Tosh HD-XA2 1080p HD DVD - First End User Reports!: USERS ONLY PLEASE! - Page 152

Where are the output options in the set up ? I didn't see any .

You can buy an xbox360 hd dvd drive for $20 on ebay....

Ah, you're right. It's the audio that has the Digital Out:HDMI. I guess you could try a different HDMI port on your receiver/tv?

I tried different hdmi inputs directly to the plasma with no luck.

My XA2 is in like new condition and has Firmware 4.0. It seems much more finicky and susceptible to freezing up/error coding than my A35. Does anyone have any suggestions relative to how to alleviate this problem? Frankly, it is somewhat discouraging to own a player of this caliber that seems so prone to problems.

I had the same experience. I have owned many HD DVD players and finally picked up an XA2. It worked great for most movies but I had a couple that it would not play so I sold it and just stuck with my A35. I never tested that many of the 50+ movies I own with the XA2 but I have never had a problem with the A35 playing any of them.

I think the drives just start going bad. I had an XA2 that wouldn't read half of my HD DVD's. I replaced the drive with an extra one I had and it's worked well so far...knock on wood.

I dunno why we should be having trouble with our HD-DVD players already. I have a Sony DVP-S7000 from 1997 that still plays perfectly.

One might think that the rubber parts inside might start to deteriorate, or the player's lens might accumulate dust that just settles everywhere, but otherwise I don't understand player failures that are only a few years old.

Maybe they're using cheaper "rubber" for idler wheels or drive belts etc.

there is another thread in the software forum about a lot of discs suddenly "rotting" to the point they won't play...mostly warners. i guess i have some testing to do with my aging xa2 and discs...

Just the way they make things now nothing last like it use to. If it lasted they would sale as much stuff and wouldn't make as much money.

I have read that the laser emitters themselves get dimmer with age and/or use, and therefore they do "wear out". Understanding this (for CD players as well as every other laser-optical disc device), I am angry that the laser pickup devices were not made to be reasonably replaceable as were phono needles and comparable parts. I have replaced an optical pickup on a car CD player, and it was not that hard to do, but that is because I have had years of electronic service experience.

My very first optical media player was a Yamaha CD-X1 . . bought brand new in 1985. I still have it in our upstairs spare bedroom hooked up to a Pioneer receiver + Polk speakers. My son used it in college near a Calif. beach. He told me it stopped working after a couple of years and gave it back. I opened it up, cleaned out all the beach sand, cleaned the laser assembly with a q-tip and denatured alcohol and fired it up. It has been working just fine ever since. It cannot handle all of today's media (doesn't like a lot of burned media, struggles with 80 minute media, especially jumping tracks, etc.) but these are all things that came around long after this puppy was designed and built, so no complaints. You can feed it commercially made CD's under 80 minutes long all day long - and it still works great and sounds terrific. I agree with the folks who suggest manufacturers do not always have the same level of commitment to long lasting quality as they did in years past. However, my Toshiba HD-DVD players are doing just fine. But I do restrict their use to HD-DVD playback only . . hopefully saving on wear and tear.

ps. I also still have my very first DVD player - a Pioneer DV-505 - it also works fine.

I've fixed 2 XA2s that would no longer read HD DVDs with this $6.98 part.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/180752035569...84.m1438.l2649

Do you know if this fits 3rd gen players also by any chance?

I'm not positive but I think DT0811 is only for 2nd gen.

Just picked up an XA2 on ebay with the box, remote, and book for $125. I already have the A30, hope this will be a step up in performance.

You can still get that much for them? Got to get rid of mine.

You'll probably notice a little better up conversion on SD DVD. Plus you can mess with the Picture button parameters for different sources and save the settings.

Just got the XA2 in the mail and hooked it up. I would like to be able to bitstream the HD codecs to my Denon reciever. I checked the firmware and its running v2.1. After reading up on firmware, it looks like I should not go any higher than 2.7. I cant find a link to 2.7 anywhere. If I hook the player by ethernet will it automatically download 4.0?

I've got 4.0 on both my XA2 and A35 and it's fine.

I have all the firmwares for the XA2 including 2.7. Do you have a server I can send it too? It's about 40mb.
FYI- I use 4.0 and it works great

I'm looking at buying 2 HD-XA2 players for quite a reasonable price. One box says Toshiba HD DVD Player HD-XA2 and the other box says Toshiba Lecteur HD DVD HD-XA2. I'm assuming one is made in a different country.....correct? Will they both play Region 1 HD DVD's? One of them also appears to have a silver colored remote. I would greatly appreciate answers to these questions ASAP. Thanks!

HD DVDs have no region coding. Silver remote sounds like XA1.

The second one should be a Canadian model. No different other than adding French language to the box & manual. I'm not sure about the silver remote though...

Wow! It's been ages since I turned on my XA2. I need to dust off an HD DVD and fire it up.

If the remote is for an HD-XA1 will it work on an HD-XA2? I did climb up in the attic last night to look at the box of the HD-XA2 that I currently own and it was identical to the ones pictured with english on some panels and foreign words on some.

Yeah-I cleaned the carpets over the memorial day weekend and all my TV's/Computers/Electronics have been disconnected, stored in totes while the carpets were still wet.

Now I have to move all furniture back, re-arrange all components, and hook everything back up.

Since I am moving things around, and have many components, I decided to map everything out before taclking the job.

Every day I move a few items to their new home.

Looking forward to firing up my XA-2's end enjoying the goodness of HD-DVD.

I thin it is time to watch my very first HD-DVD purchase again-John Carpenters The Thing!

Yes, it will. Not all of the same buttons are on each control, but the ones with the same functions will work on all of the Toshiba players.

Hey guys, I've been noticing some odd issues lately with my HD-XA2. While watching a movie my player will randomly shut off. I lose picture then the time on the player goes blank. The remote functions don't work and the only way to reset it is by holding down the power button. I've tried it in 1080i, 1080p mode, same issue. Trying 1080p/24hz now, but starting to get worried. My player has never done this before. I am running the latest firmware.

So I might have fixed the issue. I realized for some reason all my XA2 settings reset (maybe during a power outage). I rarely use the player. Anyways I set the video output to 1080p, and Digital Direct Audio Mode to On (it was set to off when my player kept shutting down) since I had audio over HDMI set to bitstream (Onkyo 705 can decode all formats). With my receiver off and my TV off I then powered on the XA2 and waited until it was past the welcome screen. Powered my TV on, set it to correct input, powered on Onkyo, set it to correct input. Put in a movie and it has gone 1 hour 35 minutes so far without shutting down. I did see a brief black screen, but the movie came back almost instantly.

I'll have to do some more experimenting but I have a feeling it's a mixture of incorrect settings plus the order of powering my devices.