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Toshiba HD-A2 woes..... (1 Viewer)

Ian_H

Supporting Actor
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Aug 6, 2001
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So since I only have a handful of titles I haven't used my A2 for a couple of weeks. I only use it to play HD-DVDs. The firmware is at least 2.0. I use the Harmony 880 to control my set up. I hit my watch hd-dvd activity and everything fired up just fine. I used the open/close button on the player and inserted Heroes Season 1 disc 1. It started right up and went to the main menu. When I tried to navigate the menu I got nothing. Nothing would respond. I couldn't move around the menu at all. I tried with my A2 remote. Still nothing. I changed the batteries on my A2 remote and nothing. I ejected the disc and turned the player off. I can turn it on with the remote and that is it. I even unplugged it completely and tried again. I can only turn it on. It won't respond to any other command. I tried to enter the set up with no disc inside and it won't do shit. Pardon my french but I am extremely frustrated right now. Any ideas??
 

troy evans

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I would try leaving it unplugged for about 10 to 15 minutes that might make it reboot. Sounds like the disc locked your system up. It happens from time to time ,but, it's really rare. I have the A20 and in my manual it says if the player freezes for 15 minutes or more and will not respond to remote commands, holding down ON/STANDBY button on the front panel of the player itself for about 10 seconds can force the player to turn off. It goes on to advise that this is an emergency step and should not be used casually.
 

Ian_H

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I tried unplugging it. Left it unplugged overnight. No dice. I went to work and called Toshiba and gave my symptoms. Since I didn't have it in front of me the only thing they gave me to try at the time was to "take the batteries out of the remote and press each button down for 2 seconds."

Can you guess the outcome of that?? Still have the problem. By the time I got home it was too late to call Toshiba as they are closed after 7 central (I am pacific). The 800 number I have is only Mon-Fri. Any other numbers out there? Any ideas? Any kind of reset on the actual machine?
 

Matt Shiv

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Jul 4, 2002
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Yeah, I am not too pleased with my recent purchase right now. I bought an HD-A2 last week with Amazon's big sale. I posted a thread the other day which nobody offered any thoughts or feedback on, but essentially every disc I have put into the machine so far freezes up at some point.

This afternoon I tried to watch "The Warriors" and I have had to restart the machine FIVE TIMES within 42 minutes because it keeps freezing. This is ridiculous.

The player came with a giant sheet saying DO NOT RETURN THIS PRODUCT TO THE STORE, so I guess I am going to have to deal with Toshiba. I am not excited about the process of potentially having to exchange the unit, but I just want one that works.

I upgraded the firmware to the most recent version right after buying it, so I know that isn't the problem.
 

Ian_H

Supporting Actor
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Aug 6, 2001
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This is the only problem I have had with the machine. I had some audio problems earlier but that was due to my old receiver. Maybe you got this delivery man:
 

Rhoq

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Mar 1, 2004
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Are you 100% sure that the update successful? If an update fails it will revert back to whatever version was on the machine prior to the update attempt.

The last few firmware updates have resolved almost all of the problems with freezing. I watched The Warriors a few weeks ago and it played flawlessly and the FW has been updated at least one time since then. If you are in fact running the most recent version, I'd say you have a defective player.
 

Rhoq

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From all of the problems people seem to be having with Heroes, it looks like the latest firmware (v2.2) is required. If you aren't set-up to update via the Ethernet port, definitely try burning the 2.2 iso and update via CD-R before trying again.
 

RickER

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I had the same problem with the A20 that i bought about 2 months ago...i returned it. It froze on DVDs HD discs, you name it, it wouldnt play it longer than 20 minutes. I have a Blu-ray player now. The worst thing it does is skip a frame or two. But it only does it about every 5th movie, and only once. Like a layer change, but its not. I was thinking of getting back into HD DVD with the XA2, after Christmas.
 

Ian_H

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Aug 6, 2001
Messages
569


The unit will not respond to any commands from the remote other than power on when it is off and open/close when it is off. I can't enter set up, I burned a CD-R and it goes to the Version up YES / NO and since it won't respond to the remote I can't hit OK when it is on yes. Pressing the buttons on the front do nothing as well.
 

Averry

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The guy sorta grimaced, makes me wonder what he was afraid of walking over.
 

Rhoq

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Mar 1, 2004
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Sorry - I misunderstood and thought the unresponsive remote only applied when you tried to watch Heroes.

I would call Toshiba - in my own personal experience with them (I bricked my first A2 on my 2nd day of ownership), I have found their CSRs to be very helpful and understanding. I'd see if maybe could they could send a replacement remote out to you (just in case it's a bad remote and not actually a defective A2) before requesting a prepaid shipping label to send the A2 in for a repair or replacement.
 

Ian_H

Supporting Actor
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Aug 6, 2001
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My Harmony 880 doesn't work either.... but I can finally call them today so here is hoping I can get it to work.
 

Matt Shiv

Agent
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Jul 4, 2002
Messages
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One thing I will say is that the Toshiba Customer Service reps are insanely good. I normally dread having to call a "help" line and wonder what kind of service I am actually going to get on the other end, but I spoke to 2 people at Toshiba this week about my problems and they were really helpful and worked with me to take care of them.

Looks like I do have a defective player and it has to be shipped back. Luckily, I saved all of the packing materials and it should be easy to get it on its way to be fixed. They said that once they get my machine that it will be repaired or replaced within 3 days, so I can't complain about that. Hopefully I'll have a working A2 machine in a week or so.
 

Ian_H

Supporting Actor
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Aug 6, 2001
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So after calling Toshiba there was nothing they could do or try over the phone. The rep I got was great. Once they got the machine it back to me in less than a week. Not sure what the problem was really. The invoice they e-mailed me said something like "plugged in part". The return packaging was heavy duty and well packed and the machine works now. I was kind of surprised that they didn't bother to upgrade the firmware while they had it but I took care of that before I even tried playing a disc. Hopefully I won't have anymore troule with this machine.
 

Paul.S

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Good for you, Ian. They turned it around and had a player back to you in under a week? Remarkable.

Same player? Check serial number.

What means did you use to upgrade firmware--disc from Tosh?
 

Matt Shiv

Agent
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Jul 4, 2002
Messages
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I also shipped my player to Toshiba's service center and it was returned to me about a week later. The unfortunate part of the situation is that I don't think they did anything. I am having the EXACT same problems that I did before.

They updated the firmware from 2.2 to 2.5 and that, quite honestly, may be all they did. The first dvd I put into the player ("Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind") froze up on the MENU. I restarted it and tried again, this time the movie played for about 5 or 6 minutes before freezing.

I am furious right now because I am not paying to ship it back to them again only to have them not fix the problem.

I think, right now, that I am leaning towards returning the player to Amazon as defective, getting a refund, and waiting for the 3rd gen players later this year. I immediately bought about $400-500 worth of movies, so I am not willing to just jump out of the game altogether, but I really can't believe that this has been my experience trying to get into the HD-DVD world...
 

Paul.S

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Matt, I'd either pursue the return-to-Amazon option you mention in your last para or . . .

Perhaps depending upon whether you took notes on who you spoke with at Tosh cust service and how polite you can be while simultaneously not taking "no" for an answer--use the fact that you've returned it to them once and still have the same problem as leverage to insist upon Tosh's replacing the player immediately. Ask to ship your unit back to them--at their expense--only after you're in receipt of a new machine so you won't be without a player.
 

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