Toshiba HD-A30 1080p HD DVD Player by Toshiba
|
Our Price: $399.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home Theater See more digital camera details and other models |
|---|
Digital camera reviews of Toshiba HD-A30 1080p HD DVD Player
Digital camera Review: Everything That I Expected
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this from Amazon, and I received it sooner than expected. I must say that I buy a lot of stuff from Amazon and that their good reputation for customer service is deserved.
It came with a default setting for 1080i, I wanted to see 1080p for the first time on my new TV and it took me a few minutes to figure out how to change this setting. You apparently cannot reconfigure this while it is playing a DVD, so I finally figured out that I had to stop the DVD and then I could pull up the configuration menu and make the change. No problem. I could have just looked in the User Manual, I suppose, but it is an ego thing to try to figure it out on your own first I suppose.
It came with two movies in the box. The Bourne Identity is a good movie in my opinion and I enjoyed watching it in HD and all the bonus features. When I first put the DVD in, I was in awe of Universal logo, it was crisp. Oh, and the movie looked good too. The other movie, 300, just isn't a good movie. It was very poorly produced/directed and I just didn't enjoy it.
You can also send off for 5 free HD-DVDs from Toshiba/Microsoft when you buy this machine, though the selection is very limited. You have to go the HD-DVD website and download and print the form. Worth a 41 cent stamp to me. I haven't gotten the movies yet, but I only sent it in a week ago today, so I am not expecting them yet.
I have read mention of the load time and so I was expecting it. It is longer than regular DVD players, but I really don't mind. The payoff is well worth the wait. The picture is beautiful.
I watched some standard DVDs to see the up-conversion. It looks better than my old DVD player, but maybe my expectations were too high and I have nothing to compare it to. Still watchable, but I notice the difference easily.
Now, bring on the Battlestar Galactica HD-DVDs.
Digital camera Review: Excellent
Summary: 4 Stars
This was the coolest deal i got for $164 with 5 HD DVDs already, waiting for 5 more on MIR.
I don't care about how bluray is doing with more sales, but HD is cheap and i believe it is still the best.
It is so easy to use, i never reas the manual so far, but i have been using watching standard and HD DVDs, the upconverting is too good.
Digital camera Review: Excellent 1080/24 player for the price!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this player knowing the the it will be obsolete very soon (Blu Ray is the now the standard). It is excellent for upconverting dvd to hd. Excellent and vibrant picture quality. I have no regret, especially with 7 free movies.Digital camera Review: Excellent EBay seller.
Summary: 5 Stars
Item delievered as advertised. Works perfectly. Would recommend this
seller to any person using Ebay as a source of good buys, good prices and
low shipping costs. This buyer is extremely satisfied. Thanks.
Digital camera Review: Excellent HD Player
Summary: 5 Stars
The Toshiba HD-A30 and HD-A35 are the two top Hi Def DVD players currently available (Jan 2008). Prices continue to drop and make these players a bargain compared to the deals of just a year ago. There is still a price premium (as is warranted) over the non-Hi Def players. Hi Def images (with a proper display and proper cables - i recommend Apple Computer HDMI cables at $20 each) are significantly better than standard definition images. I don't see the Hi-Def versus Blu-Ray battle as a reason not to buy. The Hi-Def player now does not cost significantly more than a standard def player (imo) and will play standard dvds and upconvert them to your TVs resolution capabilities (up to 1080p). Even if Hi-Def doesn't win out, you have a dvd player which will continue to play your standard dvds (better than a standard def dvd player.) In the mean time, you can watch Hi-Def movies you buy or rent. Renting versus buying your Hi-Def dvds will reduce your liklihood of becoming a casualty in the Hi-Def versus Blu-Ray battle.
Both the HD-A30 and the HD-A35 are capable of firmware updates - either over the web (ethernet) or by downloading a file from Toshiba with your computer, burning a CD and using the CD in the player to update the machine. I was NOT able to establish a connection with the HD-A30 via ethernet and i have above average networking skills. I downloaded Toshiba's update file which consists of an ISO image. These files require special handling and a Google search may prove helpful (i needed additional software to burn the ISO image to a CD.) Because of my initial attempts to update the player's firmware over ethernet, the machine did not accept the CD as a source. I finally re-intialized the player (the option above update in the player's setup menu) and this allowed me to update from the CD. I write all this because the update process can be confusing, but is important. Without the update, the player occasionally locked up during playback and sometimes allowed the audio and video to get out of sync. After the update, i had no more problems.
These players do take longer than a regular player to start up and the updates are essential. Check first though (according to the instructions) to see if you require the update. I first bought the HD-A30 and deciphered the update process. I later bought the HD-A35. Since i had the update process all figured out, i immediately downloaded the HD-A35 update file (different from the HD-A30 file), burned a CD and inserted it to update the player which promptly told me that i already had the latest firmware installed. Oh well. When properly updated and set up (again including proper cables and a proper display,) these Hi-Def players (and also Blu-Ray) offer the best image available on a TV.