I'm Getting An HD A2

[Jamey K]

And I'm going to sell my A1. I've loved it...really enjoyed it but I found a great deal on the A2 and it's time to update.

I thought about getting a stand-alone BR player and give my son's PS3 back to him but.....I'm going with the A2 and my son can keep enjoying my big ass HD tv for gaming!

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I saw this player on amazon for $240; I have a 1080i CRT HDTV, so I am thinking this might be a good player for me to get, since I don't have 1080p, and neither does the A2.

I can't really spend much more, but do people recommend this player, or is there another one I should look at? My standard upconvert-DVD player is starting to have problems, so I am thinking this is a good time to convince the wife of the need for a new HD DVD player.

 

[ramimac]

I saw this player on amazon for $240; I have a 1080i CRT HDTV, so I am thinking this might be a good player for me to get, since I don't have 1080p, and neither does the A2.

I can't really spend much more, but do people recommend this player, or is there another one I should look at? My standard upconvert-DVD player is starting to have problems, so I am thinking this is a good time to convince the wife of the need for a new HD DVD player.

Circutcity has it for that price online as well and you can pick it up in the store.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Circutcity has it for that price online as well and you can pick it up in the store.

Yeah, I hadn't even price checked yet; and at CC, I can use a AAA coupon for 10% off. Which cuts another $25.

But is it a good player to get? I don't envision upgrading to a 1080p HDTV for several years.

 

[diogen]

...I don't envision upgrading to a 1080p HDTV for several years.

And even if you did, you'd not lose much if anything at all.
This 1080i vs. 1080p is nothing but a marketting ploy. In both formats.

The movie is stored on the optical disc as 1080/24p.
After it is read, it is either spit out as-is (with the latest more expensive players) or first telecined to 1080/60i and then sent to the TV. The inverse telecine process (1080/60i to 1080/24p) TVs can do for much longer than the hidef formats exist. And keep in mind that there is no "bad flagging" issue of regular DVDs since it is done by the circuitry and not manual editing.

So, to have a chance to see the difference between 1080i and 1080p stream coming into your TV the following criteria should be met:
1. Your TV is 1080p and supports 1080p input;
2. Your TV supports a multiple of 24 refresh rate (72, 96, 120);
3. Your TV supports 1:1 pixel mapping from the source;
3. You are one of the "golden eyes", a-la Joe Kane who reportedly sees the difference.

I think in the end it just ain't worth it.
Get the 1080i player and enjoy the movies.
And don't believe anybody who claims to see the difference: there is a 99.99% chance they lie.

Diogen.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

And even if you did, you'd not lose much if anything at all.
This 1080i vs. 1080p is nothing but a marketting ploy. In both formats.

The movie is stored on the optical disc as 1080/24p.
After it is read, it is either spit out as-is (with the latest more expensive players) or first telecined to 1080/60i and then sent to the TV. The inverse telecine process (1080/60i to 1080/24p) TVs can do for much longer than the hidef formats exist. And keep in mind that there is no "bad flagging" issue of regular DVDs since it is done by the circuitry and not manual editing.

So, to have a chance to see the difference between 1080i and 1080p stream coming into your TV the following criteria should be met:
1. Your TV is 1080p and supports 1080p input;
2. Your TV supports a multiple of 24 refresh rate (72, 96, 120);
3. Your TV supports 1:1 pixel mapping from the source;
3. You are one of the "golden eyes", a-la Joe Kane who reportedly sees the difference.

I think in the end it just ain't worth it.
Get the 1080i player and enjoy the movies.
And don't believe anybody who claims to see the difference: there is a 99.99% chance they lie.

Diogen.

Thanks, I appreciate it. The price is definitely right. Gotta start working on my wife. (The best thing is that when she tried to use her exercise DVD yesterday, she could not get it to work! )

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Circutcity has it for that price online as well and you can pick it up in the store.

Just checked CC, and it was $299.

 

[8bitbytes]

Toshiba announced the HD-A3, HD-A30, and the HD-A35 for $299, $399, and $499. They will be available October 1st, supposedly, some details on Amazon and Engadget.com

 

[diogen]

...some details on Amazon and Engadget.com

Looks like Amazon jumped the gun... all info is gone.

From what little can be found about them, doesn't look like a revolution, neither in featers nor in price.
But could be the first generation Toshiba makes money on...

Diogen.

 

[8bitbytes]

Looks like Amazon jumped the gun... all info is gone.

From what little can be found about them, doesn't look like a revolution, neither in featers nor in price.
But could be the first generation Toshiba makes money on...

Diogen.

Looks like those pages were not supposed to be public yet!

I've been looking at getting an A2 off ebay but I'm trying to keep the cost below $150 and so far I've been losing to bids up to about $175 for new in the box A2s.

 

[tsc]

Just checked CC, and it was $299.

Circuit City has been changing their online price numerous times in the last month or so. This whole time (or at least as much as I have checked) Best Buy has remained at $299 for the HD-A2.

About a month ago Circuit City's site had it listed for $272.88 while Best Buy was at $299. Best Buy price matched it, and I had an $80 gift card laying around, so I got it for $192.

Last weekend, a co-worker noticed on Friday night Circuit City had it listed for $238.99 online, by Saturday it was back to $299. We checked on Tuesday and it was $239.99. Got the price match and walked out the door with it (wanted to get it at Best Buy for Reward Zone points -- same reason as me).

All I can suggest is keep checking their site every day or so, in case they drop the price again, then pick it up. Or.. pick it up for $299 and within 30 days if they drop the price online, go in the store and get a credit (I can't remember if their policy would be 14 days on the player or not, though).

I'm loving mine, not only for HD DVD, but for the upconverting as well. I don't know what magic it uses to upconvert, since the original DVD is only so good of a resolution and quality, but it is DEFINITELY an improvement. I've always been very skeptical of upconverting DVD players (tried out numerous units on my setup) and could not really notice a difference to my progressive scan DVD player. So, even after reading reviews and seeing people impressed with the upconverting, I was still skeptical.. hooked it up and was amazed. Even the wife thought one standard DVD (Night At The Museum) was an HD DVD. :up Of course Pixar movies looked great as well.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Circuit City has been changing their online price numerous times in the last month or so. This whole time (or at least as much as I have checked) Best Buy has remained at $299 for the HD-A2.

About a month ago Circuit City's site had it listed for $272.88 while Best Buy was at $299. Best Buy price matched it, and I had an $80 gift card laying around, so I got it for $192.

Last weekend, a co-worker noticed on Friday night Circuit City had it listed for $238.99 online, by Saturday it was back to $299. We checked on Tuesday and it was $239.99. Got the price match and walked out the door with it (wanted to get it at Best Buy for Reward Zone points -- same reason as me).

All I can suggest is keep checking their site every day or so, in case they drop the price again, then pick it up. Or.. pick it up for $299 and within 30 days if they drop the price online, go in the store and get a credit (I can't remember if their policy would be 14 days on the player or not, though).

I'm loving mine, not only for HD DVD, but for the upconverting as well. I don't know what magic it uses to upconvert, since the original DVD is only so good of a resolution and quality, but it is DEFINITELY an improvement. I've always been very skeptical of upconverting DVD players (tried out numerous units on my setup) and could not really notice a difference to my progressive scan DVD player. So, even after reading reviews and seeing people impressed with the upconverting, I was still skeptical.. hooked it up and was amazed. Even the wife thought one standard DVD (Night At The Museum) was an HD DVD. :up Of course Pixar movies looked great as well.

Thanks for that. I will keep checking. I find that the upconvert on the Sony DVD I have is very good; there are times I can't tell the difference between the DVD and Dish HD. But so much of it depends on the source disc for sure.

 

[bark22]

I purchased my HD-A2 off of Amazon last month for $250. I love it!!! I've purchased about 10 HD-DVDs since then and am still waiting for my five free disks from Toshiba. The upconvered DVDs look great!
The only problem that I've run it to is the player's capabilty to play music CDs. When I first connected the HD-DVD player, I removed my original CD player. However, I noticed that the volume would fade in and out every 30 seconds or so. This occured on every music CD that I tried. I've since reconnected my CD player.
Otherwize, I'm a happy camper.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I may have more convincing to do about this purchase. I told my wife I would be replacing the DVD player, which no longer responds to ANY of the remote controls.

She first says, "why can't we use the one from upstairs?" I say, "no, because it is not an upconverting player, and would look like crap on our HDTV."

She then says, "why can't you just buy a new remote control?" I kind of hesitate... AND THEN MY 10 YEAR OLD blurts out, "because we want to get a High Definition DVD..."

She then smiles and says "oh..."

Darn him.

 

[Jamey K]

"Sweetie, wait until you see Christopher Reeve upconverted in "Somewhere In Time", you won't believe it. I'm doing this for your enjoyment. Let me do this for you."

 

[rockymtnhigh]

First my kid spills the beans to my wife about what we wanted, then the kid has the gall to actually fix the existing DVD player.

Arghh... he really needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut!

Gonna take major convincing now.

 

[ripnbigc]

First my kid spills the beans to my wife about what we wanted, then the kid has the gall to actually fix the existing DVD player.

Arghh... he really needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut!

Gonna take major convincing now.

Kids say the darnest things!

 

[dfergie]

Keep only dead batterys in the house for the remote

 

[Jamey K]

Keep only dead batterys in the house for the remote

Exactly. See if you can borrow one and watch chic flix on it for a week. Cry at the sad points. Tell your wife you can't wait for Beaches and Sleepless In Seattle in HD.

 

[dfergie]

Exactly Bribe the Kid if you have to and warn the wife that he is starting to make a lot of stuff up