Toshiba HD-A35 1080p HD DVD Player by Toshiba
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List Price: Our Price: $239.00 You Save: $60.99 (20%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home Theater See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Toshiba HD-A35 1080p HD DVD Player
Digital camera Review: GREAT EVEN FOR STANDARD DVDS
Summary: 4 Stars
The few extra bucks I spent to get Toshiba's flag ship HD player was worth after I learned a few more studios were dropping the entire HD format. I knew that was a possiblity and probably could have packed it up and sent it back.
Two main reasons I decided against that. One is that it upconverts standard DVDs to near HD imaging. And, of course, I already have an extensive library now of HD DVDS, which I still believe is a better format. Not by much but still produces graphics as good as Blu-Ray.As for the audio that seems to vary from disc to disc.
And honestly, Sony's take-no-prisoners marketing of their format was a real turn off. I realize they're still smarting from the Betamax disaster, but that wasn't the consumer's fault. Anyway, I now have both and have other things to worry about. Who knows? HD may make a big comeback in some form?
Digital camera Review: GREAT HD PLAYER
Summary: 5 Stars
I was going back and forth between the XA2 and the A35 after doing some review searching i went for the A35 worth the money think it upconverts just as well as the XA2 and saved some money doing so load times are pretty quick compared to Toshiba`s older HD players picture is crystal clear. Most important thing to look for in any HD equipment these days is to make sure it has a 1.3 HDMI hookup for the best vedio and audio to be passed through a single HDMI cable have it hooked up to a ONKYO TX-SR605 receiver and a Toshiba 65 inch DLP TV only thing i can say is AMAZINGDigital camera Review: Good DVD Player - Until Audio Failed
Summary: 2 Stars
Owned this HD-A35 for just over two years - suddenly the audio section stopped working.
I strongly feel that two years is way too short a life for a player that initially costs this much.
To its credit - it was an excellent upconverter for standard DVDs during its short life.
Digital camera Review: Good but not great
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this just before the holiday season along with a Toshiba 1080p HDTV. Hooked things up and took a look to make sure I hadn't made a mistake by spending that much on a DVD player. I've now had it for about a month, and feel that I can give an honest review.
Pros:
1) Beautiful output from DVD's. I've been going back through my library of DVD's and they look absolutely fantastic on this player. DVD's are much better looking than my (very high quality) progressive scan DVD player through component video and upconverted in the TV.
2) Slightly more beautiful output from HD DVD's.
3) 24 frame setting for movie DVD's and HD DVD's (the TV I bought has a matching 72Hz setting that works really well with this setting on this player, no need for 3-2 pulldown).
4) The ethernet connection made the firmware upgrade much easier.
Cons:
1) Slow to start up and open the tray. I haven't timed it, but it feels like an eternity before it gets going.
2) Hitting stop and then play takes you all the way back to the splash screen and the FBI warnings that you can't FF through.
3) The player does not remember where it was. My old DVD player will remember where you were in the last five DVD's that you stopped during playback. Why are we moving backwards on features like this?
4) There's a cooling fan in the back of the player. In my current setup, the components are in a wire rack (not in a cabinet or another room) and I can hear the fan during quiet scenes.
5) The remote cannot be easily incorporated into existing universal remotes. The HD DVD remote apparently uses different codes from normal Toshiba DVD players and these are not yet available for either of the universal remotes I already own. It took 30 minutes (with some swearing) to manually record the remote into my favorite universal and the result doesn't feel as "quick".
6) The firmware upgrade is not optional. My player started out with the v1.1 firmware and could not deal with the dust found on brand new HD DVD's. The slightest scratch meant a complete bailout. Upgrading to v1.3 allowed the player to finish DVD's with normal dust and light scratches.
So it's good, but not great. One star taken away for the startup time and noise. One star taken away for the complete inability to stop watching something and come back to it later.
Digital camera Review: Good unit, but...
Summary: 4 Stars
Technically, I am happy with what the A-35 can do. Playback on some movies was jerky, but after a firmware upgrade, things were much better. Picture on a good HDTV is astounding. The bitsteam audio output is also nice to have if your amplifier can handle it.
Both the unit and the remote do not have a solid "feel" to them, but time will tell if they are fragile.
I would also mention that the A-35 is quite noisy when running. I would definitely not recommend it for quiet playback of your CDs.