Official FAQs For Toshiba & RCA HD Players (1 Viewer)

[Reginald Trent]

How do I get into the setup menu as I missed it when I powered up for the first time.


Nevermind I found it.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

For those who haven't found it, slide back the bottom panel of the remote. There are more buttons hidden there, and one of them is the Setup button.

 

[dpippel]

Guys - I'm considering dipping my toe in the Toshiba HD-A1 pool. Question: My CRT RPTV (Hitachi 57SXW20B) has a DVI input but no HDMI input. Are there any known video issues such as black level clipping with this player when using a HDMI->DVI cable/converter? Thanks in advance for your comments.

 

[Tim Glover]

So if I am reading this thread right, the only way to upconvert a SD-DVD is through the HDMI port? And if a monitor/projector does not have HDMI or even DVI (only component)...then it's a no go? Please advise

 

[BrettGallman]

Tim, that's my understanding of the situation. I know you can watch some actualy HD-DVD's over component, but it's not a sure thing that things will always be like that, with the Image Constraint Token and whatnot. But it won't upscale over component.

 

[Tim Glover]

Thanks Brett...what I needed to know for sure.

 

[Gabe D]

4:3 material presented or upconverted to HD resolution is pillarboxed. However, 4:3 DVDs viewed over component cables at 480p are not pillarboxed. (Unless there is some setting I'm missing???) To watch these DVDs at a 4:3 ratio, you will have to change the stretch mode on your TV (if possible).

 

[George_W_K]

From what I understand, when using a HDMI--->DVI cable, the Toshiba outputs the incorrect colorspace? I just ordered my cable so I can upconvert my SD-DVDs, but with this colorspace thing, did I waste my money? Is this correctable in firmware?

 

[MichaelSloan]

Will an HD-DVD Player work on a tv that isn't HD? Will a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound System which works on a non HD tv and a non HD DVD player work on an HD-DVD player?

 

[mfabien]

a. Not at all. HDMI 1.1 or 5.1 multichannel analogs will give you lossless audio codecs. In fact, the latest update, version 2.0, changes DD TrueHD from 2 channel to 5.1. The DD Plus, DD TrueHD and DTS-HD are decoded in the HD DVD player which is why an HDMI 1.3 is not required. However, sources and displays capable of HDMI 1.3 will also provide more Video colors.

b. Correct

c. The need to upgrade would be required for the following:
- You wish to use a BD player (instead of HD DVD) and have access the new audio codecs
- You wish to have your a/v decode new codecs with BD player or for Music discs which will carry DD TrueHD and/or DTS-HD tracks.
- You wish to see better colors for Video (new TV).

Note: Had an HD-A1 last May, returned it because I prefer DVD Concerts to movies. Last week, I learned that the G2 machine, HD-A2, will not have the 5.1 multichannel analogs. Since my a/v does not have HDMI inputs/output I purchased a new HD-A1 Friday and should be receiving it this week. And I have already received my 2.0 update from Toshiba Canada.

 

[JonZ]

"Do I really need to upgrade to firmware 1.4? What exactly does it fix?"


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...=685252&page=1

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&&#post8283752

Updates are needed for TrueHD5.1,a audio dropout fix and other fixes.

 

[dpippel]

v1.4 firmware does NOT enable Dolby TrueHD decoding. You need to install v2.0.

 

[JonZ]

Correct, which is why I provided those 2 links, so people interested could read about the various updates and decide is they wanted to do it.

That quote is also 2 months old and theyre up to 2.0 now.

 

[dpippel]

JonZ - The only reason I posted the correction is because the question you quoted specifically asked which problems v1.4 fixed and you replied it was "needed for TrueHD5.1". It seemed you were connecting the two since there is no direct reference to v2.0 in your post.

 

[JonZ]

Yes I wasnt clear with my response.

The first link will go through each up upgrade and people can see what they do and decide for themselves if they want to go through with them.

I havent decided if Im going to yet as I havent had any issues so far except the black levels during Unforgiven and thats the only disc Ive seen it on.

I rarely turn my audio up very loud and Im worried about whether the trueHD upgrade is worth the possibility of other problems developing.

How would you compare the trueHD improvement? About he same as DD compared to DTS?

 

[dpippel]

I can't tell you about TrueHD performance because my HD-A1 is running firmware v1.2 right now. Since you cannot revert to an earlier revision from v2.0, I'm leaving it there until Toshiba addresses the black/white crush issues and PC colorspace problems on some HDMI->DVI connections that are still present.

 

[radar1]

Let me just inject my experience with my brand new HD-XA1. I have a 4:3 screen and an Optoma EP-739 projector with a native 4:3 aspect ratio. It shows 16:9 material as letterboxed. I have no problem watching HD widescreen material with black bars above and below. I can even zoom most movies to full 4:3 if I care to and not lose any quality. However, I'm unhappy with the way this XA1 displays my 4:3 ratio Music Concert Videos. I should be able to watch them in FULL 4:3, not "Pilllar" boxed as if my screen was 16:9. I have selected 4:3 as my screen shape in the set-up menu. I'm using the HDMI output, plus I also tried the component out, but get the same result. To me, this is a defect which should be corrected. Am I right or wrong? And please don't give me your opinion about 4:3 vs 16:9. I like what I like. Thanks for any input. I've contacted Toshiba regarding this but haven't heard back yet. By the way, the few movies I have watched in HD-DVD format are really spectacular in sight and sound.

 

[Ron Z]

Assuming that one could get either the Toshiba HD-A1 or the RCA HD-DVD player for the same price, can one be considered "better" than the other - build quality, features, etc? I'm aware that the RCA lags behind Toshiba in the firmware updates, but that can be resolved.

 

[Royce H]

Daniel, perhaps this may not be correctable. It looks like the output screen size is fixed in the HD resolutions (1280 X 720, 1920 X 1080) and that the player can't or won't fully resize the image to fit that screen. Kind of like displaying a 640 X 480 photo or program screen on your 1024 X 768 desktop. This could be a limitation of the video processing in the player, or a conscious decision by the Toshiba folks to avoid possible image degradation from the horizontal (it is stretching the image vertically to fit the screen resolution, though) stretching process. It'll be interesting to hear what they have to say.

 

[Jaxon's Dad]

I've been playing around with my HD-A1 and I'm not seeing any sort of resume play feature short of setting a bookmark. Am I missing something? Most SD-DVD players have a resume play feature.