Tosh HD-A2 HD DVD - First End User Reports! - Page 168

$40 is a good deal as I feel it does a nice job of upconverting. However, I believe the a2 is hdmi v1.2 only.

jim

A2 is HDMI v1.2
Highest output resolution is 720p and/or 1080i
Converts all hi res audio codecs to PCM and transmits audio via PCM to your amp.
No bitstreaming of any hi res audio codecs and no DTS-HD/MA at all. (only one title in HD existance with that audio anyway)
Even with those limitations, the A2 still puts up a FANTASTIC picture and quality audio.

Thanks for the answers. So if I want to take full advantage of my Sony KDS50A3000, what model would be the best choice for the least amount of coin?

Is that tv model 1080p? If so I'd go with the HD-A30.

Sorry, I forgot about this.

I rechecked with Top Gun HD. I tried TrueHD, DTS-ES, and DD-EX. All tracks read PCM 48khz from my receiver. Receiver light was on "Auto", with other choices being "PCM" and "DTS".

When I play SD's, my DD and DTS light does light up on my receiver.

Standard DTS/DD of HD movies wil not bitstream.

got "ray" hd disc from netflix. put in player and my a2 (2.5 firmware) cimpletely froze. wouldn't load, wouldn't eject the disc, wouldn't accept any commands from the remote, wouldn't even turn off. killed power at the power strip for a minute, rebooted and could only get the disc to eject from the remote, not the button on the player. cleaned disc reinsert and same problem.

tried other discs and they play fine. disc is now back at netflix. wondering what would cause a problem like this? obviously something with the disc. i've had bad discs before and have always been able to clean them. this was something else. scary for a while as i thought my a2 had tanked

finally returned my A2 to Walmart this weekend and got a full refund. For those that may have also forgot, the extended date is April 30th. I decided to woot a Toshiba DVD recorder (DKR10B) yesterday which from all reports has the same upscaling circuitry as the A2.

Of course that recorder won't play hd-dvds

true, looking to get a PS3 and move on to Blu-Ray. I have the 5 HD-DVDs still shrink wrap from the rebate if anyone is interested I may post it to the forum's market place. I was thinking of getting the HD-DVD/BD combo drive for a future HTPC, but I doubt it will have Linux support.

Google for Linux support of HD DVD/Blu-Ray. You might be surprised.

For the combo drive? I'll check. Thanks.

How do you qualify for a refund? I purchased mine in the "impluse November $99.00 sale"

If you purchased after Nov 1st., Walmart is basically "buying" them back for what you paid. Take your receipt (or copy of it if you sent the original for the rebate disks) and player (box not needed, but if you have it or have a copy of UPC, take also) with the following PDF.

PDF

How do I need to set my a2 so my Onkyo pro will decode true hd? If I set my SPDIF to bitstream and HDMI to auto my pre/pro reads 48k If I set the SPDIF to PCM and my HDMI to pcm I get 96k. How should set my A2 or am I doing something wrong on the pre/pro?

With A2 you can not have your Onkyo do the decoding of DD+, TrueHD, and DTS-HD. You need either A35 or XA2 to be able to do that.

True, but its probably no matter (except for DTS-HD) as the player-decoded tracks are exactly the same. So, unless your receiver won't process PCM the way you want, you should be fine.

Thanks.

Support of HDMI 1.3 is not necessarily an advantage! My recommendation is to take the time to learn exactly what the A2 supports and doesn't support !

I'd just like to throw a shout out to my A2. It never hiccups or has playback issues unlike some of my other players. Even though I updated the firmware every time, I never really had to...which was nice. It does a fantastic job upconverting...the first place I put my dvds. And it's sexy...I said it. Because it's been so good to me, I'll never sell it.

I curently own three HD-A2 players and the only problem is the last purchased has an overly loud fan. I need that corrected, but otherwise, the A2 is definitely my cup-a-tea !

^That's odd. Mine is silent. Sometimes I stick my ear to it to make sure the disc is spinning.

Trevor, we pretty much have the same players. I also have a rebadged BD-P1000 (Philips BDP9000). In shout-out post, I was making a reference to the constant firmware updates I have to do with that player to avoid pauses and hiccups. Do you have the same issue?

My A2 is also a bit loud, and I would be interested in finding out how to fix that. I have 2 A35s that are very quiet. As far as the reliability of my A2, it has been rock solid.

I wouldn't say that as a blanket statement. If the TV has a good upconverter I'm not sure that an individual can tell the difference between an A30 that sends 1080p vs an A2 that send 1080i and has the TV go the remaining step to 1080p.

...but doesn't the A30 have a better scaler in it than the A2? If so, then the A30 should yield a better pic.

I picked up a brand new A2 today at Wallyworld for 74 bucks on clearance.
I actually returned this unit a few weeks ago, unopened when it was 150+ but changed my mind and wanted a HD-DVD player to go along with the new Samsung BD-D-P1500 blu ray player I picked up yesterday.
Both are going to be hooked up to the living room tv.
Bedroom and office tv's already have BD&HD-DVD players.

Anyone had issues with Planet Earth (Sigourney Weaver edition) on this machine? My wife grabbed the 4-disc set plus Sunrise Earth set for $40 on the net and the 1st Planet Earth disc has a glitch that is a bit bothersome. Top 1/4 of the image occasionally hic-cups as if that part of one frame getting hung up while the rest continues, then it catches up with itself. It happens incredibly fast but is noticeable none the less. Seems more prevalent on certain sequences and nonexistent on others.

That aside, the PQ is brilliant. I had read many comments about the PQ not being "as good as broadcast TV" (whatever that means). I find it to be as good or better.

I've got the planet earth sigourney DVD and have played it in my A35 and A2 with no problems at all.

i expect my discovery edition P.E. to be in the mail in the next few days...
I'll watch and post back

edit:
received my copy today.. I didn't see what you were describing..from the few episodes I have watched, I too found the PQ to be stunning

Got an A2, very lightly used for $78 shipped on ebay, not the best price, but wanted a spare to my A3, and to go with the 14 movies I bought from that canadian company and the $50 Star Trek season 1 from Amazon.ca it's replacing my xbox drive connected to my HTPC. Powerdvd can be maddening!

It's a solid machine EJ. Enjoy .