Toshiba HD A1 vs A2

[kokomogator]

Would someone minding telling me what the significant difference between the two models are? I know the A2 won't be out for a couple of weeks and it looks like there are starting to be some good sales on the A1's.

HELP!!

 

[kokomogator]

Sorry, my fingers gotten knotted up!! A1 vs A2

 

[williamkmurphy]

What the A2 offers that the A1 doesn't:
1. Faster Load Time
2. New Remote
3. Looks like vcr from 1985

What the A1 offers that the a2 doesn't
1. Analog 5.1 audio out

So if you don't have an HDMI receiver and want to listen to the new audio formats... and trust me you do, you will need an A1, Xa1 or Xa2. The A2 is hdmi only no analogs.

I think that is it.

 

[jgantert]

The A2 remote is the same as the current generation RCA remote, which also works with the A1 (I have both RCA & A1, btw).

 

[kokomogator]

What the A2 offers that the A1 doesn't:
1. Faster Load Time
2. New Remote
3. Looks like vcr from 1985

What the A1 offers that the a2 doesn't
1. Analog 5.1 audio out

So if you don't have an HDMI receiver and want to listen to the new audio formats... and trust me you do, you will need an A1, Xa1 or Xa2. The A2 is hdmi only no analogs.

I think that is it.

Thanks....no, I don't have an HDMI audio receiver. Does the A1 have an optical output for the audio?

 

[CochiseGuy]

Thanks....no, I don't have an HDMI audio receiver. Does the A1 have an optical output for the audio?

Yes, the A1 has digital optical & digital coax output. The specs I find for the A2 indicate it has only digital optical (Toslink), plus HDMI 1.2. But, you still can't enjoy the new audio formats with digital outputs. For one, there is not enough bandwidth in the digital optical / coax specification to pass along TrueHD or Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. Secondly, with digital output the player doesn't decode the audio on a disc, it just reads it and passes it on to an A/V receiver for decoding & processing. And there's no A/V receivers currently than decode TrueHD or DD Plus.

If enjoying the new audio formats is a priority for you (it sure is for me!) and you don't have an HDMI receiver (I don't, and am no hurry to upgrade to one), then you want a current A1 / XA1 player, or the new, more expensive, XA2 which have 5.1 analog out.

I've been enjoying my XA1 and TrueHD / DD PLus soundtracks since early May. :up

 

[kokomogator]

Yes, the A1 has digital optical & digital coax output. The specs I find for the A2 indicate it has only digital optical (Toslink), plus HDMI 1.2. But, you still can't enjoy the new audio formats with digital outputs. For one, there is not enough bandwidth in the digital optical / coax specification to pass along TrueHD or Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. Secondly, with digital output the player doesn't decode the audio on a disc, it just reads it and passes it on to an A/V receiver for decoding & processing. And there's no A/V receivers currently than decode TrueHD or DD Plus.

If enjoying the new audio formats is a priority for you (it sure is for me!) and you don't have an HDMI receiver (I don't, and am no hurry to upgrade to one), then you want a current A1 / XA1 player, or the new, more expensive, XA2 which have 5.1 analog out.

I've been enjoying my XA1 and TrueHD / DD PLus soundtracks since early May. :up

Sorry to be a pest but one more question....what is the difference between the A1 and the Xa1? I went to the Toshiba site but really didn't say. Thanks for your help....it's going to be my Christmas present and just want to make sure we get the most bang for the buck!

 

[williamkmurphy]

The remote is different on the hd-xa1...it might be lighted. The xa1 has an rs-232 port, and the design of the enclosure is a little different. With the exception of the rs-232 port I don't think the guts are different between the two.

I have an A1 and love it. I don't casually watch HD-DVDs like I do with DVD's so the long load time and stuff is tolerable.

 

[CochiseGuy]

Sorry to be a pest but one more question....what is the difference between the A1 and the Xa1? I went to the Toshiba site but really didn't say. Thanks for your help....it's going to be my Christmas present and just want to make sure we get the most bang for the buck!

No problem. I'm usually anything but an 'early adaptor', and researched my purchase thoroughly before going with the XA1. To be honest, the largest factor in my decision to buy an XA1 over the A1 was that I bought in early May, right after the initial release in April, and the A1's were hard to find and I got a good price on my XA1. I'm happy with my decision.

In addition to the items pointed out by William, the XA1 was double walled construction (heavier, more solid feel) and large rubber feet to help agains vibration. And the remote is motion sensitive backlit, making the buttons easier to find in dim light. But, the "guts" (audio / video componets) are exactly the same for the A1/XA1/D1/RCA models. The same firmware upgrades work on all 4 models. I also agree the load times are way overblown. Sure, it takes 2-3 times the amount of time most standard DVD players take to start up & play a disk. So? I just start up my HD DVD player first and then get the TV & receiver and food & beverages ready to go. :

For myself, if I were making my first HD DVD player purchase now, if I could find an XA1 player for around $550, I would still go with an XA1. But, that's just my thinking. Whichever way you decide, enjoy!

 

[kokomogator]

No problem. I'm usually anything but an 'early adaptor', and researched my purchase thoroughly before going with the XA1. To be honest, the largest factor in my decision to buy an XA1 over the A1 was that I bought in early May, right after the initial release in April, and the A1's were hard to find and I got a good price on my XA1. I'm happy with my decision.

In addition to the items pointed out by William, the XA1 was double walled construction (heavier, more solid feel) and large rubber feet to help agains vibration. And the remote is motion sensitive backlit, making the buttons easier to find in dim light. But, the "guts" (audio / video componets) are exactly the same for the A1/XA1/D1/RCA models. The same firmware upgrades work on all 4 models. I also agree the load times are way overblown. Sure, it takes 2-3 times the amount of time most standard DVD players take to start up & play a disk. So? I just start up my HD DVD player first and then get the TV & receiver and food & beverages ready to go. :

For myself, if I were making my first HD DVD player purchase now, if I could find an XA1 player for around $550, I would still go with an XA1. But, that's just my thinking. Whichever way you decide, enjoy!

I'm used to long load times......I bought one of the first DVD recorders that Toshiba released and believe me, that puppy takes a while to load so not really that big of an issue for me.

As to the firmware updates, would they not come with the latest firmware and if not, do they provide the resources to upgrade? I have only had to update the firmware once on my recorder and they provided a disk.

Really appreciate everyone's advise. I really jumped fast on my recorder and it had some compatibility issues and was pretty expensive (now you can get a recorder for under $100 but not with DVD Ram). I'm trying to be a little more cautious this time as I already have 2 DVD recorders and a standard DVD player. Hard to justify to the spouse why I HAVE to have the HD DVD Player!!

 

[williamkmurphy]

As far as firmware updates go. Some people have ordered the disks from toshiba, some have downloaded the iso and burned it to a disk. The easiest way is to use the ethernet port. Just set it up to work with your router, just like any pc, and do a firmware update they take about 40 minutes. When I got mine it was a couple of revs behind I guess it all depends on how long it has been sitting in a warehouse.

 

[CochiseGuy]

As far as firmware updates go. Some people have ordered the disks from toshiba, some have downloaded the iso and burned it to a disk. The easiest way is to use the ethernet port. Just set it up to work with your router, just like any pc, and do a firmware update they take about 40 minutes. When I got mine it was a couple of revs behind I guess it all depends on how long it has been sitting in a warehouse.

Actually, there was a registration card with my XA1 to request firmware updates (free of charge) from Toshiba. I filled it out & sent it in and have automatically received a CD of every FW update from Toshiba, although it takes several weeks after the initial release. My XA1, purchased in May, came with a Feb. 2006 build date and FW 1.0. I connected the player's ethernet port to my router and did the first 2 updates via the eternet port connecting to Toshiba's website without any issues. But then I read in forums about some folks having issues updating the firmware while having a disk in the player (there's a 'sticky' post in this forum about that) or losing power or internet connection during the update and decided that was a little too risky for me - I live in a rural area where the electricity has been known to go out and rely on satellite internet service. So, I wated for the disc to arrive from Toshiba before updating to the current 2.0 firmware.

The last FW update - 2.0 - came out several months ago (August, I believe), so I would expect almost all players sold now have the current firmware.