Firmware 2.7 released for HD-A2/A20/XA2
 

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/tacpasse...d2firmware.asp

XA2:

http://tacp.toshiba.com/tacpassets-i...-XA2-2700N.zip

A20:

http://tacp.toshiba.com/tacpassets-i...-A20-2700N.zip

HD-A2:

http://tacp.toshiba.com/tacpassets-i...D-A2-2700U.zip

Would be nice if they could add a firmware update so you could see the REMAINING TIME on an HD movie. Am I missing something? I figured this would be standard.

I thought 2.5 added 1080p/24Hz output for the A20 and XA2. :hscratch: Maybe this one fixes the issues some had with the audio/video going out of sync?

I also wonder what are the new HDMI/DVI related issues.

This is interesting:

Too bad I only have an A2.

Me too. :(

You can already do that, DVD Polizei. If you hit the display button on your remote, the LED display switches to a countdown of the feature runtime.

It would. What would be even better is if they didn't need all of these firmware updates. I bought my A2 in April and I think this will be the fourth update. I appreciate the fixes, but it seems like it should work right before it's released for public consumption.

Again, you can see the current remaining feature time (on the A2 anyway) by "display" on you remote. You'll see that the display on the player (not what appears on your TV) switches to a backwards count.

What I wish would be implemented via firmware is the dimmer setting not reseting everytime I switch off the player. I find the default setting too bright and recently I've even found myself just switching of the player's display altogether when I watch a movie. The problem is that everytime I power down the player, it reverts back to the default (brightest setting). So I have to fiddle with the "dimmer" button on my remote every time I power up the player.

I really like the fact that they care enough to continue supporting older hardware. Hopefully, I will get an update for A1 in the bedroom.

Yeah, I didn't notice this before, but what if my XA2 is dimmed to show absolutely nothing. Not to mention, I really don't like having to spend a few moments to zoom my eyes across the room at the player to figure out how much time remains. Should be on the television screen with a simple successive press of the display button. In a dark room, with a movie playing, it's pretty annoying to try and see what the time remaining is.

I do see your point, DVD Polizei. Maybe that's something Toshiba should work into their next update. I sure with they were like Oppo. From what I saw in the threads over at AVS, those guys listened to user suggestions (font changes, adding new features, etc.) and actually applied said suggestions to their firmware updates.

:thumbsup: I agree. In fact, your complaint about the Toshiba's display dimmer resetting when you turn the player was a complaint I had about my Oppo. They changed that with the last firmware update, so now when I turn my Oppo's display off, it stays off. I really hope Toshiba does the same.

That's strange. Everything Toshiba says the 2.7 update does for the A2 is everything they said the 2.5 would do.

The Oppo and Toshiba players may be built differently. It's possible that the dimmer in the Toshiba would require a hardware change, not just firmware.

I agree that it's annoying.

I haven't had any porblems with my A2 since I got it in August. I think it froze once. I did a reboot and everything has been fine since then.

I don't mind the 30 second delay to start a movie.

I guess I don't need an upgrade if everything is fine?? :fc:

^ Always upgrade. You never know, and it won't hurt.

I never upgrade firmware just because "it's the latest". I let others be the guinea pigs and then update later. :)

So does this mean that the player I bought in the Walmart sale now supports 1080p?

No, the A2 won't do 1080p, even with this update.

Probably good advice, at least for awhile. There are reports at AVSForum of people having some new issues after this update, although others are reporting no problems.

I just got my $99 Wal-Mart A2 and updated it to 2.5 last week. I'll let the dust settle before applying 2.7, if ever. Seems that these enhancements were mostly for the XA2 anyway.

Taken from Toshiba's description of the firmware update.
I'm interested to see if this means that audio streams from the XA2 can now be bitstreamed as they are, rather than converted to PCM. I know it's all the same, but I'd kinda like to see what "Dolby TrueHD" looks like on the display of my Onkyo receiver! :)

So when will the HD-A2 update be available? I'm hoping it'll fix some "popping" noises I hear while watching Transformers. The previous update did that for me with my other releases.

Good news for XA2 owners: the new 2.7 firmware update does indeed pass along bitstream audio to a capable receiver. I know that everyone says that the audio is the same whether it is passed along as bitstream or PCM, but I'm here to tell you that when passed along as bitstream, it has a lot more volume to it. Dolby TrueHD sounds ever-so-slightly cleaner and more defined, and even Dolby Digital Plus tracks sound much better. On a particularly interesting note, some of Warner's earliest HD-DVDs- "The Phantom of the Opera" and "The Last Samurai", for example- no longer require the viewer to jack the volume higher than other discs. They sound just as they should, with no extra adjustments required. It's a golden day for HD-DVD; now, if only the PS3 could decode or pass along DTS-HD Master, then I'd be 100% content with my home theater equipment.

RocShemp...

The 2.7 update covers the HD-A2. I just applied it myself via an ISO disc I burned.

^ Which one did you download, or does it matter? Sorry if that's a dumb question, but I'm new at this.

I downloaded 2.7, then used an ISO burner software package to create the disc image. It just finished upgrading.

So either of the two links in the first post work just fine on the A2?

That's what I was wondering as well...

Yes, if you look at the first line on the page the HD-A2 is in the list now.

I can confirm that the A2 is also downloading the new firmware.

Updated OP with link to 2.7 download for HD-A2

Thanks, Damed. I know they're supposed to be the same exact update for all 2nd generation players but I feel safer downloading a file specified for my A2.

RocShemp...

I applied 2.7 and it worked on my HD-A2. My guess is that the OS or BIOS on these players are similar enough that the update works on all of them.

That's probably because using the bitstream setting passes the DialNorm flag onto your receiver, which reacts by adjusting the default start volume. Decoding inside the player presumably ignores the DialNorm flag.

All DialNorm affects is your volume setting. Do not confuse a difference in volume for a difference in quality.

Toshiba just sent me a CD with the 2.5 update, which worked flawlessly last night. Of course we're now up to 2.7.

Thanks damed for the links. Updated with no problems.

Can anyone tell me a good free program I can use to create an .iso image file on a cd so I can update my player? Thanks.

This comes from my post in another thread. Works like a charm and is very easy:

1. Download Active ISO Burner (it's free and has no spyware) (Windows Platform)

2. Follow the Instructions on the Toshiba Support Page (http://tacp.toshiba.com/tacpassets-i...ngfirmware.asp) to extract the ISO file. **Of course, use the zip file link provided in the OP**

3. And then follow the instructions on the Active ISO Burner Page - http://www.ntfs.com/iso_burner_free.htm

Thanks Movieman, you rule!

I just got the 2.5 disc from them today. :lol:

Question about the latest 2.7 Update for the A2
 

I bought one of these as a gift for my Dad. Last night I booted it up to get it setup and and get the firmware up to date. Before applying the 2.7 update I noticed that the LED was displaying 1080i on the front of it. I tried King Kong in HD and The Last Samurai in standard non HD. When I played both the player indicated that it was outputting at 1080i. After applying the update I tried the movies again one at a time and now it shows that the player is displaying at 720P. I really couldn't tell much of a difference, but I used the same TV for all of the scenarios I have described. Has anyone noticed behavior like this?......I had it hooked up to a Syntax Olevia LCD that is a few years old so the native resolution is 720P for sure, but I was thinking it did 1080i as well. Thanks in advance.