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Toshiba HDA3 vs HDA30 vs DVD upconverter?

post #1 of 14
2/20/08 at 4:13pm
Thread Starter 
With HD-DVD having "lost the war" (and prices dropping) at the same time that I have to buy a new DVD player (old player is broken so I currently have nothing) I'm considering purchasing the Toshiba HDA3 or HDA30 instead of an upconverting DVD player. I've looked through the forums and read various opinions but nothing directly comparing these vs. upconverting DVD players so was hoping you guys could help me out.

At Circuit City right now (want to buy locally in case there are any problems) the A3 is $100 and the A30 is $130. These of course come with 2 in box HD-DVDs and 5 more free mail in HD-DVDs which would be a very nice bonus. Other than that I would probably never buy any other HD-DVD movies (although you never know if they get uber cheap) and would just be using the player to upscale my regular DVDs. Basically I want something that's going to last me (and of course display beautiful video and sound) until good Blu-Ray players come down to the $100-$150 range.

My TV is a Toshiba REGZA 32HL67 (720p) and I run all my HDMI stuff through an Onkyo 705 receiver. If you do suggest going with an upconverting DVD player instead any suggestions? The current one that I'm looking at is the Onkyo DV-SP405 (for $126 at CC). Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!
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post #2 of 14
2/20/08 at 4:22pm
From what I understand...the A3, A30 and A35 all share the same Anchor Bay chip for standard dvd upconversion if that is your main concern....and with a 720p tv the A3 would be fine.

I did a personal shootout between a PS3, HD-A30 and an Oppo 970HD (1080i upconversion) for upconverting standard dvd's and the result was that the PS3 and Oppo were pretty close but the Oppo won for slightly better color saturation...and the A30 outclassed both of them.

I now have a XA2 which is my default HD-DVD/upconverted dvd player and the A30 is now doing upconverting duty on a bedroom tv. The PS3 is for Blu-ray/games and the Oppo was sold on Ebay a couple weeks ago.
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post #3 of 14
2/20/08 at 4:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ænima View Post

At Circuit City right now (want to buy locally in case there are any problems) the A3 is $100 and the A30 is $130. These of course come with 2 in box HD-DVDs and 5 more free mail in HD-DVDs which would be a very nice bonus.

If you have a Costco membership, they current have the HD-D3 (Costco's model number, same as the HD-A3). The Costco in-store price is $79.99 and the HD-D3 includes the same 300, Bourne Identity and also includes an HDMI cable. It is also eligible for the 5 more free by mail. Costco also has a easy return policy in case there are any problems.
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post #4 of 14
2/20/08 at 8:20pm
I thought the A-3 didn't have the Anchor bay chip?

I will buy an A-30 if the upscaling is much better than the A-3. Any thoughts in this regard?
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post #5 of 14
2/20/08 at 9:11pm
Thread Starter 
Well I ended up just getting the A3. Thanks a lot for the quick input! Upscaling seems damn good although I don't have much to compare it with.
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post #6 of 14
2/20/08 at 9:14pm
The A30 is worth the extra $30,it outputs 1080p and uses the ABT chip.
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post #7 of 14
2/21/08 at 9:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by moviegeek View Post

The A30 is worth the extra $30,it outputs 1080p and uses the ABT chip.

His TV, the same as the unit in my BR, only does 720P. I believe, from what I read the A3 and A30 have the same upscale quality on 720P and 1080I....The A30 can go to 1080P which he does not need. i guess the A30 is more future proof, but we are A/V enthusiast and rarely keep our equipment for more than a few years...
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post #8 of 14
2/21/08 at 12:56pm
I tried both A3 and A30 on my 32" 720p LCD TV (Panny), I could not tell any difference on image quality between the two players.
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post #9 of 14
2/21/08 at 6:41pm
If you want the highest quality upconverting to progressive scan, you definitely need motion-adaptive de-interlacing, which the HD-A* series don't have. Check into Oppo for the best bang/buck upconverting players.

Among HD DVD players, you'll have to step back the the HD-XA2 to get the Silicon Optics motion-adaptive de-interlacing chipset.
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post #10 of 14
2/21/08 at 7:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by loem01 View Post

I tried both A3 and A30 on my 32" 720p LCD TV (Panny), I could not tell any difference on image quality between the two players.

I replaced my A-3 with an A-30 strictly for upconverting purposes. My tv is a 61" 720p/1080i. The difference in upscaling is unbelievable. My wife even said "Hey we don't need to buy HD-DVD's anymore."
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post #11 of 14
2/21/08 at 7:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stitchesman View Post

I thought the A-3 didn't have the Anchor bay chip?

I will buy an A-30 if the upscaling is much better than the A-3. Any thoughts in this regard?

Anyone know what chip the A3 uses? Mediatek?
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post #12 of 14
2/21/08 at 9:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stitchesman View Post

I thought the A-3 didn't have the Anchor bay chip?

I will buy an A-30 if the upscaling is much better than the A-3. Any thoughts in this regard?

afaik, yer correct. the a30 and a35 alledgedly share the same video output (deinterlacer-unknown, scaler-abt) but the a3 is supposedly a lesser animal.
i dont know how much better the 30/35 are tho. ive got an a30 but havent played any sd on it yet.

on smaller tvs there may not be much difference. depending on how far u sit from it.
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post #13 of 14
2/21/08 at 10:00pm
Are these A30s better than the A2? I have a 51" 1080i, just thinking about grabbing another player while they're cheapish.
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post #14 of 14
2/23/08 at 6:46pm
bump
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