Question on A3 (1 Viewer)

I',m thinking of getting this. When I looked at the reviews posted on Amazon, there was a lot of negative comments about the A3 freezing up, or having trouble plaing discs that may have dirt or a few scratches. Even if those dirty discs were cleaned it would still not play the disc. Then there would be reply comments accusing the negative posters as being fan boys of blue ray. And then replies back about those being fanboys of HD DVD. What is the truth? Can you all provide your experiences with this unit? I rent a lot of discs which is why I'm asking.
Also, my tv only has component hookups, I know using the A3 that I can't do upconversions of standard discs but will I still be able to see HD? I've seen conflicting info on this. My tv is 5 yr old 46" rear projection by panny. Thanks!

I've owned the A3 for about a month now...haven't used it too heavily, but here's what I've experienced:

• There's about a 10-15 second wait upon startup. Not sure if that's normal for HD players or not.

• Every DVD I've played on it has been fine, although I'm using my PS3 more for playing regular DVD's (personal preference).

• HD-DVD's have been fine with one exception. The player came with a copy of 300 - and I can't play it. I've got the latest firmware, but the A3 won't recognize the disc.

• Audio and video quality is good, at least as far as I can tell. I have a 720p projector, and so this player fits the bill as I don't have 1080p yet.

• The remote isn't great. This is a personal preference too, but it's not very comfortable.

I've got it hooked up via HDMI, but I'm pretty sure you'll get HD through component; someone can correct me if I"m wrong.

Overall, I'm happy with it, but not thrilled by it. Besides the 300 issue, I haven't run into any other problems. If you want a cheap HD-DVD player, though, it's probably not a bad bet.

You could pay a little more and get the A30 - decided the A35 isn't worth the extra cash; it's the one that I'm considering. Gets good reviews, does 1080/24p, supports firmware updates via an ethernet port, and has a better remote. I'd at least check it out.

I have an A3 and an A30. Not a big difference between them. Both have been flawless, even with rental discs that have sight scratches. Load time is a bit long but is as good or better than the others I have seen.

If would save the money and go with the A3.

I have an A3, and I haven't had any problems playing discs. But ... my impression through trolling the threads at AVS is that Toshiba's quality control might not be the best. A fair number of comments about players not playing "questionable" discs. Bottom line is that if you get a "good" one, I don't think you'll have too many problems. But maybe their manufacturing tolerances for the drive, laser assembly, etc, are a wee bit too loose, and we the customers sometimes suffer for it.

Thanks for the replies!