My Toshiba HD DVD (HD-A1) review.

R

RobertR1

Pro
Legend
Finally took at the plunge after reading way too much about HD DVD vs. Blu Ray. The $499 price made the decision a bit easier and it turned out to be even cheaper going through www.valueelectronics.com as I got 2 free HD DVD of my choice, no shipping and no tax.

Just got done with Riddick and talk about a showcase. If Riddick is the benchmark for HD
DVD's then I'll never be disappointed or need more. Amazing! No player or media hiccups, everything worked great and the Harmony 880 plays well with the A1 so I'm quite happy about that.

While I have noticed that the bright outdoor scenes attract the biggest "wow factor" and are the most obvious demonstrations of HD, I really liked how clean and sharp all the dark scenes looked as this was painfully missing from SD DVD and HD on Comcast versions. This stuff really is next gen. I was simply amazed. Nothing on Comcast's HD channels comes close nor does anything upconverted on my (now) old LG LDA511.

I have it hooked up to directly to a Maxent MX50-X3 and the one thing that amazes me are the black levels. The black in the movie is as dark as the black borders which is what I've always wanted. Nothing is washed out and it's clear to the point where it almost looks fake! My room is quite dark with nothing reflecting off the the TV which just compliments the clarity perfectly.

I've never been much into audio (ipod is plenty good for me) but now it just feels wrong to have this great of a picture with poor sound output so I guess I'll be wasting more money. In the end, I'm really happy with this purchase.

I'll update this thread with my take on SD > HD upconversion but I have a feeling this HD DVD stuff is gonna be a bad drug

Well done Toshiba and one hell for a price for what I got infront of me. If you're on the fence and playing the "what if" game, just get one and try it out for 30days. Then join the support group. I have no hesitation recommending the Toshiba HD A1 to anyone.

Serenity, Training Day, Swordfish and Constantine are next!
 
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Thanks for your insights and review on it! I got an Oppo earlier this year. My old DVD was on the frits (it lasted 4 years can not complain) and was not sure which next gen format I wanted to get (HD-DVD, Blu-ray). So I got the Oppo to go with the 42" Westy as a nice and cheaper stop gap. Figured to let the dust settle on the format war. I am really wondering how your player handles the up-converstion as for me, that with the HD of the next gen is what would make me switch.
 
jb said:
Thanks for your insights and review on it! I got an Oppo earlier this year. My old DVD was on the frits (it lasted 4 years can not complain) and was not sure which next gen format I wanted to get (HD-DVD, Blu-ray). So I got the Oppo to go with the 42" Westy as a nice and cheaper stop gap. Figured to let the dust settle on the format war. I am really wondering how your player handles the up-converstion as for me, that with the HD of the next gen is what would make me switch.
Click to expand...

Last night I compared Serenity HD DVD vs. Serenity SD DVD upconverted on the Toshiba and upconverted on my LG LDA511. This is on a Maxent MX50-X3 which is a 50inch plasma that does 720p/1080i and based off the panasonic glass.

The HD DVD version blows them both away.
The Toshiba does a much better job at upconverting than the LG but still can't hold a candle to the HD DVD version.

I later hooked it all upto my Mits 62725 DLP (62inch) this time adding the Sony NS975 and the results were the same.

A lot of the enthusiasts on avsforum have dumped their Denon 2910's and other high end upscalers in favor of the toshiba. For $499 this thing is a gem of sorts. Certainly much better return on investment than spending $500+ on my x1900xtx :p considering I watch more movies than play games.
 
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Ahhh thanks for the feed back. Sounds like the HD-A1 is a great unit. I have a lot of movies on DVD so the fact that I could still get some IQ gain from watching them on this is a good thing. I guess I was worried that I might need to keep the Oppo for the old stuff. But sounds like the HD-A1 will do the job well. Thanks agin!
 
RobertR1 said:
I have it hooked up to directly to a Maxent MX50-X3 and the one thing that amazes me are the black levels. The black in the movie is as dark as the black borders which is what I've always wanted. Nothing is washed out and it's clear to the point where it almost looks fake! My room is quite dark with nothing reflecting off the the TV which just compliments the clarity perfectly.
Click to expand...
Probably the HD DVD standard has deeper black levels. See more info about dvd black levels: http://www.signvideo.com/dv-black-level-dvd-7.5-ire-0-ntsc-part-1.htm
Or maybe you are using 0 IRE (this Toshiba can do 0 or 7.5 IRE). More about black level calibration: http://www.avguide.com/file-download?review=771

Thanks for your review. What about some pics? :)
 
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jb said:
Ahhh thanks for the feed back. Sounds like the HD-A1 is a great unit. I have a lot of movies on DVD so the fact that I could still get some IQ gain from watching them on this is a good thing. I guess I was worried that I might need to keep the Oppo for the old stuff. But sounds like the HD-A1 will do the job well. Thanks agin!
Click to expand...
first link is dead :cry:
 
RobertR1 said:
Finally took at the plunge after reading way too much about HD DVD vs. Blu Ray. The $499 price made the decision a bit easier and it turned out to be even cheaper going through www.valueelectronics.com as I got 2 free HD DVD of my choice, no shipping and no tax.
Click to expand...

You're in, oh, the first 1/10th of 1 percent to adopt this tech, and that gets a "finally"? :oops: Maybe you spend a little too much time at avsforum. ;)

Hey, I'm always happy for anyone who, having forked out their hard-earned money for a new tech toy, is actually happy with it. That's a beautiful thing, and what keeps the cycle going for those brethren who are a little bit further down the adoption curve.

But having said that, have you put a crotcheted dust cover or something on it? I mean, every time I get a little tempted I look at the pics of the unit again and am transported back to the '70s. . .
 
yes, good that people with financial means can enjoy it afterall.

I'll probably wait till we have cheap "wallpaper" screens sold by meter, or something like that before getting a HDTV; and I'll have a $50 chinese HDDVD/bluray combo with divx playback, USB mass storage support (already seen it on cheap chinese hardware :)), ethernet/802.11n
But that may be year 2014 :)
 
I actually like the look of it. It's build quality is very high. The unit is sturdy. All the new DVD players now are so slim that they're flimsy and create a lot of vibration which is never ideal, especially for audio. When the tray ejects there's no movement or shaking whatsoever. A bit retro but done well. The X-A1 looks a bit more fancy and built even better but to me, not worth another $300!

The remote sucks though! but thank God for the harmony.

Watched Swordfish. Yet another jaw dropper.

Jb, if you get one I'd be very curious to hear your take on it!
 
RobertR1 said:
Jb, if you get one I'd be very curious to hear your take on it!
Click to expand...

I'd love to get a new toy, however still dealing with the sticker shock of buying my first house. And since I live down here in South Florida, the boss (wife) says I need to spend money on getting hurricane shutters, gas grill for BBQs, ect. Thus looks like I have to wait just a bit. Sorry good sir as I would love to get one to play with it... Hmmm Bday is coming up in Aug.... :p
 
radeonic2 said:
Since it has a P4 in it, does it also function as a space heater?
Click to expand...


The box doesn't run hot or loud at all. My DVD, 360, and PC run hotter and are more noisy. The Chip does do much. It's only for menu and such functionality. The decoder and scaler chips handle the actual video.

Just got down with Swordfish. Yet another "WOW!" It's funny when you watch the extra's which are in standard def, you think there is something wrong with the TV or disc.

And I've not forgotten about PC graphics. The HD DVD logo is sorely lacking AA on all titles! :p
 
RobertR1 said:
The box doesn't run hot or loud at all. My DVD, 360, and PC run hotter and are more noisy. The Chip does do much. It's only for menu and such functionality. The decoder and scaler chips handle the actual video.

Just got down with Swordfish. Yet another "WOW!" It's funny when you watch the extra's which are in standard def, you think there is something wrong with the TV or disc.

And I've not forgotten about PC graphics. The HD DVD logo is sorely lacking AA on all titles! :p
Click to expand...
:cool:
Wonder why they chose a p4 btw :???:
 
radeonic2 said:
:cool:
Wonder why they chose a p4 btw :???:
Click to expand...

Cheapprice as Skyring points out and the fact that all it does is work the iHD, menus and other such low process tasks. Toshiba also makes PC's so they're quite familiar with the lowest spec and cheapest price they could get away with. From what I know only 70,000 of these chips were available for Toshiba as Intel was killing off the sku and they now have to shift to something else. This could also be the reason they is a low product suppy with the A1, while working on or in production of a HD-A1.5, if you will.
 
RobertR1 said:
Cheapprice as Skyring points out and the fact that all it does is work the iHD, menus and other such low process tasks. Toshiba also makes PC's so they're quite familiar with the lowest spec and cheapest price they could get away with. From what I know only 70,000 of these chips were available for Toshiba as Intel was killing off the sku and they now have to shift to something else. This could also be the reason they is a low product suppy with the A1, while working on or in production of a HD-A1.5, if you will.
Click to expand...
How long till there's a hd-dvd player that isn't just a PC?
 
radeonic2 said:
How long till there's a hd-dvd player that isn't just a PC?
Click to expand...


Nothing certain but rumors are that their 2nd gen will (out Q4 or Q1 07) will be more of a proprietary hardware setup.
 
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