All those still hanging onto your obsolete vintage first generation HD DVD players have a reason to plug in the network cable and turn them on one more time, as Toshiba has issued a version 3.0 firmware update for the HD-A1, HD-XA1 and HD-D1. Similar to an earlier update for the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, the patch tweaks network connectivity a bit as well as clearing up some HDMI handshaking issues. The update quietly came online April 26, and of course can be issued by burning it to a CD or calling Toshiba and requesting a disc by mail. So go ahead, pour a glass of wine, dim the lights and celebrate a little quality time with a two year-old box that still offers features some new players can't match.

[Via DVD Town]

It's hard to believe it's actually over, but for more than two years we've followed what has come to be one of our favorite topics as Blu has faced Red in a battle to be the next physical home media format. In the end it came down to studio and consumer electronic industry support -- not to mention the PS3 -- but it was by no means an easy victory, and just because it was more popular than HD DVD, doesn't mean Blu-ray can win over the hearts of millions of DVD fans. But while we wait to see how well Blu-ray is adopted by the masses, we wanted to take a second to look back at how it all ended up working out.

We'll start this story way back in the Summer of '05 where the talks to create a unified format broke down: this is the moment most of us realized we were in for some fun. Sure, this thing got started way before that, but we have to start somewhere and this is when it really began to get interesting. As HD DVD approached the BDA to join forces and demanded too many changes to the Blu-ray disc format, the BDA told them to pound sand.

HD DVD and Blu-ray players don't cost quite as much as they used to -- if you know where to look. Amazon and other retailers have recently slashed prices on Samsung's BD-P1000 Blu-ray player, as well as Toshiba's HD-A1 and HD-XA1 HD DVD players. VideoBusiness quotes a few smaller retailers as saying they're "just trying to stay competitive" with price adjustments, unexpected for technology that's only been out for a few months. They also mentioned that while HD DVD sales are as expected, Blu-ray sales have been less than expected. Whether it's the prospect of upcoming hardware revisions or reports of early glitches, some stores are bending over backwards to move first generation players off shelves while others (Crutchfield, Best Buy, Tweeter) see no need to. If you're confident enough to jump into the next generation of DVDs with one of the players already available, just be sure to price check first.



[Thanks, Tyler]

Yesterdays HD DVD vs Blu-ray title bout went great -- for HD DVD that is. HighDefDigest happened to host two more similar head-to-head comparisons yesterday that we thought you might want to take a look at. Interestingly enough, both of the other titles, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Rumor Has It, suffer from a similar issue of bad cropping, a tad darker, and a bit more grain. We are starting to question however if this is from the titles themselves or the Samsung Blu-ray player. It will be impossible to tell until the Panasonic or Pioneer Blu-ray players are released. But no matter how you spin it, the Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD player gives you a better picture then Samsung's BDP-1000 Blu-ray player right now.

NOTE: This is my opinion and is not necessarily the same of the rest of HD Beat.

It has been three months since I last explained why HD DVD will ultimately win this current format war. HD DVD is off to a decent start except for that early firmware update. Blu-ray is off and running, but seems to be stumbling all over with disappointment. Three months later, I still strongly believe that HD DVD will be the winner of this format war.

Click on to re-visit my original three points only three months later.

Even though HD DVD burners are still off in the distance, you can make a DVD that will play back 720p or 1080i content on your HD-A1 or HD-XA1 with your existing DVD-Rs. The guys over at AVSForum have been working on this since the the Toshiba HD-A1 player launched, and they've pretty much got it down to a science. Particularly given the lack of content available so far on the format, many people have .ts files, HDV content, or mariposaHD episodes  they'd love to play back from a single shiny platter. They've boiled the process down to a few steps that anyone familiar with DVD burning should be able to follow.

Basic Steps for Creating HD DVDs:

1. Capture a high definition MPEG2 video to your computer.
2. Convert the video file from .ts, .tp or .m2t transport stream format to program stream format using Womble MPEG2VCR.
3. Create an HD DVD folder on your computer using Ulead Movie Factory 5.
4. Burn the HD DVD disc using Nero Burning ROM.

For more details and list of necessary software check out the thread, currently this walkthrough is PC-only, although WiFiSpy also notes he is working on a Mac version so that shouldn't be too far off. With a guide like this, all you need is a DVD-R, a sharpie and a Qosmio laptop to recreate the Sony Blu-ray incident. Or you can take that old rip of The Fifth Element you've got laying around and see if you can do a better job at a lower bitrate. The possibilities are endless.


[Thanks for the tip WiFiSpy!]

Toshiba's $499 HD-A1 HD DVD is "priced to make a profit" according to Toshiba executive Mark Whittard, despite reports from iSuppli that it actually cost around $700 to make. He also sought to clarify statements made by CEO Atsutoshi Nichida recently calling for unification between HD DVD and Blu-ray, and Toshiba's long term strategy for HD DVD. Their plan is to "stitch up" relationships with movie studios to ensure more support for the format, enable third party manufacturers to produce rebadged HD DVD players and increase its exposure in the marketplace. As far as unification? That is "just good business sense", since a format war confuses customers and shrinks the market. He remarks that Blu-ray does have some strong features, but thinks HD DVD matches up comparatively well, especially with support from Intel, Microsoft and HP.

Finally, the launch of the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on is mentioned, he expects Microsoft will release a version of the console with an internal HD DVD drive and that they will announce their plans to do so "fairly soon". We're not too sure about his statement that most of the studios who originally supported Blu-ray now have a foot in both camps, because Blu-ray still has an advantage there. It's good to see that someone realizes how much sense a unified high-def standard makes, however with the two sides both so firmly entrenched behind their format it's hard to see either one giving in to the other or even agreeing to a compromise anytime soon.

[Update: Cesar from Microsoft's Gamerscore blog has posted that Microsoft has "no plans" to include an HD DVD drive in the 360 and are going forward with the aforementioned add-on, thanks Eli!]

Toshiba is taking up a somewhat common practice in today's cut-throat electronic scene. They are selling the HD-A1 at a large loss like Microsoft and Sony do on their game system. The HD-A1 sells for $499 but marketing firm iSuppli estimates that it costs more the $700 when packaging and manufacturing is added to the $674 cost of parts. But this is what Toshiba felt was needed to undercut Sony and Blu-ray. Don't forget though that they are making money on the discs themselves too. They own the license to the format so when ever someone buys a HD DVD film, they are making money. It might not be as much as a $1,000 Blu-ray player but it is still money.

That's the latest buzz at AVS Forum, where poster PFC5 has posted this image of the mystery 1.3 update. However due to server problems it hasn't been distributed to very many others and we still don't know what it does, if anything. The original poster originally had a problem with his Toshiba displaying an RCA splashscreen, so that may be the only difference between this and the official 1.2 update now available for download. Otherwise, there's not much to say at the moment until early adopters get their hands on it and try it out.

Oddly, contrary to some reactions around the net regarding updates and bugfixes becoming commonplace in consumer electronics, many posters in the thread are encouraged by the indication Toshiba will provide frequent updates for issues discovered by the community. This isn't that surprising when you think back to the many problems early adopters often have to deal with without an official response or fix (anyone remember many of the early DVD players? Ouch.)

Earlier news on HD-A1/HD-XA1 firmware updates:
Problems with Toshiba's HD DVD player
Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD player firmware upgrade leaked
Toshiba HD-A1/HD-XA1 firmware update(officially) released

Thanks for the tip WiFiSpy!

Well that was quick. Just a few days after the 1.20 patch was posted for download on AVS Forum, Toshiba HD DVD player owners can now download the update directly to their player via the ethernet port. We still don't have an official list of what this fixes, however HDMI connection problems, BTB (blacker than black) & WTW (whiter than white) HDMI clipping, and various freezing/lockup issues are among the problems reportedly sent packing. PC World says you can also get the update from Toshiba's website, however at the moment the link doesn't work. A few new buyers are also reporting their players shipped with the 1.2 firmware.

Now that you can download it over the ethernet port feel free to upgrade without fear, but tell everyone you burnt a CD from a guy on AVS Forum anyway, it makes you sound more hardcore. Some have remarked on how disturbing this trend is, I'm just glad these issues are being resolved, through whatever means necessary. Early adoption is not for the faint of heart, whether it is a car, computer or washing machine, the first few revisions are rarely bug-free.

Update 2.0: The link does work now, thanks cassiusdrow!

Early adopting Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD player owners may be in for a special treat this weekend, as a poster on AVSForums has obtained a copy of a firmware upgrade early and posted it for download. Rumors on the board indicate Toshiba may release the update for owners to via disc or download next week, but if you just can't wait, all you need is a CD-R and a copy of Nero and you should be in business.

So what does the update do other than flipping your firmware number over to 1.2? Early reports from posters yorkie2k and sspears indicate reduced load times, no freezing when searching/skipping around movies and fixes for HDMI connection problems. Although the update is labeled for the HD-XA1 premium player, users have not reported any problems with the HD-A1 after upgrading. As usual, applying as yet unofficial updates could void your warranty, brick your player or kick your cat, so proceed with caution. Fortunately, as an early adopter, we know you're used to throwing caution to the wind, so update your player and let us know how it goes. Increased performance and stability may just be what Toshiba needs to lure the cautious off the fence and into buying.

[Thanks for the tip WiFiSpy!]

Not only is the RCA HDV5000 available now, the Toshiba HD-A1 may be a little easier to find in your neighborhood as they have announced they are shipping "to an increasing pool of retailers on a weekly basis". Much like the Xbox 360 last fall, the Toshiba HD-A1 and HD-XA1 have been almost totally sold out since release, but with such a limited quantity available it is impossible to know how much demand really exists. Also of note is that retailers share our frustration with constantly-shifting release dates, but remark that the few who have HD DVD players are buying nearly every copy of the titles that are available. We'd love to see the sales numbers of Rumor Has It. So if you need high-def DVD right now, keep calling retailers near you, even if they originally didn't stock it as Toshiba also claims they will be in more than 5000 storefronts nationwide by the end of the year.

Apparently not everyone is disappointed with Toshiba's initial HD DVD players; that is the cheaper HD-A1. They are sold out across the web at retailers like Amazon, BestBuy, Crutchfield, and Walmart. These are not small town retailers here and if they are having stock issues with the HD DVD players, who else is? The first shipment from Toshiba in early April was estimated to be close to 10 to 15,000 that reached 3,000 stores. A Best Buy spokeswoman has said though that it is kind of hit and miss for the player in their stores; some have it, some don't. The more expensive HD-XA1 isn't having this problem though and seems to be in good supply everywhere as this stock issue is just for the $499 HD-A1.

So what happens when stores are sold out of an electronic (think XBOX 360) Ebay has 'em but for a price. The average selling price for the $499 HD-A1 on Ebay has a $50 premium on it bringing the cost up to $550.

So has any of our readers gone to a store with the thought of buying one only to be sent away because the store didn't have any?

[via Home Theater Blog]

So, has anyone been having issues with their HD DVD players. There are only two of them out there, the Toshiba HD-A1 and HD-XA1 and they both seem to be having "issues." Most of the problems have involved freezing up during the movie. To solve this, a user would have to hit pause in order for the audio and video to sync back up. It seems that this happens on every movie and sometimes more then once. The bad units seem to have a common thread however; all seem to have been made in March.

Are any of our readers experiencing this?

Toshiba's HD DVD player, the HD-A1, has been alone on the market for about 2 weeks now. The units seem to be selling well, but they are 'bout to get some competition from Circuit City and RCA. You can't find the Toshiba model in any Circuit City store but they are still going to carry HD DVD players. The first one is from RCA and is currently up for pre-order at CirucitCity.com. Looks a bit like the HD-A1 you say. Well, we hear that it is the same inner workings as Toshiba's model. The HDV5000 is going to retail for the same price and include the HDMI cable just like the Toshiba.