Toshiba announces 3rd generation HD DVD players (1 Viewer)

[ppltd]

Looks like Toshiba slid this announcement right by us. I have heard nothing on third generation HD DVD players until this announcement.

 

[Paul Arnette]

I don't think Toshiba has officially announced these yet. I think they're waiting until CEDIA to unviel them.

Anyway, I noticed a couple of things right off the bat:

1) I can't believe they're manufacturing new 1080i-only players. I would have thought they would have moved beyond 1080i by now. I understand you can achieve a desireable price-point that way, but I thought it would be lower than a $299.99 MSRP. In fact, I thought they'd just rely on their existing stock of HD-A2s to be honest.

2) One of these, the A35, I think, mentioned Deep Color support. Again, and this goes for any component made by any manufacturer on either side of the format war, how useful is that going to be?

3) I wonder what the difference between the A30 and A35 will be? Analog outs?

4) I don't see a comparable XA2 model, will this tier now be fulfilled by Onkyo?

 

[ppltd]

Ditto to 3 above.

 

[Paul Arnette]

Deep color isn't in either HDM spec and it necessitates all the components in your video chain to have it in order to use it, so color me skeptical on its merits. Again, if this was a BD player we were talking about, I would say the exact same thing.

 

[ReggieW]

If Toshiba does announce a new unit comparable to the current A2 model (1080i, no analog outs, no 24fps support, one Toslink only), it should be at the $199.00 price point imho. When these new players arrive in Oct-Nov, we will likely see the A2's being cleared out at well under $200.00.

 

[Peter Overduin]

Not anymore...other sites are reporting these were announced WAAAAAy prematurely by Amazon and arent there anymore. Toshiba plans to announce them in September.

 

[Chris Quinn]

$299 gives a lot of room for sales and markdowns. The $299 A2 can be found for $240.

 

[ReggieW]

The forthcoming A30 & A35 will provide room for markdowns and discounts. The A3 should be the entry level player to entice buyers. I would be surprised if Toshiba brought the A3 out at more than $249 retail.

 

[Paul.S]

Sorry to see the iterations of the model numbers getting even more confusing (no "XA3"?).

Same here.

I wonder, especially given the "best" unit is supposedly $499, if any of these pieces will have analog 5.1 outputs. If not, I'll feel even a little better about the EMA XA2 for $299.

 

[ZaijiaN]

Figures that they do this right after I put in an order for an HD-A2.

 

[Paul Arnette]

Well, whether it was advertised that way or not, the Value Electronics sale clearly had that "clearing out our inventory" vibe about it to me.