i can shift my picture around in the service menu..i just want to get it close to what it would look like on a regular widescreen tv...

The HD-A20 is scheduled for the end of April - early May 2007.

Mods, can you add the A20 to this thread, please?

You should buy the neighbor dinner

That date is probably more accurate. I don't think Amazon has ever been first at getting anything new. It also sounds like a good time to get an A2. I'll have had the A1 for a year in April and I keep expecting it to show more glitches with the newer discs we get. 1080p is not important to me at all, so the A2 sounds like the best choice. And getting it for $300 would be nice as well. I want the A2 mainly for its better error correction.

Hi

Help! I just recently bought the A2 and had it hooked up with component cables, HD was great. As I wanted to upconvert SD DVD I bought a HDMI-DVI cable from monoprice -

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...ormat=2&style=.

I removed the component cables hooked up the new HDMI-DVI cable and now the A2 is playing both SD DVD and HD DVD at 480p. When the tv is off the A2 display shows the HD DVD playing at 1080i but when I turn on the tv a message is given stating that the disc is starting over at 480p. Is DVI no good with the A2? Did I get the wrong cable? What have I done wrong?

Thanks for any help
Kevin

Make you sure you download the firmware upgrade for the A2. It fixes the HDMI-DVI issue.

Woah, I didn't even realize there was already a firmware upgrade for the A2.
Does the new firmware improve upon anything else?

Toshiba is really on top of that shit. They're committed to the format.

Check a few pages back. All the details you need.

is there a chance this firmware update might help the fact that when i plug my hd-dvd player into the hdmi port on my tv it basicly zooms on the image and drastically cuts of the sides, top and bottom of the picture?..this has nothing to do with my tv, because when i switch to 480 on my player it rights the image...my tv can handle 1080i though

This sounds like a display issue. I have not heard of this particular problem before.

Ok more questions..sorry. When I turn on my A2 I get a black screen for 15-20 seconds before i see the HD-DVD logo on my tv..normal??..also i had a weird audio issue last night...I put the disc in..the sound was ok for the paramount logo, and for the music that played during the menu..as soon as i put on the actual movie though, the sound was all robotic and distorted..i turned off the player turned it back on and everything seemed to be ok..anyone have this?

Hmm, odd. I havent experienced that. But, I did experience something weird the other night...

I was watching The Punisher EE on sd dvd. The movie played fine (terrible transfer btw...especially the puerto rico/ocean scenes), but no button functions would work via the remote or front panel. Not even the power button. I had to unplug it and replug it in to get it to eject the disc. Anyone have this occur before?

Robert (Value Electronics) now has the A20 up for preorder. $499 + free shipping + 2 free movies or 4 year warranty. He has confirmed on AVS that it will have the same Silicon Optix Reon-VX chip as the XA2. Looks like this may be the unit to replace my A1.

http://www..com/Toshiba_HD-A20_HD_DVD.htm

Units will be shipping end of April or sooner.

While it is true that it will have the same Silicon Optix Reon-VX chip as the XA2, it will not have the same picture controls and analog outputs. Whether that's important to you or not is completely subjective. It is to me, which is why I decided to opt for the XA2.

The XA2 has a new firmware update (1.3) available on the Toshiba server now. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to resolve any of the issues I have with the player: video stutter, terrible audio sync, lack of bass.

It's not. I'd rather save the money and get the A20.

Josh,

How do you have your HD-XA2 connected between your AVR and display?

HDMI to display, 5.1 analog to receiver.

Josh,

Thanks. Hmmm. That is distressing. Here I was thinking you had it all going HDMI to an AVR and then out to your display. I would attribute that to some handshacking issue between the player and the AVR, but audio sync issues over 5.1 analog is very disconcerting. Are you still using the Denon AVR-3803 and Mitsubishi HC3000 as your receiver and display respectively?

Did you have any of these issues with your Toshiba HD-A1?

I already have the A2, and I "need" another HD DVD player for the bedroom. Should I get another A2 or wait for the A20? Other than the 1080p output, is there anything else that the A20 offers that's considered a significant improvement over the A2? What do you think? What would you do?

I've had the A1 since launch. I'll probably get the A20 as its replacement. I've seen rankings before that has the A2 below the XA2 and A1/XA1 in terms of dvd upconversion. I'm sure the A20 will be better than the A2 in that regard. Plus, the processor it has will be the same as the high-end XA2. For $500, that sounds like the best deal to me. It's right in the middle of high end (XA2) and low end (A2). Also, with the 1080p option, you do get the highest resolution possible, regardless if you think there is or isn't a difference between 1080i and 1080p.

Now, I'm expecting a price drop on the A2 once the A20 is released, but I think the A20 will be a better machine.

Robert of VE definitely has the best offer. I think the A20 may sell for $599 when it's released, but Robert has it priced $100 cheaper + free shipping and 2 movies or the 4-year warranty. He also double boxes, which is nice.

With the A20, you're getting a high-end processor but you're saving $300 compared to the XA2. That one is clearly the best one to get, but the problems from Josh Z has me not even thinking of getting it. I think the A20 will be just fine.

Who ranked it lower? I had the A1 and now the A2. I see no difference in the dvd upconversion. Looks exactly the same to me.

Who else? Users at AVS. One of the threads about the HD DVD players had a few who ranked them and all put the XA2 and A1 above the A2. Who knows....

Bleh....I dont trust users on AVS for this level of reviews.....There is no telling what setup they have and if its even professionally calibrated (not that its a requirement, but some people dont know how setup to their home theater).

I can see the XA2 possibly being above the A2 due to the chip, but I dont know since ive never seen it.

But, from my experience, the A1 and A2 look the same for DVD upconversion and I know this because I watch ALOT more dvds than hd-dvds. The A1 in my opinion was a step up from any upconverting player that I had (oppo being one of them) and the A2 seems to be the same.

The A2 also plays more dvd-r's than my A1 did. I had alot of problems with the A1 reading some dvd-r's. The A2 plays those very same discs that had problems on the A1. Odd.