It may seem like a strange question, but I'm rather serious. My family had a betamax for the longest time and it generally worked great until the sad day it finally conked out and wouldn't play things at the proper speed. We still have it, somewhere... and one of these days I want to try fix it.

I'm not sure that companies currently make products with the same durability in mind, so I am wondering how long it will take before my A3 dies on me. I'm all set to buy up cheap HD dvds if/when they go to super-cheap prices (and I'm lucky enough to catch them), but if the player is only going to last 3 years or so I wonder if it is worth it... Seems like appliances these days are not made to last for as long as they used to, since we are intended to upgrade again and again.

Perhaps I am being paranoid...

With electronics you never really know.

Well, from 'my' experience, my electronics (especially some of my older DVD players & laser-based equipment such as laserdisc players, etc...) have lasted many, Many, MANY years! More like, 'Decades' as a matter of FACT!

I plan to be using my XA1 for at the very least: 10 YEARS!

^ Yeah, up to late last year, I still had my first DVD player (purchased in 1998) and it still worked (I donated it as it took up too much space).

My crystal ball is broken, sorry.

Seriously, how would anyone know? There is no death clock built-in to players. If they die, they die. If they work, they work.

This is probably the reason why every current owner who hangs on to his/her HD DVDs tries to score a second, third, or fourth machine for cheap right now.

My plan - HD A1 connected to my 34" SONY Tube, HD XA2 connected to a new 1080P/24 TV I will get by the end of the year, and keep the HD A35 boxed.

And guys, I have been reading AVS some. Do not upgrade these new second players via ethernet on Toshibas site. The last firmware is a mess and its best to find 2.7 for the XA2 and 1.3 for the A35.

So do not use 2.8 for the XA2 or 2.0 for the A35. You get jaggies on 1080p/24 TVs.

Maybe new firmware will come, but I wont hold my breath.

I have a near brand new boxed A30 just in case anything happens. I'm sure I'll pick up a few more as people freak out and sell for dirt cheap on Craigslist.

You're all correct, though I guess it ended up being impossible to give a precise answer to that question.

Whether I pick up another player when they get dirt cheap is questionable, but I suppose I will still buy some dvds... in the long run, it probably won't cost that much, and I'm sure that in my less-wise days I have spent money far more frivolously.

Holy cow -- the very minute, nay, perhaps even the SECOND that Toshiba declared they were pulling out of HD DVD, my A1 actually exploded into a ball of green flame! GREEN FLAME!!

I have a lot of faith that my A1/A2 will last a while.

For older tech, my Sony Betamax player still works fine.

I have a lot of faith my XA1/XA2 will last. I'd be more worried about the A2/A3 as those are cheaply built.

So what's the best for longevity? I only have a 360 add on, and might get a back up player. Although I only have like 9 HD DVDs...

Indeed. What kind of answer are we supposed to give? If we say, "2 years, 3 months and 4 days," are you going to mark a calendar and then throw the player away on that date expecting it to no longer be any good?

My LD players still work. *knock on wood*

I think you can relax. I still see people selling beta machines here and there for cheap of course. And I think 20 years from now you'll still see people selling HD-DVD players here and there. At the very worst, there will be a way to digitally make an exact copy of your discs onto another format, so your machine won't matter anyway.

By the time it dies, the BD versions will probably be in a $5 bin. Don't worry about it and enjoy it.

Considering soon there wont be any more HD DVDs released, my guess is that it will never be used enough for it to wear out.

Toshiba has said they continue to make parts for them if you are handy at fixing stuff.

The bigger question is for those that have 4-5 year service plans and they can't fix a player. Are you screwed?

My A-3 lasted a whole 3 months (just after the 90-day labor warranty ended) before it froze up on the welcome screen, which I understand is the most common way they die. I just bought another one.

I think early electronics for any format have the potential to be A) the most durable and B) the most glitchy. So if you can iron out the bugs, you might be good for a long while...although I do tend to think the higher models (less of which were produced) are more prone to being well built.

I still have a first-generation CD player (a single-disc about as big as a PS3), but it's JVC, not Toshiba.

A lot of people like to bag on Toshiba as being a second-tier CE manufacturer, but I've been pleased with their build quality. I still have a Tosh DVD player that was purchased in July 1998 that works perfectly. No reason to believe that my A1 won't last just as long...

Actually I use my Toshiba A30 a lot-it's a much better upscaler than my Blu Ray player.

^+1.

My first DVD player was a Toshiba purchased in April 1999 -- it still works fine. I have an HD-A2 in my HT that I use nearly every day and an HD-A3 in my living room that is used no more than once or twice a month. I figure one or the other (if not both) will keep working for many years to come, so my ~70 HD DVDs will not become obsolete.