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Toshiba A2 vs. A3 -- any performance advantage for the A3

post #1 of 4
12/5/07 at 1:58pm
Thread Starter 
I am very budget-conscious when it comes to the new formats. I would think that over time there will be reason to pick up new/improved payers. So for now I want to get lots of value til I upgrade down the line.

So what would I get by choosing the A3 over the A2? Yeah, yeah it's prettier, but that's not a major concern. The only thing I've seen in the A3's favor as far as performance is concerned is the load time. I don't care about that.

They're both HDMI 1.1 compliant, correct? So I just need an hdmi avr that doesn't pass audio through, yes?

Based on my criteria is there any reason to spend 50% more on the A3? I am planning to go to Wal-Mart this friday for this deal:

EDIT: can't post link but it's an A2 for 200 w/ 5 movies from walmart on top of the 5 from Toshiba; same deal for the A3 but it's 300 and also has '300' and 'The Bourne Identity' packeaged with it

on the A2 unless someone convinces me otherwise
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post #2 of 4
12/5/07 at 2:31pm

Re: Toshiba A2 vs. A3 -- any performance advantage for the A3

I faced the choice between the two and I went with the A2. For me, three things came into play (of various importance).

First, and most important, the A2 can output 480i via HDMI. My projector has very good video processing and I wanted the option to let it do all the work with SD DVDs. The A3 does not have that ability.

Second, it came with a free HDMI cable.

Third, it was made in Japan rather than China (not a guarantee of a better build, but it increases the odds in my favour).

As for audio, I'll be using the optical output for quite some time (I'll probably upgrade to a player with MCH analogue output before I upgrade my non-HDMI receiver, but I wanted to try it out before committing the extra money to such a player) and my receiver copes with the full bitrate DTS without any trouble. If I did not have a DTS decoder in my receiver, I'd have gone with the A3 to get the DD output.
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post #3 of 4
12/5/07 at 4:20pm

Re: Toshiba A2 vs. A3 -- any performance advantage for the A3

Also, the number of A2s that will be available that Wal-Mart on Friday will be very small, like a handful of them per store, so if you're late to the party, you may only have A3s to buy.
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post #4 of 4
12/5/07 at 4:34pm

Re: Toshiba A2 vs. A3 -- any performance advantage for the A3

I got my A2 at Costco, so that could be another place to look (if one has decided on the A2 as the preferred choice).
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