Tosh G2 HD-A2 and HD-XA2 information and discussion - Page 3

The IME will require 2.0 or later firmware. This should be interesting!

-- Trevor

EDIT: I'm told this does NOT require 2.0 or later firmware -- Sorry about that!

Thanks for the info, Robert. The A1 it will be for me for the 5.1 outputs, the A2 doesnt really seem enough of an upgrade, for me at least. Hd-DVD here i come!!

What's the load time on the current players? I forget - 40 seconds? So half the time?

Is there any way yet to tell if the "DTS-HD decoder" mentioned for the XA2 is actually a decoder or just a downgrade-to-DTS like the A1?

How about a nice little media center PC?

"Niveus Media Inc. also announced the release of its new HD DVD-enabled media center PCs. Supporting 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution, these high-end media PCs feature up to four television tuners, 3TB of Storage, 4GB of Memory, ATI and Nvidia graphics, and 8-channel audio. The Rainier Edition, priced at $4,500, is the entry level model in the award-winning line of Niveus Summit Series Media Centers. Scheduled to ship at the end of September, these media centers will be among the first to offer HD DVD playback capability."

The price is sizable, but perhaps not so bad for a well-heeled, aspiring home-theater enthusiast.

-- Trevor

Huh? No you wouldn't.

Triple layer support?
This one slightly off topic: Any Animation HDDVDS announced?

You're saying they are referring entirely to on-disc content? My mistake, I was interpretnig it to be including on-line information that would be downloaded as required.

Thanks for the correction -- Trevor

'Polar Express' comes out Oct. 10th (same day as 'Batman Begins').

Thanks for the news, Robert.

Two questions for the engineers:

-What's the story with DTS-HD Master Audio? Supported by XA2? Upgrade possible for A1/XA1?

-Is the 1080p on the XA2 native or progressive-interlaced-progressive like the Samsung BD player?

Thanks again!!

Don't know if this is confirmation enough, but it is already listed here;
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh..._to_HD_DVD/232

Except for the new video chip to support 1080p for the new high end model, is the same broadcom chip going to be in the lower end? Is the same SHARC processors still present? Upgraded? Downgraded?

Thanks never heard of that one.
I guess a ratio of 200 to 1 regular movies vs anoimation aint too bad.

Robert - thanks for the update! All the best to you at CEDIA...

I'm a bit suprised that 7.1 output isn't included. Could it be 5.1 via analog, but 7.1 decoded if you use HDMI? There are already HD DVDs with more than 5.1 out, if you count the DD+ EX and DTS 6.1 stuff (We Were Soldiers and The Perfect Storm, to name two discs). I guess with HDMI 1.3, you could pass out the advanced codecs to your spiffy new receiver you plan on buying in 2007 that supports DD+ 7.1 decoding, so sort of supported.

I'd also really like to see "full" DTS-HD decoding including Master Audio lossless decoding as well. Not just stripping the regular DTS Core out like currently.

Also, just because it supports HDMI 1.3, does it support the entire featureset of 1.3? I'm interested in the deep colors as well as advanced audio codecs passthrough, but also the audio-video auto syncronization (lip-sync fix) feature.

It occured to me that the HD-A2 priced the same as HD-A1 might be reasonable to the consumer (half of Blu-ray), but profitable [more or at all] for Toshiba. It does what the majority of people need it to do, but us enthusiasts will be looking at the HD-XA2.

Actually, I would consider a player that simply plays the movies without skipping a significant breakthrough in technology I'm on my second player and still get some skipping with FW 2.0.

Photos of new remotes? My remote was so bad that it made me buy a Harmony 880, so I'm actually pretty happy about that.

Well i am glad I bought my A1 this summer instead of waiting for the G2 players. Personally I do not like the look of the G2 players, I think the A1/XA1 looks a lot nicer.

Robert!!!

Thanks so much for doing all of this!!!
I just read part of the first page but don't have time to read the whole thread right now. Hopefully tomorrow!!

Thanks much...

Craig

Robert,
Do the Toshiba engineers think they have a handle (re: G2 players) on the freezing/skipping problems some users are still experiencing? Any word on this?

How much does these cables cost and where can you get them? And Robert, do you think that the G2 player will outshine the A1?

The HD-A2 will begin shipping to U.S. retailers in October, with the HD-XA2 to follow in December.
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...VD_Players/233

Engadget has some photos and info.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/t...ion-to-the-us/

Your links on your site are not working correctly. When I click on the XA2, I'm getting a A1 put into the buy cart. Please fix.

Don't worry. Robert already said he was working on the site inbetween CEDIA shindigs...odds are that, at the absolute latest, it'll be working in the morning.

Well, there's the answer. DTS core only.

I'm glad that I bought my HD-DVD movies without ever having bought an HD-DVD player. Now I can get the HD-A2 for about the same price as the A1 but with a much sleeker design, a better remote control, and load times that have been cut in half. The A2 is a full 1.5 inches shorter in height than the A1 which is great. 5.1 outputs mean nothing to me, nor does HDMI 1.3 at this point in time.

Does anyone know how much the A2 weighs?

If the HDX2 were $799 list I would actually be tempted, just think more features same price, I hate to see prices go up in home entertainment, although for some, the sleeker size, 1080p, and hdmi 1.3 and faster response are worth it.
It's a bummer the low-end unit gets 5.1 and coaxial axed and stays the same price.
It's like they are saying we will give you less features for the same price or more features for a higher price, and until recently in the tech industry you usually get the same for less and more for the same, i.e. plasmas, lcds, dvd players, dlps, home theater, etc.etc.
Oh well good info thanks Rob.
decisions decisions

Gentle people,
This is not the CEDIA report thread, nor the software forum.
It's going to be tough enough going though this thread with its five post per minute pace, without all this additional stuff.

Start "another" BB thread!!! ;-)

I agree, this would have been a great (if under-utilized) feature for the XA2.
Hopefully that would work.
Another good point. IMO this should be included in a player like the XA2. Maybe with firmware update?
I was wondering the same wrt audio features of hdmi 1.3. The PR only mentions video features. Since the chips are there, maybe this could also be added with firmware, if not present.
Yep, agree again.
Not even on my first player, but this needs to be addressed. I won't buy into the format if skips and freezes remain a common complaint. Seems to have improved with some versions of firmware, but apparently either it's still an issue with the format, or there are more quality issues with these players than I would expect (based on the number of complaints).[/quote]

Thanks!

They look like consumer dvd players, like my samsung hd860, although I like the smaller height, I think the HD XA1 is the looker of the bunch.