Toshiba HD XA2 and Toshiba HD A20: Will I notice a visible difference between them when playing DVD's?
1532626
You will not notice any difference when playing HD-DVD's in the A20 or the XA2. The only difference will be the XA2 has analog outputs if you have a non HDMI receiver, and it has the REON chip for DVD upconversion (which is superior to what the A20 has)... If you have an older receiver with analog inputs (no HDMI) and have a lot of older DVD's then definately get the XA2.
931531
For upconvert OPPO vs. A2/A20, i'd pick the latter. not only do you have the same, if not better, upconvert capability, in addition, you get true HD experience with HD DVDs (since 5 are free through rebate). If you care about quality, A20 is a good bet since the next firmware upgrade will allow 1080p24fps, plus, it's around 320-330 with free shipping from amazon. 100% compatibility with future releases since all the specs were firmed up. The ps3 will let you play games, but it's not confirmed whether it'll support PIP (through 1.1 version) though it does support some BD-J (similar to HDi) already. For upconvert OPPO vs. A2/A20, i'd pick the latter. not only do you have the same, if not better, upconvert capability, in addition, you get true HD experience with HD DVDs (since 5 are free through rebate). If you care about quality, A20 is a good bet since the next firmware upgrade will allow 1080p24fps, plus, it's around 320-330 with free shipping from amazon. 100% compatibility with future releases since all the specs were firmed up. The ps3 will let you play games, but it's not confirmed whether it'll support PIP (through 1.1 version) though it does support some BD-J (similar to HDi)... » Read More For upconvert OPPO vs. A2/A20, i'd pick the latter. not only do you have the same, if not better, upconvert capability, in addition, you get true HD experience with HD DVDs (since 5 are free through rebate). If you care about quality, A20 is a good bet since the next firmware upgrade will allow 1080p24fps, plus, it's around 320-330 with free shipping from amazon. 100% compatibility with future releases since all the specs were firmed up. The ps3 will let you play games, but it's not confirmed whether it'll support PIP (through 1.1 version) though it does support some BD-J (similar to HDi) already. « Show Less
466709
right. i asked since i had read at least one comment which stated that the unit had troubles with standard cd's but not sacd or dvd-a. please let people know what you find once you get it.
1947426
I have a high end home theatre system - my receiver is 7.1 but speakers I only have a 5.1 setup. I think the toshiba is hd master audio and dolby hd quality for 5.1 just not 7.1 right. So i should just grab the a30? Thanks in advance.
707639
Are the video and audio inputs you're talking about the red, white and yellow colored wires? I use that now with my recorder which I'd like to get rid of although it records great. I bought a Sony dvd recorder from Best Buy and not even 6 months later, dvd's that work on my other Sony 5 disc player, skipped and froze when I played them on the recorder. My dvd recorder makes so much noise. Has anyone had any problems with the Toshiba after having it for some time? It sounds like a really good deal for the price! Thanks.
2172280
The other major difference besides the HDMI ports is in the video options menu. You can have simulated 24p on when watching a DVD. I say simulated because 24p is normally only available during Bluray playback. Also the hands free sensor on the top of the player when ejecting discs is not available in the 210. Other than that same everything, layout, menus, apps.
533671
Rich, why do you feel you really need to tweek this TV so much. You stated that my earlier reply back to you, was not useful. Do you own this tv? IF not, no wonder you didn't like my reply. This television only involves minor tweeking of the Contrast and the backlight. This will drastically result in a better picture than those 3 standard settings. Do not mess with the color pallettes or anything elso at that matter. They are set perfectly to accomadate Toshiba's hd dvd players and so forth. hd input source from hd dish network/direct tv also looks great. If you are really into tweeking your set, my guess is that it will only hurt you with this tv. Toshiba really did a great job on this t.v. Not much messing around. It reallylooks wonderful straight out of the box. I would just set the contrast and backlight. thats it!!!
664101
According to the manual, the BDP-S300 can decode Dolby TrueHD as the Toshiba HD-XA2 does. It sends the signal out through the audio out L/R jacks, the optical and coaxial jacks as well as the HDMI out jack. Check out page 48 of this PDF manual --&gt; http://www.sonystyle.com/wcsstore/SonyStyleStorefrontAssetStore/pdf/BDPS300.pdf There are a number of contradictory articles online which claim otherwise.
2061158
Hi Karen, I contacted Toshiba a couple of days ago...THEY don't even know about the specifications on this player. Sorry, tried to help.
1895962
Thanks. Seems like each of these makes has its quirks. I just gave away on old (4 years) Toshiba DVD recorder that did OK for its time, but the menus were very unintuitive, and the manual was in broken english. I guess I could always pick up a D-R410 at Fry's and if I don't like it, return for the Panny when it's in stock. Fry's also has a Sony RDR-GX360 for the same price as the Panasonic, and it seems to have the same ins/outs and upconversion, but I can only find one user review out there and it was bad. I hear that Sonys are picky about the DVD brand you use, plus they're the "source" for the industry restrictions on recording HD, so I don't want to support them. Thanks. Seems like each of these makes has its quirks. I just gave away on old (4 years) Toshiba DVD recorder that did OK for its time, but the menus were very unintuitive, and the manual was in broken english. I guess I could always pick up a D-R410 at Fry's and if I don't like it, return for the Panny when it's in stock. Fry's also has a Sony RDR-GX360 for the same price as the Panasonic, and it seems to have the same ins/outs and upconversion, but I can only find one user review out there and it was bad. I hear that Sonys are picky about the DVD brand you use, plus they're the... » Read More Thanks. Seems like each of these makes has its quirks. I just gave away on old (4 years) Toshiba DVD recorder that did OK for its time, but the menus were very unintuitive, and the manual was in broken english. I guess I could always pick up a D-R410 at Fry's and if I don't like it, return for the Panny when it's in stock. Fry's also has a Sony RDR-GX360 for the same price as the Panasonic, and it seems to have the same ins/outs and upconversion, but I can only find one user review out there and it was bad. I hear that Sonys are picky about the DVD brand you use, plus they're the "source" for the industry restrictions on recording HD, so I don't want to support them. « Show Less
399414
I bought a $29.99 Phillips HDMI "All Regions" DVD player recently just for that reason. btw - I bought my Toshiba A2 on eBay for $68. It works great.
1628638
Hardware wise they are the same. Looks and Audio presets are slightly different.
1460006
I believe the A2 is limited to text files at this time. That may change with future firmware updates. If PDF and MSOffice document viewing is important to you, you may want to wait for the next generation - Cowon A3 - which is due out later this year. That is supposed to also have the option of 30 or 60 GB HDDs, and will have a upgraded chipset (DaVinci by TI) and have the capability of playing VOB files (which will save DVD converting time.) It was shown at CES, and you can watch a video about it at CNET.
1127231
According to the manual, the BDP-S300 can decode Dolby TrueHD as the Toshiba HD-XA2 does. It sends the signal out through the audio out L/R jacks, the optical and coaxial jacks as well as the HDMI out jack.Check out page 48 of this PDF manual --> http://www.sonystyle.com/wcsstore/SonyStyleStorefrontAssetStore/pdf/BDPS300.pdfThere are a number of contradictory articles online which claim otherwise.
455998
yes and no. How serious is your in home movie theatre. The difference is in the sound specs. The A35 allows for HDMI pass through to a top of the line 7.1 channel receiver without any modification to the sound by the hd dvd unit. In the A30 the sound tracks are 'dealt with' for lack of a better term and thus not a pure for use in serious high end audio home equipment--This is a very loose explaination (broad)...just go read the audio specs of the A35 and A30 and you will see ..picture quality-no difference. I'm not using high end audio stuff so I bought the 30. In time I'll convert a spare room over to a full blown theatre..at that time I'll just up grade to whatever model line has long passed the A35.
392132
I have an older DVD player connected to the component input. You should have two "breakout cables". One has RGB and the other is Yellow/Red/White. The Red and White are the shared audio input for both the A/V and Component inputs. Some DVD players offer several component formats, so check it's setup also. Color coding can vary too.
1727114
David,This would normally be an easy question to answer, as yes, according to the Sony website, one should see improvements with audio as well as video with this particular upconverting dvd player. Yet what you wrote leaves me with some questions as to your home set-up. Could you please elaborate on how you are connecting your dvd player, receiver, and television together?I only ask because my experience with standard DVD quality audio has always been phenomenal, and not once have I ever felt it was "simple stereo", save for when I watch older movies not encoded in DTS 5.1 or Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. David,This would normally be an easy question to answer, as yes, according to the Sony website, one should see improvements with audio as well as video with this particular upconverting dvd player. Yet what you wrote leaves me with some questions as to your home set-up. Could you please elaborate on how you are connecting your dvd player, receiver, and television together?I only ask because my experience with standard DVD quality audio has always been phenomenal, and not once have I ever felt it was "simple stereo", save for when I watch older movies not... » Read More David,This would normally be an easy question to answer, as yes, according to the Sony website, one should see improvements with audio as well as video with this particular upconverting dvd player. Yet what you wrote leaves me with some questions as to your home set-up. Could you please elaborate on how you are connecting your dvd player, receiver, and television together?I only ask because my experience with standard DVD quality audio has always been phenomenal, and not once have I ever felt it was "simple stereo", save for when I watch older movies not encoded in DTS 5.1 or Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. « Show Less