First impressions of Toshiba's second-gen HD-A2 HD DVD player

by Matt Burns, posted Dec 12th 2006 at 8:39AM

The guys over at HomeTheaterBlog.com had the opportunity to spend some time with the latest HD DVD player from Toshiba and so far, this player seems to be a large step in the right direction. The first-gen player was more computer then consumer electronic with a huge case, painfully slow load time, monstrous remote, and unfortunately, it crashed like it was 1998 but the first impressions of the HD-A2 are polar opposites. First, the pic shows that this optical disc player actually looks like an optical disc player and not a desktop PC. They also clocked the load time at a speedy 20 seconds a disc rather then around a minute and we have grown to live with from the HD-A1. Also, the remote finally looks like a DVD remote. Thankfully Toshiba managed to improve almost everything from their first go but they did keep the image quality the same. Their full review is coming within a few weeks but their first impressions were that the quality is just as good as their first generation.

Filed under: HD DVD, Toshiba

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Robert @ Dec 12th 2006 2:54PM

Good to know they fixed the issues and improved on the 1st Generation. Now when it hits the $300 price point, I'll be in =)

Highest Ranked

Maxx @ Dec 12th 2006 3:09PM

I have an A-1 and am pleased with it. I would have probably jumped in and got this one also if not for the loss of the 5.1 outputs on this model. You now have to buy the XA-2 to get the 5.1's. O well I would prefer new owners to have them rather than upgraders so that more titles will be sold.

Neutral

pliepl @ Dec 12th 2006 4:07PM

".... loss of the 5.1 outputs on this model. You now have to buy the XA-2 to get the 5.1's...."

Are you sure?

Dolby Digital and DTS is in the specs and both are 5.1 formats.

Neutral

Rick Lyon @ Dec 12th 2006 4:00PM

Title should be "First impressions coming within the next few weeks'. Lame headline of a lame not yet completed article.

Neutral

BruceOrlando @ Dec 12th 2006 4:44PM

That should read loss of the 5.1 analog outputs.

The units have optical, (but not coaxial) digital outputs.

The lack of the analog outputs are what prompted me to get the A-1 (which has really been wart-free) instead of waiting for the A-2.

-bruce

Neutral

pliepl @ Dec 12th 2006 4:53PM

That actually makes sense, I�m guessing it�s a cost cutting measure.

Why not just route the sound (digital output) to your receiver... 5.1 decoding is pretty much a standard thing on home theater receivers these days.

Highest Ranked

Maxx @ Dec 12th 2006 11:02PM

Pliepl,

The analog outputs are needed for the new high res audio formats such as Dolby Digital Plus, and TrueHD. The HDMI passes them, but if you dont have an HDMI reciever then you need the 5.1 analogs to get the full bandwidth of the new formats. Digital optical and coax do not have the bandwidth to carry all the info. They will still pass a downconverted version at 1.5 Mbps to your reciever which will sound great, and better than SD-DVD's but not quite as good as the full bandwidth version.

Hope this makes sence.

Neutral

Ed @ Dec 12th 2006 6:16PM

Me like.

Neutral

pliepl @ Dec 13th 2006 5:46AM

�Pliepl,

The analog outputs are needed for the new high res audio formats such as Dolby Digital Plus, and TrueHD. The HDMI passes them, but if you dont have an HDMI reciever then you need the 5.1 analogs to get the full bandwidth of the new formats. Digital optical and coax do not have the bandwidth to carry all the info. They will still pass a downconverted version at 1.5 Mbps to your reciever which will sound great, and better than SD-DVD's but not quite as good as the full bandwidth version.

Hope this makes sence.�

Yes, that actually does. So the standard DD 5.1 stuff will be just fine although the higher 6.1 and 7.1 format won�t unless you have a newer receiver with HDMI functionality. For the people that purchased new receivers recently (without HDMI functionality) they�re pretty much out of luck for the higher audio options.

Fortunately I�ll be in the market for a receiver upgrade pretty soon (bought my current one with DD decode back in �98 when I bought my first DVD player) so an HDMI capable receiver will definitely be a consideration since I�m guessing in a few years, analog audio options will probably be limited by other players in favor of a simplified all digital setup.

Neutral

Mike @ Dec 12th 2006 11:14PM

They got one of these in at the futureshop I work at. It does look nice. They are also offering it to us home theater employees at a special price ($299.99 CDN). I dont own an hdtv (just yet) but im still not gonna buy it because if I do decide to go HD, Im just gonna pick up the HD-DVD drive for my 360. Maybe ill buy one of these just to ebay it for a bit of profit.

Neutral

Jim @ Dec 13th 2006 12:09AM

It lacks the optical and coax audio outputs, which is a bummer. It just has left/right (red/white) audio outputs. To get the 5.1 DD, DTS, TrueHD sound, etc you need to have a receiver that has HDMI inputs/outputs. I'm in the process of upgrading my old Pro Logic surround receiver (red/white are fine for that) and I was looking for one with HDMI inputs anyway. Sony has one with HDMI that retails for $399, and I'm sure soon it will be common. So for me it's cheaper to get the A2 + HDMI compatible receiver. So I went ahead and ordered the A2 today!

Highest Ranked

Maxx @ Dec 13th 2006 1:15AM

Jim,

I DOES have optical out for 5.1. Just not the coax or the 5.1 analogs. It outputs a downrezed version of TrueHD or DD+ over the optical. You only need the analog 5.1's or HDMI to get the FULL TrueHD or DD+ without it being downrezed. Goodness. Work with me here people. LOL ;)

Neutral

Garry @ Dec 13th 2006 2:08PM

Jim, another thing to consider:

The Sony receiver you are referring to will not decode DD+, TrueHD, or DTS Master Audio (the completely uncompressed 5.1/7.1) formats, even through HDMI. The ability to pass these formats over HDMI was only added in the (recent) HDMI 1.3 spec, and the only current receivers capable of 1.3 (and the HD audio formats) are still in the $1000-1500 range.

Best to wait a year or so until some cheaper units come out. Currently, the cheaper receivers only do HDMI video switching, with standard DD or DTS 5.1 audio.

Neutral

Jim @ Dec 13th 2006 2:38PM

Thanks for setting me straight on everything Maxx, Garry. I looked at a picture of the back and I guessed I missed the optical output. :) That is great to hear it actually has one! I did not know about the Sony not supporting TrueHD via HMDI. I'll look for that specifically when I upgrade. We are moving in the next 6 months or so and then is when we are planning to build a home theater room.

Thanks!

Highly Ranked

Maxx @ Dec 13th 2006 3:06PM

It seems that I have lost a long and well thought out post. But since this infomation is important it bears repeating. I want to make sure that you guys have the right info so that you can make good decisions and pass on the right info to others.

There are currently NO recievers that have HDMI 1.3. There are also NO recievers that can decode DD+, TrueHD, or Master Audio. It is also true that HDMI 1.3 IS need to pass the advanced audio when it is encoded.

However the good news is that HDMI 1.3 is NOT required to pass the info in its decoded form. All HD-DVD players currently decode the audio internaly and send it over HDMI ( All versions ) as uncompressed PCM. This has the effect of allowing you to enjoy the FULL quality of the advanced audio formats with current equipment. Many current HDMI recievers are quite capable of accepting this audio info perhaps even the Sony one you mentioned. It is true that older HDMI recievers were just video switchers so you will have to check the spec's to make sure that it accepts uncompressed PCM streams. These recievers are more to the higher end so make sure.

With all that being said CES is next month and many new recievers will surely be announced with HDMI 1.3 support. I would wait to see what is available. They will be expensive though. It may be cheaper to buy one that has the ability to accept uncompressed PCM and not worry about HDMI 1.3. It really comes down to money.

Neutral

Jim @ Dec 13th 2006 3:58PM

Even better news. I heard that the audio (DD+, TrueHD) gets downsampled using analog 5.1? Not sure exactly what that means. Something about the bandwidth. I'm not sure if it was talking about coax or optical. My thought is that optical should have amazing bandwidth to do whatever.

If the HD-DVD players uncompress the sound to PCM, it's too bad they can't just do straight PCM like Blu-Ray. I thought there might be a space issue, but Blu-ray was doing PCM on the single-layer 25GB discs. But since I have just recently experienced *normal* 5.1 DD, stepping up to DD+ and TrueHD should be simply awesome.

Thanks!

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