Just When I Think I'm Out....

Welcome Buck..... good to have you aboard. Thats a great player you chose...NICE!

Definitely do the firmware updates. The nice thing is the latest one has all of the previous updates so it shouldnt be more than one update required for your new player!

Let us know how it works out for you....

Congratulations and welcome to the word of excellent PQ interactivity, and AQ.

I would hold up on the udates until you see what is already loaded, most new players already come with the latest firmware.

Enjoy! You'll love it.

You have chosen wisely

XA2 is a fabulous machine. You won't be disappointed. With 1080p/24 coming next week and likely bitstream for TrueHD/DTS-HD MA in the future there is more to look forward to.

I you wont need to buy a new player to enjoy these upgrades.

One thing I did was turn on all the Reon filters. Since the XA2 allows you to store 3 PQ settings which you can toggle during a movie I use 2 SD settings and 1 HD. The 2 SD settings use different combinations of the filters. The calibration disks I used were not helpful with the filters but I can tell a difference while watching movies.

The XA2 is a good player, and being able to go through the extras on 300 was just awesome. I believe the latest fw update was specifically for 300 - but I am not sure....

Congrats!

That's my machine, too, and it is a wonder to behold.

With the 24 frame upgrade coming soonest, it will be even better!

indeed! But...there's always your NEXT display!

Welcome, BuckNaked! You made the right decision and won't have any regrets! Sit back and watch as more good news arrives for HD DVD at Cedia.

I was sitting the fence too waiting for the dust to settle but then I went on a spending frenzy this weekend for my new setup....

Sony KDL-40XBR4
Onkyo TX-SR705 (with hdmi 1.3a and onboard DD True HD and DTS HD)
B&W M-1's with the AS2 sub

So I had to feed it something better than the HD from Dish Network. The best buy deal put me over the edge and I too bought the Toshiba HD-XA2! So I am now officially on the HD-DVD team. I hope I dont have a $450 brick down the road but for now its a true joy. What an incredible picture and what a nicely built player. This is my first DVD player purchase since I bought the pioneer DV-500 for $600 way back in the day. Of course it was easier to be an early adaptor then because there wasnt a format war.

I am in HDMI 1.3 heaven! Cant wait for the firmware upgrade.

Welcome and congratulations on a nice choice.

Time, now, to get some HD DVDs and be truly blown away.

Add me to the XA2 camp... I had the D2 and pondered long about the upgrade. I can return the D2 to Costco, been only 2-3 weeks, although I really really hate returning stuff unless defective. I had no prob returning that crappy Philips upconverting player I bought earlier (5982?) as it really sucked. The HD option materialized after that and I really thought the D2 would be a keeper, but BestBuy struck and the XA2 is a distinct and worthwhile step up from A2/D2.

I still need to futz with the sound. I used optical out to my JVC RX-F10 but I didn't hear anything from the surrounds (Planet Earth). However I had very little time to set it up audio-wise. Should I use analog 5.1? I read the other thread and think maybe that is the way to go.

I will not upgrade the receiver for a little while I think, partly owing to blowing the budget on this player. The JVC is fine and I am running HDMI direct to the PJ anyway, and it is the only source in this room for now.

well add me to the A20 camp. I just pulled the trigger, what with the price drop, a gift card I had, and the 5 free movies, it was just too good a deal to pass up. Now, I just need to take it home and hook it up.

I jumped in and bought an A2 when the price hit a level I was comfortable with and never looked back....My setup is modest, but it totally rocks!!! Buck, you will not regret the move ya made!!! I do not believe in format neutrality in this war....It's HD all the way!!! I will not buy anything Sony, their "my way or the highway" approach to consumers is too arrogant for my taste.
Besides, were they not the company that foisted a DRM rootkit onto their CD's? What about the unfinished specs, hmmmm? BD-J and BD+(DRM that will make you think they own your player, not the other way around).....So welcome to the RED side, the side that will prevail in this battle......I think Toshiba and the gang are marketing their product wisely, and because of that, more CE companies, studios, etc, are coming on board.....

One other thing, I can't understand for the life of me why some BR supporters want to pay a premium price for a player whose specs are not finished, risking obsolesence....Just a thought..... (open skull, install brain, open eyes)

Don--------I took the RED pill, damn proud of it too......