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Tosh HD-A2 HD DVD - First End User Reports! - Page 81

post #2401 of 5303
6/14/07 at 4:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevec325 View Post

If you cannot get satisfactory PQ by adjusting controls on the TV, you should either choose #1, or look into replacing the A2 with the XA2, that has component outputs, in addition to HDMI. I don't like the A20, but it also has component, and is less expensive than the XA2.

Or, you could use this as an excuse to upgrade your tv I have an Elite with HDMI connectivity. No PQissues with my A2, and I run all HDMI connections through my 2807, and switch from it.

I was interested in getting HD DVD but after reading around the internet boards I think I will wait another year to see how this all pans out with HD DVD and BLUE RAY tired of playing games with These Corporations
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post #2402 of 5303
6/14/07 at 6:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevec325 View Post

If you cannot get satisfactory PQ by adjusting controls on the TV, you should either choose #1, or look into replacing the A2 with the XA2, that has component outputs, in addition to HDMI. I don't like the A20, but it also has component, and is less expensive than the XA2.

Or, you could use this as an excuse to upgrade your tv I have an Elite with HDMI connectivity. No PQissues with my A2, and I run all HDMI connections through my 2807, and switch from it.

Hi Steve,

I realize that adjusting the brightness and contrast on either the HDTV or, in my case the player, is not a perfect solution to a fundamental colorspace problem. However, I and other posters have found that we were able to adjust the brightness and contrast sufficiently such that it is not possible for us to distinguish an obvious image quality difference between the component video connection, which does NOT have a colorspace problem, and the HDMI to DVI connect which does. Some other player owners have much more serious colorspace problems and display adjustments are of little to no use in their situations.

The fact that some of us can "workaround" this problem doesn't obsolve Toshiba of issuing a firmware update to fix it correctly. Nevertheless, it doesn't cost the morklebb anything to try adjusting the HDTV's brightness and contrast, and he is in the best position to determine whether the resulting image is sufficient for him to wait for Toshiba to issue a firmware upgrade, to return the player, or upgrade to a display with HDMI.

Regardless, I'm sure he's clever enough to come up with his own rationalizations for upgrading to a new display without our help.

Larry

EDIT:

PS. morklebb: You didn't mention whether you already have an upscaling DVD player. If so, an other option in the interim, would be to use that player for upscaling DVDs on the DVI input, and use the component video input to watch HD DVDs.
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post #2403 of 5303
6/14/07 at 6:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LarryChanin View Post

Hi Steve,

I realize that adjusting the brightness and contrast on either the HDTV or, in my case the player, is not a perfect solution to a fundamental colorspace problem. However, I and other posters have found that we were able to adjust the brightness and contrast sufficiently such that it is not possible for us to distinguish an obvious image quality difference between the component video connection, which does NOT have a colorspace problem, and the HDMI to DVI connect which does. Some other player owners have much more serious colorspace problems and display adjustments are of little to no use in their situations.

The fact that some of us can "workaround" this problem doesn't obsolve Toshiba of issuing a firmware update to fix it correctly. Nevertheless, it doesn't cost the morklebb anything to try adjusting the HDTV's brightness and contrast, and he is in the best position to determine whether the resulting image is sufficient for him to wait for Toshiba to issue a firmware upgrade, to return the player, or upgrade to a display with HDMI.

Regardless, I'm sure he's clever enough to come up with his own rationalizations for upgrading to a new display without our help.

Larry

EDIT:

PS. morklebb: You didn't mention whether you already have an upscaling DVD player. If so, an other option in the interim, would be to use that player for upscaling DVDs on the DVI input, and use the component video input to watch HD DVDs.

Larry,

Point taken. You are correct. Didn't mean to offend or insult.

I hope Toshiba addresses this, however, I'm not confident that they will - since all their new products seemed aimed at the HDMI only space. And, they address legacy connectivity with component connections.

BTW... your HT is absolutely beautifu.. Outstanding job!!! I just checked out the link. Everyone should take a look at this. Work of art, man!!!
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post #2404 of 5303
6/14/07 at 7:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevec325 View Post

Larry,

Point taken. You are correct. Didn't mean to offend or insult.

I hope Toshiba addresses this, however, I'm not confident that they will - since all their new products seemed aimed at the HDMI only space. And, they address legacy connectivity with component connections.

BTW... your HT is absolutely beautifu.. Outstanding job!!! I just checked out the link. Everyone should take a look at this. Work of art, man!!!

Hi Steve,

No offense taken.

And thanks for the kind words.

Larry
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post #2405 of 5303
6/15/07 at 6:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LarryChanin View Post

Hi,

Why not first do as HDTVFAN and I have suggested? That is adjust the Sony's picture settings and see if that addresses the problem.

Larry

Sorry, you might have missed it earlier or perhaps it was in another forum thread I have.. but I spent a good 15 minutes adjusting things up/down to try to see an improvement. The only time I would be able to see the image as not just blackness was when I had the brightness cranked all the way up, which is unacceptable as a solution. It might give me a bit of grey instead of black, but it's certainly no remedy imho.
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post #2406 of 5303
6/15/07 at 6:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevec325 View Post

If you cannot get satisfactory PQ by adjusting controls on the TV, you should either choose #1, or look into replacing the A2 with the XA2, that has component outputs, in addition to HDMI. I don't like the A20, but it also has component, and is less expensive than the XA2.

Or, you could use this as an excuse to upgrade your tv I have an Elite with HDMI connectivity. No PQissues with my A2, and I run all HDMI connections through my 2807, and switch from it.

Part of the reason I didn't go for the XA2 was because I don't have 1080p, just 1080i, so it was a higher quality than my tv could do, so no reason to have it "yet". The other thing I am curious of, is when using component video connections, (The YBR cable), I got a warning that the best it could do was 420p for the up convert, due to licensing I assume, which is what started this whole mess. Is 420p enough for now?
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post #2407 of 5303
6/15/07 at 6:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by yellowcanary73 View Post

I was interested in getting HD DVD but after reading around the internet boards I think I will wait another year to see how this all pans out with HD DVD and BLUE RAY tired of playing games with These Corporations

I am not sure this is the right answer, my issues, are because I have a legacy DVI connection on my TV. IF you were doing this with a TV with HDMI it wouldn't likely have any issues or if you were purchasing a new tv it would be fine also.

I got a PS3 which we watched Blu-Ray on, it was fantastic, and it's actually what put the bug in me to even try to get HD-DVD. I like watching good quality movies at home, and often watch them there instead of a theater so I like the best I can get. WIth a good up-scaling device for HD-DVD I think either way you are getting better quality viewing with up-scaled SD even if HD-DVD doesn't stay and a PS3 was good even if Blu-Ray didn't say, I can still play games.

It's worth it as far as my opinion is, just do research and get the right setup and you wouldn't have issues, other than this one issue, I haven't had any others in my setup which is composed of many older components. (6+ yr old Receiver, 4 yr old TV, etc)
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post #2408 of 5303
6/15/07 at 6:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LarryChanin View Post

Regardless, I'm sure he's clever enough to come up with his own rationalizations for upgrading to a new display without our help.

Larry

EDIT:

PS. morklebb: You didn't mention whether you already have an upscaling DVD player. If so, an other option in the interim, would be to use that player for upscaling DVDs on the DVI input, and use the component video input to watch HD DVDs.

Point of fact, my wife, who has to help me hook a bunch of this stuff up, has declared we should just get a new TV but I don't know what to do with my old 60", it's to big for another room in the house, and I am not keen on this turning into a $3k solution and a few more hours of research. :/

And no.. I previously had just a progressive scan DVD player.
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post #2409 of 5303
6/15/07 at 6:38am
I just got a A2 HD-DVD for free with my new tv purchase. HHgregg was having a promo offering it free with any tv over 999.99. I bought the new Misti 65734 and they had the option of upgrading to the A20 for 99 more dollars but I think the a2 will do fine. I know it is only 1080i and my tv does 1080p but we sit about 13 feet fom the screen. Should I go back and get the A20?(the ax2 was not offered)
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post #2410 of 5303
6/15/07 at 6:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by steinfire View Post

I just got a A2 HD-DVD for free with my new tv purchase. HHgregg was having a promo offering it free with any tv over 999.99. I bought the new Misti 65734 and they had the option of upgrading to the A20 for 99 more dollars but I think the a2 will do fine. I know it is only 1080i and my tv does 1080p but we sit about 13 feet fom the screen. Should I go back and get the A20?(the ax2 was not offered)

If you have a recent 1080p TV (which you obviously do) then you are getting a 1080p picture even when sending 1080i from the A2. No reason to get the A20.

My A2 is on the truck this morning.
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post #2411 of 5303
6/15/07 at 8:40am
Got my D2 from Costco this week. Upconversion looks great, Im sure the XA2 might be a little better but everyone who had seen it didnt complain Glad I went with A2 over XA2, Im sure in a year there will be something better than the XA2 and at a lower price. Fro now Im using the money I saved and buying HD-DVDs
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post #2412 of 5303
6/15/07 at 8:40am
Got my D2 from Costco this week. Upconversion looks great, Im sure the XA2 might be a little better but everyone who has seen it havent complained Glad I went with A2 over XA2, Im sure in a year there will be something better than the XA2 and at a lower price. For now Im using the money I saved and buying HD-DVDs
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post #2413 of 5303
6/15/07 at 9:46am
Called Toshiba to order the version 1.6 firmware upgrade disk for the A2 and was told there is an even newer either 2.0 or 2.2 upgrade for the A2 and they are sending it to me. I told him I was aware of the 2.2 for the XA1 but not the A2 and he insisted it was for the A2.
Has anyone heard of this?
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post #2414 of 5303
6/15/07 at 9:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by morklebb View Post

Part of the reason I didn't go for the XA2 was because I don't have 1080p, just 1080i, so it was a higher quality than my tv could do, so no reason to have it "yet". The other thing I am curious of, is when using component video connections, (The YBR cable), I got a warning that the best it could do was 420p for the up convert, due to licensing I assume, which is what started this whole mess. Is 420p enough for now?

No, that defeats the whole purpose of upconverting. 480p isn't much better than 480i. I only suggested that perhaps the XA2 might be an option is because you need HDMI for HD. You could look at the A20... not as good as the XA2, but might not have the same problem you are experiencing with the A2.
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post #2415 of 5303
6/15/07 at 9:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaroen View Post

Called Toshiba to order the version 1.6 firmware upgrade disk for the A2 and was told there is an even newer either 2.0 or 2.2 upgrade for the A2 and they are sending it to me. I told him I was aware of the 2.2 for the XA1 but not the A2 and he insisted it was for the A2.
Has anyone heard of this?

No, last one I heard about (and installed on my A2) was 1.6

Did you ask what's included in the 2.X upgrade?

Does anyone know if Tosh has a site that lists (like Oppo and others) what they are doing in these fw releases????
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post #2416 of 5303
6/15/07 at 9:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevec325 View Post

No, last one I heard about (and installed on my A2) was 1.6

Did you ask what's included in the 2.X upgrade?

Does anyone know if Tosh has a site that lists (like Oppo and others) what they are doing in these fw releases????


1.6..........

Here: http://209.167.114.38/support/ceg/downloads/#
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post #2417 of 5303
6/15/07 at 10:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaroen View Post

Called Toshiba to order the version 1.6 firmware upgrade disk for the A2 and was told there is an even newer either 2.0 or 2.2 upgrade for the A2 and they are sending it to me. I told him I was aware of the 2.2 for the XA1 but not the A2 and he insisted it was for the A2.
Has anyone heard of this?

Hi,

Well, unless your Toshiba rep has "breaking news" that hasn't been published to Toshiba's website, he is confused.

The Toshiba website still lists the version 1.6 firmware as the most recent release for the second generation players.

Firmware Update Information for Owners of Toshiba HD DVD Players: Models HD-XA2, HD-A20, HD-A2, HD-A2W, and HD-D2

Larry
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post #2418 of 5303
6/15/07 at 10:21am
That's what I thought but he insisted it was for the A2 and just released. Guess I'll have to wait till it gets here and check the label but this is only going to delay my upgrade to 1.6 if he is wrong.
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post #2419 of 5303
6/15/07 at 10:25am
Maybe if someone else calls the Toshiba customer solutions number 800-268-3404 and asks about the A2, they might get a different tech person and answer.
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post #2420 of 5303
6/15/07 at 10:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicolasz View Post

1.6..........

Here: http://209.167.114.38/support/ceg/downloads/#


Thanks!
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post #2421 of 5303
6/15/07 at 10:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaroen View Post

That's what I thought but he insisted it was for the A2 and just released. Guess I'll have to wait till it gets here and check the label but this is only going to delay my upgrade to 1.6 if he is wrong.

Go ahead and do the 1.6 u/g now. If you get a 2.x flavor, then there should be no problem installing that over 1.6. If there is no 2.x flavor, then you have 1.6 installed now.

No downside, IMHO.
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post #2422 of 5303
6/15/07 at 10:33am
My A2 arrived on the noon Fedex truck. It had 1.2 on it so I'm updating it to (presumably) 1.6 as I type. I didn't go back and read about the FW updates for this model first, just started the update, so hopefully, that was the right thing to do...
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post #2423 of 5303
6/15/07 at 10:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ebr View Post

My A2 arrived on the noon Fedex truck. It had 1.2 on it so I'm updating it to (presumably) 1.6 as I type. I didn't go back and read about the FW updates for this model first, just started the update, so hopefully, that was the right thing to do...

That's exactly what I did--installed the update before even breaking it in, and it performs flawlessly. Don't worry, you're good to go.
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post #2424 of 5303
6/15/07 at 10:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BasicBlak View Post

That's exactly what I did--installed the update before even breaking it in, and it performs flawlessly. Don't worry, you're good to go.

Ditto... and if/when a future upgrade is released, just install that over the 1.6... no problem-o.
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post #2425 of 5303
6/15/07 at 11:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaroen View Post

Called Toshiba to order the version 1.6 firmware upgrade disk for the A2 and was told there is an even newer either 2.0 or 2.2 upgrade for the A2 and they are sending it to me. I told him I was aware of the 2.2 for the XA1 but not the A2 and he insisted it was for the A2.
Has anyone heard of this?

The rep was confused and explains why when I registered my D2 (A2) that I received in the mail the disc for the "A1" series. I emailed them to correct it, but they said I must call to correct their screw up....forget it I'll just download it and trash the junk mail they'll send me when the "A1" series get firmware upgrades.
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post #2426 of 5303
6/15/07 at 12:09pm
Well A2 is up and going and looks good so far.

Picture seems the same as the A1 but the speed and responsiveness is much better. I did stumble on the wierd issue with PCM - I had to set the optical output to PCM in order to get PCM96 over HDMI - someone explain that... .

I've tried several discs and not a single skip or stutter so far. My A1 was pretty good though, so I'll have to see over a longer period (and with some netflix discs) if the A2 is really better in that regard.

Anyway, happy so far so just wanted to report.
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post #2427 of 5303
6/15/07 at 12:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaroen View Post

That's what I thought but he insisted it was for the A2 and just released. Guess I'll have to wait till it gets here and check the label but this is only going to delay my upgrade to 1.6 if he is wrong.

2.2 is for HD-A1/HD-XA1/HD-D1...

Ken
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post #2428 of 5303
6/15/07 at 12:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ebr View Post

I did stumble on the wierd issue with PCM - I had to set the optical output to PCM in order to get PCM96 over HDMI - someone explain that... .

Not sure I understand what you're saying here... please explain.

I have OPT set to bitstream, and HDMI set to AUTO. What difference would it make if I didn't have an OPT cable connected anyway?

What exactly are you seeing, and how would notice if I had similar issues.
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post #2429 of 5303
6/15/07 at 1:01pm
guys newbie question,

for picture quality with hd a2 which mode is better:

auto mode
film mode
or
video mode

for now mine is setup in film mode. any suggestion?

my pj is 720p hd1000u but I set it in 1080i and set my hd a2 also in 1080i
the reason why I did this is because hd movies comes with 1080p or should I go
set up my display with 720p and set my hd a2 720p also.


sorry if this has been ask before.

Peter
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post #2430 of 5303
6/15/07 at 2:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rutlian View Post

guys newbie question,

for picture quality with hd a2 which mode is better:

auto mode
film mode
or
video mode

for now mine is setup in film mode. any suggestion?

my pj is 720p hd1000u but I set it in 1080i and set my hd a2 also in 1080i
the reason why I did this is because hd movies comes with 1080p or should I go
set up my display with 720p and set my hd a2 720p also.


sorry if this has been ask before.

Peter

Auto should recognize the mode on the disc & switch between film or video. I generally leave mine to that, since some discs that I watch are not film based, and it seems to select the right mode. Can't hurt leaving it in film, ad the majority of content is film based anyway.

If your pj gives a better pix in 1080i, leave it. If 720p looks better, use that. It's your eyes that will tell you what looks best
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