Next Gen Toshiba Players?

What about adding old features like jpeg/mp3 playing capabilities?

Mind-boggling. We're talking about a high-end HD player, and the options discussed include adding more loss-less, high definition audio decoders.

Why on earth would you want support for MP3 in a high-end, high-definition playback device?

[Maybe I'm just an audio snob, but the vast majority of MP3s available today sound like garbage. These lossy encoding schemes need to be shot in the head as quickly as possible.]

I just like to have all the capabilities in my player. When I am spending close to 600$ in a player, I like to have everything. Why should I spend more $$s in getting another player to play my mp3 CDs or JPEGs?

Other highend players like Samsung BD1200 already have these features.

And your point about mp3 quality ... I think they need to come up with an HD MP3 format .. with full 7.1 ch support ...

Hoping the first three features can be added with firmware for us poor Gen2 guys.

1. convert your own MP3. All of my MP3s are all converted at 320 kbps (yes, all of 1,000+ albums). Why people BUY MP3 at any rate lower than 256 kbps is beyond me.

2. if your argument is that MP3 is "low brow", then SD DVD, VCD, DivX, XviD and even regular CDDA should not be included either. HD support (both audio and video) only, ie HD DVD, SACD and DVD-A only.

I'm getting sick of upgrading two players. The HD-A2 is the last HD-DVD player I will ever buy... I'm hoping that Universal will announce support soon, this is getting old.

How about a player that doesnt need a firmware update to play every new release that comes out, and just works right out of the box? Sorry Toshiba but Im not spending any more money on these things. Regretfull A1 and XA2 owner, waiting for another company to come out with HD DVD players. So if I had to pick a new feature I guess it would be reliable playback. Dont really care about all the advanced features and audio, just want to be able to watch movies all the way through in HIDEF.

This is going to be the norm of "next gen" format regardless of camp. At least with HD DVD you don't need to BUY a new player for a new feature, unlike BD.

A NEW Player that costs like 800-1000 $$$s every 9-12 months ... Ouch ...

How ignorant, you obviously missed the PS3 1.8 firmware update which can also be upgraded to have the future Java enhancements as well...

Need I even list the amount of added features with 1.8?

Yes, it would be a REALLY nice feature to be able to play movies, without having to upgrade firmware. I could live without the interactivity quite nicely.

It's Toshiba high end model and should reflect that. No mp3, no divx, but yes to upscaling dvds. DVD-A and SACD should be included, as well as DTS-HD and DD-True. The AX3 should retain the analog 7.1 outputs.

Faster would be a nice bonus.

So far I have owned an HD-A1,HD-XA2,PS3,SONY BDPS1,and SAMSUNG BDP1200 and have to admit I have had far less problems with the BLURAY players. But to be fair I have not been with BLURAY for very long only about 10 rentals from netflix and 8 owned titles. I have many more HD DVD titles probably about 50+ and many rentals. So far no need to up date or worry about scratched rentals with BR, keeping my fingers crossed though. I still prefer the over all PQ of HD DVD over BLURAY, but its getting harder to appreciate with out wondering if I just threw 30.00 bucks down the drain buying a new Universal combo format disk because it wont play on my "top of the line HD DVD player". By the way the PS3 seemed 10 times faster than any of the players and had a pretty good PQ, wish I didn't sell that one. I would also love 7.1 analog jacks and a little better build quality on an XA3 if I was ever going to support toshiba again.

I thought DTS-HD was just rebranded 1.5Mbps DTS, which was common on early DTS DVDs but later dropped to half that rate for most later discs. Hey, if 640kbps Dolby Digital qualifies as DD+, why not (although 1.5Mbps DD+ is fairly common). DTS-HD HR is what comes just before lossless DTS-HD MA. Fingers crossed for a firmware update for these.

I figure the only things likely are faster load times/navigation and better build quality (at least for the "XA3"). What I'd like them to remove is the fan (assuming G3 cases will be as small or smaller than G2 cases). Or add another fan so both can spin more slowly and more quietly.

What I'd really like in an "XA3" would be 7.1 analog outs, but I'm not holding my breath.

i.Link output ?

Isn't that just Sony's names for IEEE1394? Somehow I doubt it will be called i.Link