technology. I am wondering if it is worth the money to by the A2. I currently have a Samsung 50 inch DLP 720P TV and an older Kenwood 5.1/DTS receiver. I just bought the Samsung 1080P7. I see some are having problems with sound that are using older equipment. Am I going to have a problem with the sound too? Is the picture dramatically better and worth the money? I just bought the DVD player so I can return it to Best Buy and get the A2 for $200 plus the $100 return.

You have zero risk. Try it out and decide for yourself. This technology changed my home movie experience for sure :)

HD DVD is as good as it gets right now. Bar none! At this price, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. This is the best value in AV. IMO.

You have zero risk. Try it out and decide for yourself. This technology changed my home movie experience for sure :)

HD DVD is as good as it gets right now. Bar none! At this price, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. This is the best value in AV. IMO.

Thanks. Even with the old receiver? I keep reading where people are having sound issues when not using the HDMI hookup to the receiver which mine does not have. I don't want to upgrade the receive right now too.

Thanks. Even with the old receiver? I keep reading where people are having sound issues when not using the HDMI hookup to the receiver which mine does not have. I don't want to upgrade the receive right now too.
I had a very old Technics with seperate DTS decoder and it had problems decoding the newer DTS signal. From what I understand the new DD/DTS is 1.5MBS which my older AVR had trouble keeping up with. On Smokin Aces and MI3, all the dialog had a mettalic echo to it. Had to upgrade my AVR.

I had a very old Technics with seperate DTS decoder and it had problems decoding the newer DTS signal. From what I understand the new DD/DTS is 1.5MBS which my older AVR had trouble keeping up with. On Smokin Aces and MI3, all the dialog had a mettalic echo to it. Had to upgrade my AVR.

My Kenwood has built in DTS and is about 5-7 years old. My son just bought a PS3 and we watched a an HD movie and the sound was good but the reciever hooked up with an optical cable would not produce the sound in 5.1 or DTS. It looked like it was playing in Dolby non digital. It still sounded good. We did not spend any time trying to figure out how to make sound adjustments though.

I believe if your receiver has an optical input and supports Dolby Digital, you should be fine. I believe you can set the audio to output PCM and it should work fine even with much older receivers. As long as you use hdmi to your TV you should be OK.

Also upgrade to the latest firmware when you hook it up. I have seen the A2 hooked up to all sorts of combinations - including 2 ch analog! The important thing is that you should see value for what you are paying. Only you can decide that. Both the DVD upconversion and of course HD DVD.

When I bought my XA1 last year, all sorts of folks told me not to buy it , that HD DVD would be dead in a year. I am glad I went with my judgment. I have no regrets. My philosophy is that it is your money and and you should see value for your money. If it does not work out take it back. However, I can't imagine a better value than the A2 today. A half decent DVD upconverter will cost you around $100, and the A2 is better than half decent AND you get all those free movies. You can't lose, even if HD DVD does (which I highly doubt as well, but anything can happen in a format war). JMHO. But the risk is practically none to you as a consumer. What other product can offer this? Nothing else in either HD formats that I am aware of...

im using hdmi thru my yamaha 661 receiver

I picked up the A2 at BB for $299 last weekend. My old sony receiver didn't have DTS or HDMI, and the best audio I could get via optical from the A2 was displayed as prologic on my receiver's little readout. I picked up a new Sony STR-DG1000 receiver with HDMI audio and now get all the audio channels off the A2 playing over HDMI. My A2 found a firmware update over my home network. So far it works perfectly. With the price now below $300 to get into HD-DVD I'm convinced I've not wasted my money. Now if my local rental outlets would just start renting HD-DVDs.

I just saw that 1.6 .iso file is up at Toshiba. Also posted in another thread.

This thing suffers from the vertical squeeze problem. Compared it to a Philips 5982 and Sony NS75H. Philips and Sony use a Mediatek chipset that has the vertical squeeze but the Sony corrects it while Philips doesn't. My Toshiba photos are similar to that of the Philips and not the Sony, in terms of vertical picture size, not quality.

I picked up the A2 at BB for $299 last weekend. My old sony receiver didn't have DTS or HDMI, and the best audio I could get via optical from the A2 was displayed as prologic on my receiver's little readout. I picked up a new Sony STR-DG1000 receiver with HDMI audio and now get all the audio channels off the A2 playing over HDMI. My A2 found a firmware update over my home network. So far it works perfectly. With the price now below $300 to get into HD-DVD I'm convinced I've not wasted my money. Now if my local rental outlets would just start renting HD-DVDs. Do you have it wired directly to your router or are you using some type of wireless adapter (usb)?

Okay, so I broke down and bought the A2 at Best Buy today. Where is the best place to buy the HD movies and who rents them? Block Buster stores don't. I am little disapointed about availability. I guess I should have checked that out before I bought the player. I really don't want to spend $30 a movie. I figured I would rent them.

Okay, so I broke down and bought the A2 at Best Buy today. Where is the best place to buy the HD movies and who rents them? Block Buster stores don't. I am little disapointed about availability. I guess I should have checked that out before I bought the player. I really don't want to spend $30 a movie. I figured I would rent them.

blockbuster.com or netflix.com

online is best for renting, but limited Blockbusters B&M do rent them. Ask at your local store and see if they can locate one for you.

Mine told me they were getting HD DVD's and BD's in this June for rental...we'll see :)

I tried searching. Just bought a D2. Maybe I'm having a brain fart, but is there an easy way to temporarily hardwire the D2 to my router for updates? Modem/router's in another room & I prefer not to spend any $ for a gaming adapter for wireless connection (hey, I'm cheap ok).

I've read some people moved their TVs temporarily near a router just for the update, which is out of the question for me. Do I need the OSD to configure the update or can I do it without a TV period. I guess I could use the CD mailout system if all else fails.

BTW, I have the Verizon Westell modem/wireless router.