Toshiba HD-A2 is Fantastic!!!! (1 Viewer)

[Ron Z]

Ditto here. If my receiver supported HDMI audio I'd go with the A2, but it'll be the A1 for now - and hopefully in time for X-mas.

 

[Ron Z]

From what I read from the link it won't play HDMI audio, but just pass it through. It's the same as what my Pioneer Elite 80 receiver does, so I need the A1 with the analog audio outs to make use of the new HD audio streams.

 

[Carlo_M]

Since my thread on it has garnered no responses, I figure I'll ask this in the owners thread:

How is the quality of pause and frame forward/backward on this new unit and production HD-DVDs? Does it look like film frames, or is it a blurry/smeary mess?

I know that frame forwarding on high-speed action frames will result some motion blur. But the Blu-ray display I saw in my Best Buy (new Sony BD player to a Sony SXRD TV running their demo disc), every time I paused even in low-motion scenes, the still frame and frame forward/backward pictures looked not just blurry, but smeared. I wondered if this was a result of the player, the demo disc maybe encoded incorrectly, or if the next-gen discs don't do pause, frame fwd/back well.

Thanks!

 

[Ron-P]

My A1 is less then 45 seconds (pretty sure it was 41) from power up to HD-DVD image on screen. The A2 doesn't seemed that much improved compared. Also, with the lack of analog outs, it's a no buy for me. I have no plans to upgrade my system to HDMI at all.

 

[RobertDW]

Trust me I use the receiver every night and have five HDMI devices going to the HDMI input via a switch.

 

[Fernalfer]

Robert i wrote you a PM about your reciever. I too was looking at that reciever instead of buying the $700.00 pioneer reciever. But i just want to make sure it can power my speakers and also when i buy the A-2 that it can pass thru TrueHD and DD++.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Been thinking about dipping my toe into an optical HD medium, and price, as well as the availability of "V for Vendatta", is swaying me toward an HD-A2. I have some really basic questions, though, and can't find a general FAQ. In the absense of 5.1 analog outs (wtf?), what do I actually get over Toslink? Just regular DD/DTS? Higher bit rate? And how's the 720p output? I'd read it wasn't so hot on the A1, and that's what my Panasonic AE900 needs.

Thanks!

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I timed my A1 with a stopwatch and its load time was 41 seconds also. Various people have claimed that patches have made it faster, but every patch I've timed and it's still 41 seconds. People believe what they want to believe.

 

[Shane Martin]

DTS only.

I believe the 720P output was fixed on the later firmware editions on the A1.

Same goes for the question that Carlo asked.

 

[dkny75]

I have an A1 and had no such problems when I put in the Matador. It loaded up with the normal times of other HD DVDs and didn't have any problems with lock ups. The only title that took forever to load is Chronos.

 

[threepio]

I plugged in my A2 last night (I think my Xbox DVD add-on may go unused for a while) and I have to say I was impressed.

I've got it connected to a Hitachi 42HDS52 via HDMI and to my H/K 430 via TOSlink. The sound was noticeably richer coming from the A2 over the Xbox. The boot times were similar - but I'll stopwatch them tonight.

I popped in The Mummy to check freeze frame as requested - there's a slight amount of blur. I'll do some more spot checks tonight and see if I can compare it to the same scenes in the SD version.

I'm sure the 5.1 Analog outputs would be lovely, but I can't complain about the sound I was getting. I did notice some bizarre artifacting in Batman Begins when the in-movie experience was on - located on the right hand side of the screen during the sequence just before Katie Holmes gets gassed - I'm going to revisit those scenes tonight and make sure that either a) it's just during the IME or b) I've got a defective disc :frowning:

So - first night review? Easy to hook up, responsive, quiet and produced the quality I was hoping for.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Wow...so there's no type of DD at all over Toslink?

 

[threepio]

My receiver processes the signal from the A2 as DTS (at least, that's the little light that comes on).

 

[TerryRu]

I've only tried one HD-DVD in my new A2 and it was Superman Returns. My Pioneer VSX-52TX showed DTS using optical toslink.

 

[DarthBeavis]

IMHO, no 1080p = lame. Come on, all HD DVDs are made in 1080p.

 

[threepio]

...? What a charming addition to the conversation.

I hesistate to criticize anyone's opinion, but penetration of HD displays is still quite low. The subset of this penetration that comprises 1080p displays is single digits at most.

The A2 is one of the most economical HD players on the market. If the trade off is 1080p (which my display can't handle) for a significant increase in price - I'll pass.

So - official response - no 1080p = not lame.

 

[RobertDW]

http://www.projectorcentral.com/blu-ray_2.htm

"At this point we should address what can only be characterized as a hoax—the notion that Blu-ray must be technically superior to HD-DVD because the Samsung player outputs 1080p, whereas the Toshiba player is "only 1080i." One high-end home theater retailer told me last weekend that the reason you pay $1000 for the Blu-ray player is for the "higher resolution 1080p output." This is absolute baloney. If you encounter any retail sales rep feeding you this line, keep your wallet in your pocket and leave the store.

The truth is this: The Toshiba HD-DVD player outputs 1080i, and the Samsung Blu-ray player outputs both 1080i and 1080p. What they fail to mention is that it makes absolutely no difference which transmission format you use—feeding 1080i or 1080p into your projector or HDTV will give you the exact same picture. Why? Both disc formats encode film material in progressive scan 1080p at 24 frames per second. It does not matter whether you output this data in 1080i or 1080p since all 1080 lines of information on the disc are fed into your video display either way. The only difference is the order in which they are transmitted. If they are fed in progressive order (1080p), the video display will process them in that order. If they are fed in interlaced format (1080i), the video display simply reassembles them into their original progressive scan order. Either way all 1080 lines per frame that are on the disc make it into the projector or TV. The fact is, if you happen to have the Samsung Blu-ray player and a video display that takes both 1080i and 1080p, you can switch the player back and forth between 1080i and 1080p output and see absolutely no difference in the picture. So this notion that the Blu-ray player is worth more money due to 1080p output is nonsense"

http://www.projectorcentral.com/reta...VD_Blu-ray.htm

"Contrary to popular misconceptions, HD-DVD and Blu-ray are both 1080p sources. As far as movies are concerned, both disc formats are scanned and encoded in 1080p from the original film. So why the confusion? It comes from the fact that the first HD-DVD player, the Toshiba HD-A1, outputs 1080i, while the first Blu-ray player, the Samsung BD-P1000, outputs both 1080i and 1080p. That sounds like a big deal, but in reality this is more of a marketing/perception problem for the Toshiba player than a technical limitation.

Both HD-DVD and Blu-ray have all of the progressively scanned 1080-lines per frame of information on the disc, and this information is not lost or compromised in 1080i transmission. The transmission interface is simply a matter of the order in which the scanlines are read and transmitted to the video display. If they are transmitted in 1080p, they are sent sequentially. If they are transmitted in 1080i, they are sent in two fields, with one containing the odd numbered lines and another the even numbered lines. These two fields are then reassembled into sequential frames by the video processor in the TV or projector. Either way you end up with the full 1080p frame being used to create the picture, so there is no difference in the end result.

What is not obvious to the consumer is that the Samsung player first converts the 1080p/24 information on the disc to 1080i/60. Once it is in that format, it can output it in either 1080i/60 if that is what the projector or TV takes, or it can convert it to 1080p/60 for output. The Toshiba HD-DVD player converts the 1080p/24 information on the disc to 1080i/60 and simply outputs it in this format. It is then converted to 1080p/60 in the video display. With either player, the signal passes through an interlaced state on its way from the disc to the screen.

Therefore, the 1080p output as implemented on the Samsung BD-P1000 is of no real value to the consumer in terms of enhanced picture quality. It is, however, of tremendous promotional value to Samsung and the Blu-ray group. The extra cost to add 1080p output onto the Samsung BD-P1000 pays handsome returns, because it inspires retail sales reps to say to their customers, "The reason you pay extra for Blu-ray is that it is 1080p, while HD-DVD is only 1080i" Or, as another rep told me last week, "The story is simple: Blu-ray is double the cost and double the resolution."

 

[BrettGallman]

Some receivers are showing up as DTS w/ HD-DVDs because that's how DD+ signals are processed, apparently. It's completely normal. My receiver did the same thing before I hooked up the A1 via the analog outs. I'm not sure if you get the If you play a standard DVD, everything is normal.

Edit: Here's the full scoop from a review at DVD Talk:

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Robert,

I have to agree with your post.

Everything I have read on the subject says that there is no
difference in picture quality from 1080i to 1080p in displays
that are available today.

Therefor, I can imagine the 1080p output factor is a huge
marketing ploy to hike up prices on players that output picture
that is no better than those at half the price.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Got it...thanks!