Toshiba HD-XA2 1080p HD-DVD Player by Toshiba
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List Price: Our Price: $340.00 You Save: $259.99 (43%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Toshiba HD-XA2 1080p HD-DVD Player
Digital camera Review: Greatest HD/SD DVD Player Ever Made...
Summary: 5 Stars
Not much more I can add to the positive reviews that has not already been said. This is a FANTASTIC player. My standard DVD's look like near HD quality on my 55" Sony HDTV. Run, don't walk to pick one of these up if you are looking for the best upscaler on the planet. This is a REFERENCE QUALITY unit, a steal at $400 or less...Digital camera Review: You buy it for SD DVDs
Summary: 4 Stars
Yes, it plays HD DVDs, but its wow effect is the SD DVD quality.
Pros:
1. REON HQV (Hollywood Quality Video) chip = best 1080p/24 picture quality.
2. Excellent audio format support (convert most of the format except DTS-HD HR and DTS-HD Master, which must be decoded by receivers at this time of writing)
3. Attractive console design
4. Plenty of output types
5. Toshiba's continuous firmware support
Cons:
1. Format war casualty
I watched Pride & Prejudice HD-DVD version (Keira Knightley), it plays admirably. Picture quality and details are excellent, but I think its benefits come mostly because of HDMI 1.3's Deep Color, so the color is very rich. The upconverted SD DVD looks every bit as good with this SD DVD.
The reason because it's REON HQV chip. That's the reason why this player is so expensive and highly sought after!!! If you go do some research, any SD DVD player with that chip is more expensive than this, and this one plays HD-DVDs as well.
The remote is okay. A lot of people find it unintuitive, which is true. It does have backlight however. The response time is very slow. There seems to be a one-second delay between when you click the button and when the function is actually received by the player. To the credit of the remote, it's an excellent universal remote if you just want to watch DVDs. Most DVD player's remote has TV Power button, but no input switch (TV/DVD) button, so you'd still have to use your TV's remote to change the input to HDMI, component video or whatever the input port you connected your player to. So it's excellent to have that button right there on the DVD remote.
The remote and the console itself are built like tank!!! Heavy weight and non-clanky. The style is understated.
My firmware is v2.7 and it has some very annoying stuttering problem. I have it on 1080p/24 resolution. The playback of the movie itself is usually very excellent, but when one plays the extra features on DVD/HD-DVD, I think the different format it's recorded in cause the player to play them back in somewhat stuttery manner. You might not notice it, but it's definitely there. Firmware 2.8 is suppose to fix that problem, but it introduced some other problems, so people are waiting for Firmware 2.9. Toshiba does a reasonable job updating their software, considering they don't have to do it!!! This is really not a money maker for them, but I admire their support for a format that's losing ground. :-) Thumbs up.
Digital camera Review: Best hd player right now on the market
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the best hd player hands down that is presently on the market. Right now it does seem as if blu-ray has a strong advantage in the format war due to warner brothers recent decision but don't let that stop you from buying this player (if you can find one). Even if hd dvd dies you will still have the best upconverting dvd player on the market and you will still be able to enjoy a library of over 400 hd dvd movies. Also consider the fact that Toshiba won't stop making dvd players which means there will be options to get it serviced in the future should it break down on you. If you have the money to burn go ahead and get it.Digital camera Review: Purchased at Best Buy as open item
Summary: 5 Stars
Plugged it in and updated the firmware to version 2.7 via ethernet connection and man this thing works wonders. Upconversion is excellent and HD DVD playback is superb.
The unit and the remote control are also built like tanks! Those who own an XA2 know exactly what I mean.
Digital camera Review: The Best DVD Player + Excellent HD Player
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this player.
I've owned more than 5 DVD upconverting players so far. They're players from Phillips, Panasonic, Sony, Norcent, and Cyberhome. None of them can be compared with this one. The 297 Mhz/12 bit Video DAC with 4x Oversampling in this unit is something you can only dream of in Denon's high-end AV equipment costing several thousand dollars. Silicon Optix Reon HQV processing technology works wonder -it delivers full HD resolution and detail, and includes user-adjustable picture controls for both high definition and standard definition material. This XA2 is simply the best DVD and HD DVD player, rendering the best near HD images out of your DVD collection.
I also have a HD-A3 player, which is no comparison with the XA2 in terms of DVD images. HD-XA2 reproduces the most crystal clear, lifelike images when connecting to your HDTV via HDMI Output. I'm busy watching all my DVD collection all over again.
Be sure to turn on the features on Noise Reduction and Edge Enhancement. It will definitely make a difference with them turned on. The new firmware is at 2.8 now - be sure to patch it up to take advantage of the new features enabled through this release.
Bought it through Amazon Warehouse deal refurbished. It's like brand new even though it said some cosmetic blemishes exit, which I could not find.
You'll not regret buying this player. Just Google "HD-XA2" and you'll find amazing professional reviews on this unit. You'll love it as I do - Wish I had it earlier.