Tosh HD-XA2 1080p HD DVD - First End User Reports!: USERS ONLY PLEASE! - Page 149

How would that work?
Leave the res set to 1080p/24 for HD DVD?... and then when playing a dvd, just slide the switch for HD to SD and get 480i for DVDs over component?

Been a while since I was in the XA2 menus, but is there no primary output setting for HDMI vs COMPONENT?
Are both HDMI and COMPONENT active so that the only procedure is to flip the SD/HD switch to go back anf forth between 1080/24-HDMI for HD DVD and 480i/60-COMPONENT for DVD?

TIA

EDIT: Also, I see you mention s-vid and composite as well. Does it matter which connection is used for 480i?
Is there a difference in PQ between component /s /c for 480i?

THANKS!

Thank you for the responses.........

Sounds like what I feared... I could set it up to check one's scaling against the other... but if the Duo does a better job it would not be possible to use the Duo's scaling for SD-DVD's without switching the resolution each time...... and I am far to lazy to do that!

From what I remember, yes. I use the AVS Classic Black background so I can't read whatever you wrote in EDIT:.

"EDIT: Also I see you mention s-vid and composite as well.
Does it matter which of those connections are used for 480i?
Is there a difference in purity of the PQ between the 3?"

thanks Gary

Sure there is. S-video has less resolution than component. Composite video even less.

I meant is there a difference at 480i.

Yes the problem with them all is they're analog.

I don't think this setting is available in a regular v4.0 HD-XA2, and it might be a good reason to change an XA2 even if I don't have any non-R1 DVDs. As it is now, if I leave my XA2 at 1080p24, when I play a DVD it also stays at 24 frames, and then the DVDs have looked choppy. Am I understanding this mod correctly?

Well, the purpose of the Mod is to make the player region free for DVD, and enable PAL/50Hz output. Yes, some DVDs are choppy with 24fps playback and I really don't see any detail improvement with 24fps over 30fps like there is with HD DVD. And yes, this setting is only available on the XE1 4.0 FW. But with the XA2 FW, there is a setting in Setup, in the Picture menu - Picture Mode. The choices are Auto, Film or Video. I believe if you set it to Video, the player will play DVDs at 30fps while still playing HD DVDs at 24fps, as the Owner's Manual says this setting is for detecting the content of DVDs.

I have 2 of theses player one very new (not used much) and one older one used more . well there the XE1 question is i am getting "not dvd format" when inserting certian HDDVD discs , i have done the Initialize/clean disc ect and i am 4.0 firmware still the same , but some times the discs work .. when they do work films run fine.

any ideas ?

also why say not dvd when it is a hd dvd?

That Picture Mode, as I understand it, is for selecting the method of deinterlacing DVDs when using progressive-scan modes (480p, 720p, 1080p). I will try it to see if it also affects the frame rate. I have always left it on Auto; maybe it would fix the problem I have seen if I changed it to one of the others even if it doesn't change 1080p24 to 1080p60 when playing DVDs. Thank you for your reply.

I haven't watched an HD-DVD in a year or more, but last night when my BH200 started skipping on this disc at about the 50min mark (and for the next several minutes until I couldn't stand it anymore), I fired-up my XA2 and loaded it up and it played the disc flawlessly. First time I've seen any problem with the BH200.

Glad I've kept the XA2; I will use it exclusively with HD-DVD discs from now on. I'm still using older firmware btw (dunno anymore, a couple back from 4.0 I guess).

For X-A2 users like myself with Pioneer receivers this might be useful. I just learned that Pioneer has a fix for the DD+ issue for thier new receivers. FW 1.041 is for the SC-25/27 and fixes the above issue and the inability of the receiver to properly decode 2 channel DTS-HD tracks. I am calling them Monday about possible firmware for our receivers. I am going to be needling Pioneer with all my might since I have waited close to 2 years for the update. Pioneer needs to get off thier ass on this and they did for the newer receivers.

Good Luck with that!!


Just FYI, I have a Pioneer Elite 84TXsi that I bought the first week they were available. I immediately ran into an EDID problem with my InFocus projector ( it took months and numerous equipment swaps to actually find where the problem was)... I spent months talking to every known person in the support chain about my problem.... they all pointed their fingers at every other piece of equipment I owned. In the end due to some difficulties with a firmware update they finally did provide (but it could only be done with some arcane cables that only a half dozen people in the entire world still had) I had a chance to talk to a senior VP in tech support. He admitted that yes I had found a legitimate bug and that they were aware of the problem... but as it affected so few people or at least so few people were aware of it and called to complain that they had zero plans to do anything about it. The short of it is... the problem will only be addressed if it affects a large group of people and Pioneer gets harassing phone calls from as many of the affected as possible.

I have an XA2 with the 4.0 firmware. If I press the stop button (usually accidentally) then press play, the player does not resume play but goes back to the beginning of the DVD. Is there a way to set the player to resume play after the stop button is pressed once?



Forgive me if this has been covered. I have searched extensively and found conflicting answers (i.e. this is not the expected behaviour, this is how it was designed to work).

Does this happen on all discs? DVD or HD DVD? IIRC, most if not all HD DVD's discs did not support "resume playback after stop" function, regardless of player.

Recent examples would be Transformers HD-DVD and Batman Begins HD-DVD.

I wasn't aware that the behaviour was disc dependent. I haven't had the player very long and I can't think of any examples that didn't go back to the beginning after stop.

I see from further reading that any HD-DVD with Advanced Features enabled won't resume after stop. Apparently you are supposed to hit bookmark before you accidentally press stop instead of fast forward.

I suppose investing in a good universal remote with lighted buttons would be the best solution for me. Thanks for steering me in the right direction.

Harmony One is what I use for my XA2 and other components. Very well lit and all the Toshiba codes are in their database.

Hello. I hadn't used my XA2 in months, but began watching some HD-DVD's this past week and have noticed a problem with the tray opening. Its as if the motor is weak. It closes at a normal speed, but when opening it seems to struggle, and sometimes will not fully open and then just close. I have to pull down the flap to let the tray open.

Is it still possible to get these units serviced? I bought mine from Ubid in 2008. I paid $228 for it in June of 2008. I think the refurbished units were going for cheaper and this was allegedly brand new, but I can't remember for sure. I don't see any note indicating it was refurbished on my e-mail order confirmation, but that may not mean anything.

Any advice?

^ For anyone not scared to do so, I would advise opening it up, taking the top off of the drive case, and look at the mechanisms surround the tray.
It could be something as indiscreet as a large spec of something getting caught on the the slide rail.
I no engineer or techhead, but I have done things like that to my players several times over the years.

Only 2 rules really, and that's 1)Make sure you are grounded so as not to give the player's component a static shock... and 2)Don't touch anything that looks like it could break.
Damaging the laser head would be really bad.

I would suggest checking out those parts, look for any debris that may be getting caught up in there, and get some lithium grease at the store and re-lube the rails with it.
It could be a failing drive too, od which there can be nothing done about that, but if it is, it won't hurt to just go in and look around.

I bought mine around the same time from Overstock for $3 bills. My tray is sluggish too coming out, but zips in fine. It's never not opened all the way. It's still a great machine and with my library of HD-DVDs I have no intention of getting rid of it. It's not used as much anymore as my blu-ray players, but is still a great upscaler for watching SD-DVDs!

You could probably get it serviced, but it may not be worth it if you don't watch that many DVDs. However, if the tray fails to come out all the way and you can't put in a disc, what's the point of having it? Getting equipment serviced like that is so costly now days. I have 3 HD-DVD, and a 4th LG combo player. One is a spare XA1 which will be used should either of my active players fail sometime down the road. But with little use these days, I don't expect that to happen. Most of the time it's blu-ray, but occasionally we'll watch a HD-DVD.

Good luck,

rickybob

I just experienced the same problem. Not sure if it is an easy fix or not.

Thanks! I've been using my XA2 with 6 channel analog on my old receiver for a few years now and just upgraded. I wasn't getting the TrueHD codec on my new receiver to work and your post helped!

I bought 2 brand new XA2's somewhere between 1 year to 1 year 4 months ago on ebay for around $250 each. Both units were in fact brand new (non-refurb jobs). The first one sadly had the welcome bug. I contacted Toshiba and they had a flat rate $150 repair rate. They told me that with EOL devices like this they dont even bother to fix the unit you sendinto them if they have NIB units. I received a NIB (Brand New In Box) replacemet units less than 1 week after shipping them the "Welcome Bug" unit.

I bought an XA2 from a fellow member here today. I should be receiving it some time next week. I plan on installing firmware 4.0 if it hasn't all ready been upgraded.

I own an A1 and an A2 already. Are there any tips or pointers I should know for setup?

Other than adjusting the video settings for DVD upconversion, there's not much to do. Upgrade to 4.0 and enjoy!

Not beekermartin here, but what are the DVD video setting adjustments you speak of? I've been at 2.7 for both of my XA2s with no problems, held off any further updates because of the jaggie issue with AVC discs. I guess this has been fixed given I still haven't heard of any complaints and the current firmware has been out a long time, and it's pretty apparent that it is the final update.



On the side - I wonder if Toshiba would sent out CD update discs at present time? Real discs instead of worrying about a bad CD-R image burn.

I think he's referring to the "picture" settings for the Reon processor. 2.7 and 4.0 supposedly do not have the "jaggies" issue.

About one year ago I sent in the warranty card for my XA2 and received the 4.0 disc shortly thereafter. Not sure if they still send those out if they get a new card from you. There are probably not very many, if any, authorized resellers out there for the warranty to still be in effect.

I never mailed the warranty cards out for any of the players I own. I believe there was a check box for receiving the discs. It would be odd mailing them in, but I wonder if they'd send out discs for the 5 different models I own. Sure, I can download the file and burn a disc, but one of these days I'll burn a bum disc and brick a player. I'm assuming these are pressed update discs and not CD-Rs.