HD DVD Player Thoughts

[Gimpy McFarlan]

I'm getting tired of the poor SD quality of my old Sony multi-DVD player so I'm seriously considering breaking down and purchasing an HD DVD player. The info in this forum is getting dated so I thought I would start a new discussion.

I really want a player that does a good job of upconverting existing existing DVDs. I have a healthy library of widescreen DVDs and I don't plan on spending the $$$ to replace them with HD/BlueRay version for quite some time. I've heard the Toshiba models are a good bet but I admittedly don't know much about current HD DVD players. :confused:

Any thoughts / opinions / bitterness?

[SpaceGhost]

I've heard the Toshiba A3 HD-DVD player (1080p) might be $169 during or after Black Friday. The HD-A2 is a 720p player FYI.

[nicholc2]

I've heard the Toshiba A3 HD-DVD player (1080p) might be $169 during or after Black Friday. The HD-A2 is a 720p player FYI.

Not exactly accurate. It's 1080i as well. I picked one up at Walmart when they had them for $98. Now for most 1080i is just fine, but that's all personal preference of course.

Still a solid player and upconverts DVDs as well.

[Gimpy McFarlan]

Not exactly accurate. It's 1080i as well.

Yea, I noticed that on the Toshiba web site. What is the big advantage of going with an A3? They don't seem to be all that different. :confused:

[nicholc2]

Cnet didn't seem to see a difference between the step up model a30 from last years a20 either, so I would guess there isn't much of one. Assuming you can find another crazy deal like I got, I doubt there's enough to warrent the higher price of the a3.

But I'd do some research just to be sure.

[Shufflefield]

The A2 and A3 are both 1080i output players, which doesn't make a whit of difference if your TV is 1080p native with a decent deinterlacer.

The big difference is going to be if your stuck with optical as your audio output option. The A2 can downmix everything to DTS 1.5 and output it, I believe the A3 downmixes to DD 640. If your using HDMI 1.2 or above it won't matter to you.

The A3 is suppose to be a slightly better upconverter for SD, but the A20/30 is supposed to be the best upconverter, but probably not worth the cost. My a2 is what I would consider a fabulous SD player, but I am far from an expert.

Expect to see A2's or possibly A3's again for sub 100 dollar prices before christmas. I would be amazed if it didn't happen again. But the A3 was 200 at best buy last week, with 2 movies in box (300 and Bourne Identity), 3 off the floor (you pick from stock, 34.99 and under), and mail in for 5 more from a list. I know the mail in for 5 and the 2 in the box are still valid.

My final though is, the A2 or A3 will probably suit your needs, and if you pay attention, you should be able to find a very very good deal very soon.

[Robbiee19]

I have the A2 and it does a very good job on regular DVDs. Go with the best deal you can find and I don't think you will be sorry. Like Shuffefield pointed out it comes down to the audio output. SO choose on how you have your set-up for the audio.

[Gimpy McFarlan]

Thank for you the feedback everyone, it has been very helpful! Based on what I saw here and AVSForums I bit the bullet and purchased the A2. Seems like the best bang-for-the-buck value overall. :hdlove:

I ended up purchasing it from a small retailer on pricegrabber.com for $200 no tax & free FedEx shipping. Probably not as good as the Best Buy deal w/ free DVDs but I'm still happy w/ it. :rolleyes:

[Robbiee19]

Thank for you the feedback everyone, it has been very helpful! Based on what I saw here and AVSForums I bit the bullet and purchased the A2. Seems like the best bang-for-the-buck value overall. :hdlove:

I ended up purchasing it from a small retailer on pricegrabber.com for $200 no tax & free FedEx shipping. Probably not as good as the Best Buy deal w/ free DVDs but I'm still happy w/ it. :rolleyes:Good choice Gimpy. I think you will enjoy it.

[Shufflefield]

you still get 5 free movies. Apparently it takes forever to receive them though. I still haven't sent mine in though.

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/hddvd/data/pdf/Toshiba_Online_Rebate_R08.pdf

And here is an alternate one that is supposedly valid as well. I prefer this set of movies, so I am trying this one...


http://download.sears.com/misc/5Free_end022808.pdf

Hopefully it works, i really want TMNT...

[betona]

you still get 5 free movies. Apparently it takes forever to receive them though.

I think it was about 3-1/2 months until I got my free movies. Not speedy, but not horrible.

[Robbiee19]

I think it was about 3-1/2 months until I got my free movies. Not speedy, but not horrible.Yep that's about how long it took for me to receive my free movies.