|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Rating:  - Erratic
When it works, it is dazzling. Problem is, it does not work all the time in spite of all the available firmware fixes.
Let me explain.
Any HD DVD is sheer brilliance with this player. A regular DVD is spectacular when it works. But, about 80% of the time, it will play a regular DVD for a while and then freeze. And, that DVD works fine on a regular player. I subscribe to the philosophy that making something better is worthwhile only if something else is not broken in the process.
As a result, I am selling all my HD DVDs and bowing out of the HD DVD camp.
Rating:  - Excellent PQ, but not without its issues...
We've had the HD-A1 for almost a year now. By this time, I'm pretty sure this model has been replaced by an upgraded version. Nevertheless, I'll give the basic run-down, as most anything I say about this model can be applied to newer versions.
The picture quality is fantastic, no question about it. I have an upconverting DVD player, but the true HD quality of the Toshiba easily rivals it. Plus, this unit does a good job of upconversion in and of itself, so it serves dual duty. PQ between this and a blu-ray is a toss up -- they're both the same.
The downsides are few, but they are there, and may be enough to deter some people. For starters, the included remote, although very cool looking and retro, is straight up impossible to read in the dim light most people watch movies in. Until you get the remote memorized, you will have to turn the lights on to use it.
The next gripe comes with a delay of sorts when powering on. When I first got the unit, I would hit the power on, then hit it again, then hit it again, and nothing would happen. After doing a little research, I basically realized I had to point the remote at the unit, hit power, and wait almost a minute for the thing to come on, from there, it took about another minute until the thing was ready to accept a disk.
However, this little bit of tedium is easy to get by once the movie is rolling. Plus, I'm sure these problems have been, or are being, delt with by Toshiba.
My advice? Wait until the format war is over, then pick up a unit. By then, prices will have lowered to resonable levels, and the hardware will have had all the bugs worked out.
Rating: - 1st HD purchase
Greetings to all the folks in HD land. I had the luck to find a used version of this unit and had it shipped all the way to Riyadh. The price was amazing! i have only had it for a day and it seems to be working fine so far. I would like to share a few thoughts before i up or down this product:
* i am in the process of purchasing an LCOS JVC and currently only have a TOSHIBA 42 1080i capable TV with no HDMI
* This player is mainly reviewed while connected to my DELL 24'' via component video
* It was just the mere price that attracted me to this player
* I only bought this to have Matrix on HD!
* Most of my other movies are in BluRay
* i did not do any firmware updates to this unit
* i have yet to do any sound tests
On the dell LCD panel the output on the image is amazing. I was sort of hoping a bit more on the up conversion of SD content but i guess i have to wait for the LCOS. i think there are limitations to my DELL monitor.
All in all, if your looking to just give HD-DVD a try without breaking the bank, get a used HD player like this one. I think it was a steal.
Rating: - WARNING Stay away
I got this DVD player 2 weeks ago and it is already dead! - It is very slow to load a dvd or eject a DVD ~ 20 seconds. Then when I had issues with it not recognizing a DVD I whent on the network and downloaded a firmware upadate. This then killed all my HD capacity and now I only have regular dvd playback. Toshiba support said wait for another firmware update to see if it could fix it but did not say when probably a few months or more. Oh how I wasted $500 on this junk!
Rating:  - Toshiba HD-A1 DVD Player
Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD Playeris my first HD-DVD player I purchased. However, its slow pace of start up as well as reading the disk is a snail speed, may be 1 minute. The remote control is so hard to read with very small letters imprinted on black color background. The up-conversion function is not very good, compare to my other DVD plaver. Plus on several occasion, it failed to read or play the disk which I have no problem to play on other DVD player. Toshiba should have done better than that at the price we paid for
|
|
|
|
 |
|
