| Brand Name | Toshiba |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 7.26 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 12.9 x 16.9 x 2.34 inches |
| Item model number | HD-A3 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Color Name | Black |
Toshiba HD-A3 720p/1080i HD DVD Player
| Brand | Toshiba |
| Media Type | CD, DVD |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixel |
| Connector Type | HDMI |
| Connectivity Technology | Ethernet, HDMI |
| Color | Black |
| Video Capture Resolution | 1080p, 720p gbps |
| Item Weight | 7.26 Pounds |
| Audio Output Mode | Stereo |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 12.9 x 16.9 x 2.34 inches |
About this item
- HD DVD Playback
- DVD Playback
- CD Playback
- 720p/1080i resolution
- Upconversion for SD
Product Description
Product description
Upgrade your home theater experience from regular DVDs to high-quality HD DVDs with this HD DVD player from Toshiba. This player supports both 720p and 1080i hi-def resolutions, as well as regular DVD upconversion with an HDMI connection. Upconversion converts the resolution of standard DVDs to 720p or 1080i. Giving you a significant increase in picture quality, so you don't have to worry about replacing your DVD collection just yet. Ports - HDMI, Ethernet (10/100Base-T), Digital / Analog Out (simultaneously), Component Out, Composite Out, 2 Channel Analog, Digital Optical Out Unit Dimensions - 16.9 (w) x 2.34 (h) x 12.9 (d) Unit Dimensions with Stand - 19.7 (w) x 5.6 (h) x 16.1 (d) Unit Weight - 7.26 lbs.
Amazon.com
The Toshiba HD-A3 HD DVD Player allows everyone into the HD DVD game with a very affordable price tag. Don't let the price fool you, however; it offers many features and an excellent build quality.
A Refined, Slimmer Look
The HD-A3's refined design--with rounded edges, a slim chassis, and a high-gloss black face plate, standing less than two-and-a-half inches tall--looks sleek and elegant in your home theater system without taking up too much real estate.
All of Toshiba's HD DVD players support the enhanced features of the HD DVD format, including picture-in-picture video, audio commentary, and Web-enabled network capabilities. With an Ethernet port, the HD-A3 can connect to the Internet for firmware updates to keep the player up to date on new features, and to support the growing number of HD DVD titles with interactive online features and bonus content.
The HD-A3 features an HDMI interface that carries both a video and an audio signal in one cable for the highest quality and convenience. The A3 outputs video at 720p and 1080i for a detailed and sharp image. The HD-A3 has progressive scan capability, which means it eliminates the scan-lines of interlaced video and produces a clean image with no motion distortion and artifacts.
Sparkling Surround Sound
The HD-A3's built-in circuitry processes the multi-channel decoding of Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, and DTS-HD (core only).
Plays a Variety of Formats
The HD-A3 is backward-compatible with your DVD collection: It can play and upconvert DVDs to the HD resolution that is being output. It can also play DVD-R/W, DVD-R, DVD-VR, CD, CD-R, and CD-RW formats, so you don't need extra players taking up space.
The HD-A3 is backed by a limited 1-year warranty.
What's in the Box
HD-A3 HD DVD player, remote control, and power cable.
Product information
Technical Details
Additional Information
| ASIN | B000U62N1S |
|---|---|
| Customer Reviews |
3.9 out of 5 stars |
| Best Sellers Rank | #431,492 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics) #473 in DVD Players & Recorders |
| Date First Available | April 18, 2005 |
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Right now that I have covered that I will get down to the review of the player itself. The Toshiba A3 and it's predecessor the A2 have become the most popular selling HD standalone units out there. There is a good reason for that as they offer simplicity and a nice piece of hardware at a relatively affordable price. This is Toshiba's 3rd generation entry model HD player and with each generation it seems to get just a little more compact than it's predecessor.
Out of the box you get the following:
The Toshiba HD-A3 HD DVD Player supports 720p/1080i resolution and has 5.1 Dolby Digital Sound, DTS and Dolby HD sound
The remote and a set of batteries
The power cord
The instruction manual/warranty info
2 titles on HD-DVD (The Bourne Identity and "300")
The player has the following connections:
HDMI
Component
RCA
Ethernet jack (for web based content and firmware updates)
Optical Digital Cable
USB 2.0 port on the front left panel below the on/off switch
The player is very simple and straight forward to plug and play and doesn't require any complicated setup. The player does the following as far as functions it performs:
Plays HD-DVD format discs
Plays standard DVDs and up-converts them to 1080i (of course anyone who has compared the two knows that there is a definite difference between true HD-DVD and an up-converted DVD).
Plays CDs
It will play recordable media of any of the DVD and CD formats (not sure on re-writeable media since I don't usually bother with it) provided you use media from a quality media manufacturer.
Some will note the lack of i-net format support (ie divx, sacd, ect.) but, the way I see it most budget DVD players these days will support all of these and most already have players already in their possession that can serve in this capacity. I have an Oppo Digital DV-981HD 1080p up-converting player that supports virtually any format under the sun, so all I really care about is a player that does solid HD-DVD playback.
As many have noted the Toshiba HD-A3 takes a while to boot up, I have had boot-up times range from 30 seconds to almost a minute. The good news is that the current latest firmware (V1.3) will reduce the boot-up times to between 30-35 seconds every time you boot it up. One of the greatest features of the HD-DVD format is that even the entry line players can have firmware updates. For those who aren't familiar with what firmware is, think of it as essentially the programming code for your hardware. Firmware updates for this player also help out with certain discs where you might have playback issues. Keep in mind that the HD-DVD format is still a relatively new technology and even though the format is pretty much standardized, sometimes there are complications with new movies. Hence the reasons why firmware updates are so nice since you aren't stuck spending a couple of hundred dollars on a machine that becomes worthless each time a new title is released.
I purchased the Toshiba HD-A3 from Amazon.com when they were running a special. I got 10 free movies and the player for $200 shipped. I got the two movies mentioned above that came with the player. I got my choice of 3 movies from Amazon.com from a good sized list that they had and then there is the 5 free titles you select and then mail off for after receiving the player. I got Batman Begins, Serenity and Top Gun as my 3 free HD-DVDs from Amazon.com. I then just sent off for the 5 others via mail which I will receive in 8-10 weeks. Not a bad deal all things considered. Even if you don't care for the titles you can always pitch them on ebay and they will fetch $10-$15 a piece on ebay if they are still sealed. So you can either save yourself a bundle on purchasing titles that you really like or you can cut your total investment in the hardware drastically by selling the titles that you don't want. I did this with my 360 HD-DVD add-on and ended up shaving $40 off the total price of the player after selling 4 titles that I didn't want but got for free with the player.
Anyways, I have watched the following titles on HD-DVD all of the way through on the HD-A3 in order to give it a good work out and see how it performed: Serenity, Battle Of The Bulge, Batman Begins, Top Gun and disc #3 of the Planet Earth documentary series. I have also watched parts of the following movies just to see how the picture quality looked: Transformers and The Bourne Identity. I also watched it via component cable and HDMI to do a comparison and I couldn't tell the difference between the two, so I have stuck with component since I have only one HDMI input on my Westinghouse and I prefer to use my Oppo up-conversion player via HDMI. Via component and HDMI the picture quality is absolutely stunning and very life-like. Of course YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) depending on what sort of an HDTV you have and what it's specs are. The more brightness and the better your contrast ratio, the better the picture will look. Serenity and Batman Begins both looked stunning barring the darker scenes but that has more to do with the low contrast ratio of my HDTV set than does the HD-DVD player itself. I have yet to try any of the crazy special features that are loaded onto HD-DVDs since I have only recently hooked up my player to the internet via my D-Link DI-704 wired router.
As for the places where HD-DVD really shines, take a look at the Planet Earth and other high def documentary series. The other place where it really makes a difference that I have found is on the pre-1990s release films. It's not so much that they are the absolute best quality for HD-DVD but it's the contrast between the original DVD release and the HD-DVD release. I did side by side comparisons between Battle Of the Bulge and Top Gun. Keep in mind I was using my high end Oppo Digital DVD Player via 1080p up-conversion and HDMI to play the regular DVD discs and on the Toshiba HD-DVD Player I was using cheap component cables. The difference was night and day. On the original DVDs the picture was dull and faded and you could see a number of the film imperfections and artifacts from the original print. The HD-DVD versions on the other hand had ultra-rich color and all of the original print imperfections seemed to disappear. Also keep in mind that I got within 3 feet of the set at times just to see how clear it was and from a distance of 10 feet or more it is simply amazing. Outside of one freeze-up playing Serenity (this was prior to updating to the latest firmware update) I haven't had any playback quirks or pauses with the player and it hasn't happened since I updated the firmware.
The playback format takes some getting used to since it is different than DVD. While most HD-DVDs start out with a traditional menu, they differ from the DVDs in that you cannot stop an HD-DVD and then resume play from the same spot where you stopped it. However you can create a save point and it will start playing at that point. The big difference though is that you can access the menu right in the middle of watching the title and use features such as PIP (Picture In Picture) for watching special features content and comparing it side by side with the film. This is handy as you don't have to stop the film and exit out to access the menu. You can do it from right within the movie.
As for regular DVD Playback it does a pretty good job of up-converting but as mentioned above I prefer to leave that task up to my Oppo since being a high end player it can do the job better (that and the Oppo contains the coveted Faroudja processor whereas the Toshiba has Sharc processor). The Sharc processor is a great processor but it doesn't quite measure up to the Faroudja. Then again to my knowledge no HD Player currently on the market employs the Faroudja processor (outside of maybe the really high end models that cost a fortune). As others have pointed out though the HD-A3 has the annoying habit of putting side-bars on full screen DVD releases. You can use a stretch feature but it will force you to sacrifice some picture quality to do it.
For CD Playback it does a decent job but IMHO standalone video playback devices weren't really designed for such things so I don't use it much for that purpose.
The sound on this player is great either via HDMI or Component and seems to be more life-like than it's DVD counterparts. That being said I am only running it via my two 15 watt speakers that are on my Westinghouse. I don't have any fancy sound set-up due to the fact that I live in an apartment and can't really take advantage of such things
The A-3 also has a setup menu. You can set up default screen and audio options. Under the maintenance option you can also check your firmware revision and update it directly from the player via ethernet connection. I DO NOT recommend updating the firmware via wireless connection due to stability issues. Fortunately you can update it via CD-R after downloading it from the net on your PC and burning the image to a CD-R.
All-in-all I have found the HD-A3 to be a very smart investment at $200 shipped with 10 free HD-DVD titles to either keep or sell and thereby reduce my overall costs on the player. With a finalized spec, firmware updates, special features and region free format (can play any HD-DVD from anywhere in the world), this player is more than worth it. It has some short-comings but then again HD players of either format all have their own quirks, the difference is that with this player it is very comparable to it's higher priced counter parts as far as it it's functions as a high definition player, it just does it all at a significantly lower price. Of course there will be the Blu-Ray trolls who will come on here and say why it isn't worth investing in the format but IMHO (In My Honest Opinion) the performance of the player and the price speak for itself and it is a smart choice for anyone seeking to get into high-def without wanting to spend over $200 on a player. Definitely shop around though as there are frequent specials on this thing. Amazon currently has it for $179 shipped with 7 free movies.
Oh yeah and for reference Netflix has an awesome selection of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray titles so you definitely can rent titles for reasonable prices on HD-DVD or Blu-Ray from them. Toshiba HD-A3 720p/1080i HD DVD Player
I bought it knowing full well Warner Bros decision and knowing that HD DVD could go belly up. Quite frankly, so could BluRay and I'm not willing to gamble alot of hard earned money on a $400 player and $25 movies.
But a $130 player is a different story. I needed an upconverting player anyways, and those typically run $60-80 with the better ones running $100. So why not just get one of those? Because all the reviews I read put the best picture and sound upconverters at around $100 and the quality was very much brand dependant. There was no consistancy across the board regarding picture and sound for upconverters as there was to this.
So instead, I paid a few dollars more and got a pile of movies and, oh by the way, the added bonus of HD movies.
First to the upconvert - it is very, very nice, but it sort of depends on the movies you bought in the first place. My older DVDs don't look quite as good as the newer ones. For example, Goodfellas that I bought in 2000, looks only marginally better on my A3 than it does on the old Sony I had. However, Pirates of the Caribbean (purchased in '03) looks phenomenal...sparkling and crystal clear - very close to HD quality.
Even Any Given Sunday (stop laughing, I liked it) purchased in 2000 looked pretty good, considering. Basically, the bargin bin stuff at walmart doesn't seem to be cutting it (Wallstreet, purchased 2 yrs ago for $5 looked only marginally better as well). It seems to be dependant on the DVD itself, and while you can expect more than a few miracles with your standard DVD collection, it's not going to be aces across the board with your oldest ones.
So on to the HD - WOW. Since I'm not interested in investing a whole bunch of money on what could be a dying format, we haven't gone nuts with buying HD DVDs yet. But we splurged and bought Transformers and it looked beautiful. As other reviewers have noted, you get 300 and the Bourne Identity in the box...they look beautiful as well.
As an aside, were HD to fold, I'm guessing you can probably get these beautiful movies at a very low price, and that actually factored into my decision. One man's junk, as they say... The movies that you get for free leave a little bit to be desired in the selection department, and it will apparently take about 2 months for them to get there. So don't expect to get them quickly and they'll just be a nice "christmas in March" when they do come.
Moving on to the unit it's self - I ran into ABSOLUTELY NONE of the problems that the reviewers who gave this unit a one star rating did. This isn't to say that it's not possible you won't - anybody can get a lemon. But the pixelation and freezing has been a non-issue and I didn't update the firmware or anything. I just took it out of the box and plugged it into my TV and away it went.
The load times are absolutely NO different than a normal DVD player for me. When the machine powers on and you first press the "open" button, it will take the player about 15-20 seconds to get going, and the drawer has a delay there but that's been the only one. And this is when the player goes from power off to power on, not when you're just switching DVDs in there. Put a little bit more simply, it is NOT something that bothers me in the least.
I have noticed the playback issues (when you stop it, it won't resume the scene) but that's hardly an issue for me. I have not noticed the fan noise once, and am not quite sure what the gripe is there.
So why is this a safe bet for HiDef movies? It's because of the money. $130 gets a very nice little taste of the high def experience and in my opinion, it was totally worth it. If you own a player you like, this probably isn't for you. But if you're one of the lucky ones like me who got an HD TV for the holidays and you want to take advantage of the picture, I'd take a shot at this player.
If you were looking at an upconvert player, I'd take a really close look at this one. Don't buy it thinking that HD is going to "win" because they might not. If you want your DVD collection to have consistant packaging across the board, don't buy this player because you might end up buying BluRay. In fact, I will for sure when the players hit about $150. Until then, no chance. They also keep talking about some nonsense with BluRay regarding profile issues, different versions, this, that, whatever. Personally, I really don't care to get fully acquainted with all that BS. If you are so inclined, then by all means...Hopefully you've picked up that this is not a technical review and I don't presume to be the resident AV wizard. This was just intended to be a "normal guy" write up.
So if you want an HD player to tide you over while this format war nonsense is settled and you don't want to put in a significant financial investment, I think this choice is an exceptional one. Most of your Standard DVDs will look fantastic and the HD that you do decide to invest in is just stunning.
All in all, a safe purchase if you look at it a certain way.



