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Place selling cheap HD DVD players..if you are really concerned about your collections get one of these bad boys as a backup:
http://www.warehousedeals.com/Toshib...B000U6AHYS.htm http://www.warehousedeals.com/Toshib...B000U62N1S.htm http://www.warehousedeals.com/Toshib...B000IJV4BC.htm They are refurb but whatever, may be worth it, especially those with bigger collections |
Personally I'd spend the money on trying to repair my XA2 before rolling the dice on a lower model refurb.
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I sold my A2 for $50 on ebay some time ago, but I still have an Xbox HD-DVD drive in the closet I paid $50 for. It's handy to have an external DVD-ROM laying around anyway (I just used it a few months back for an optical-drive free media center PC build).
My refurbed XA2 is a fantastic DVD player, I hope it holds out. :D |
Originally Posted by JimRochester
I pretty much got screwed every which way on this deal. I bought the thing in December when the prices were still high on these things. By the time the price dropped it was too late for a price match although I did eventually receive a $50 Amazon GC.
The 2 discs in the box I already had so I sold them for whatever I could get for a copy of Bourne and a copy of 300 (not much). The 5 free deal it's well known that by the time they showed up it was pretty much crap I didn't want or already had. Now the thing kept giving me the dreaded error code 408bc504 on some of my discs like Batman Begins and wouldn't even load Combo discs on the HD side. So I finally got around to updating the firmware. The process was easy and flawless. Only problem? IT DIDN"T FREAKIN WORK. So for now I've playing with my A3. It only plays 1080i but so far I really can't tell a difference and since it plays movies I wasn't able to watch on the old one, there is no way to compare. Funny thing is the A3 still has the old version of firmware and it plays better than the more expensive unit. So basically I have a nice $300 upconverting player for the bedroom. |
I called Toshiba and the CS rep led me to the 3.0 firmware upgrade for the A3xx series of players. Maybe that will help?
http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/tacpasse...firmwarev3.asp |
That's why after the price crash, I bought another A30 just to sit in the box. Cheaper to have a backup unit then replace the discs I had. I do have to say, Toshiba has done a good support job, as far as sending me firmware update discs, just got another one today. I don't really need them, but it's the thought that counts.
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I just tried performing the upgrade and the machine wouldn't take it. I got the error code for incorrect version, even though it's called A35 in the zip file. I'll have to call Toshiba again on Monday
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I think it is absolutely silly for people to be worried about possibly being unable to play their HD-DVD collection someday.
Laserdisc has been dead for 8 years and my player is still going fine. If/When it dies, there are plenty of working used players on ebay. HD-DVD didn't have the lifespan that LD had, but there are boatloads of players out there. Used players are going to be around forever plus a day. |
Originally Posted by Dave Anderson
I think it is absolutely silly for people to be worried about possibly being unable to play their HD-DVD collection someday.
Laserdisc has been dead for 8 years and my player is still going fine. If/When it dies, there are plenty of working used players on ebay. HD-DVD didn't have the lifespan that LD had, but there are boatloads of players out there. Used players are going to be around forever plus a day. My experience with Toshiba player models originally priced under $300 (both HD DVD and non-HD DVD) has been less than stellar. No way I'd rely on a third-party used or refurb A2 or A3 for my collection. My retired A1 probably has a better shot at longevity given the build quality. |
Originally Posted by Dave Anderson
I think it is absolutely silly for people to be worried about possibly being unable to play their HD-DVD collection someday.
Laserdisc has been dead for 8 years and my player is still going fine. If/When it dies, there are plenty of working used players on ebay. HD-DVD didn't have the lifespan that LD had, but there are boatloads of players out there. Used players are going to be around forever plus a day. |
I did finally upgrade to 3.0 but it didn't help. It still chokes on some combos and froze on Batman Begins. They play in my A3 just fine. I have to call Toshiba and get a refurb but I'm having a feeling it will last for 3 days past the warranty period.
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Originally Posted by JimRochester
I did finally upgrade to 3.0 but it didn't help. It still chokes on some combos and froze on Batman Begins. They play in my A3 just fine. I have to call Toshiba and get a refurb but I'm having a feeling it will last for 3 days past the warranty period.
Of course, my brother has an A30 that was buggy from the beginning, until the 3.0 upgrade. He has no issues now. |
My big, bulky A1 is still humming along. Still my primary player for DVDs. Never had any issues with it.
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Just got around to trying to upgrading to 3.0 to get the A3 to start recognizing HDDVD's again with no luck. Still does the same thing where the drive will click a couple of times and then say No Disc with an HDDVD inserted.
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Originally Posted by Dave Anderson
(Post 8864062)
I think it is absolutely silly for people to be worried about possibly being unable to play their HD-DVD collection someday.
Laserdisc has been dead for 8 years and my player is still going fine. If/When it dies, there are plenty of working used players on ebay. HD-DVD didn't have the lifespan that LD had, but there are boatloads of players out there. Used players are going to be around forever plus a day. |
I have a feeling my Laserdisc player will easily outlive both of my HD DVD players. I'm not worried about that format, but I doubt I can find a working HD DVD player 5 years down the road.
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My A1 has performed flawlessly to date. Then, just last night, while watching Van Helsing on hd-dvd, my A1 simply shut off. I powered up again, started to rewatch the movie and it shut off a second time.
That has never happened to me before, but seeing that I have just over 100 hd-dvd's and only have the A1, I'm concerned trouble may be brewing. Admittedly, ever since hd-dvd's demise, I have been conflicted as to whether I would hold on to my collection or sell it off and either replace those titles with blu-ray equivalents or go back (gasp!) to their sd versions. If one were to purchase a backup hd-dvd player, is there a general consensus as to which model is the best? I'm weighing my options, but for now at least, I know I cannot afford a blu-ray player. |
Originally Posted by darkside
(Post 8885017)
I have a feeling my Laserdisc player will easily outlive both of my HD DVD players. I'm not worried about that format, but I doubt I can find a working HD DVD player 5 years down the road.
Ive done that 3 times now though... |
Originally Posted by tofferman
(Post 8886101)
My A1 has performed flawlessly to date. Then, just last night, while watching Van Helsing on hd-dvd, my A1 simply shut off. I powered up again, started to rewatch the movie and it shut off a second time.
That has never happened to me before, but seeing that I have just over 100 hd-dvd's and only have the A1, I'm concerned trouble may be brewing. Admittedly, ever since hd-dvd's demise, I have been conflicted as to whether I would hold on to my collection or sell it off and either replace those titles with blu-ray equivalents or go back (gasp!) to their sd versions. If one were to purchase a backup hd-dvd player, is there a general consensus as to which model is the best? I'm weighing my options, but for now at least, I know I cannot afford a blu-ray player. |
Originally Posted by GizmoDVD
(Post 8886184)
Do what I did, spend $50 on a new A2/A3/Venturer and stick it in the closet :)
Ive done that 3 times now though... |
Originally Posted by zeez
(Post 8827317)
well, I have the A3 and haven't seen the 408bc504 error in a long time...but every once in a while the signal blinks in/out and the tv says 'no signal'... can't figure out if that's the tv or the player at fault.. or the wire.
By the way, is one audio setting required over the other for HDMI? I don't know because I have mine hooked up via component RCA cords and optical audio cord. |
Bourne Identity may be the equivalent of the Atari "Combat" cartridge.
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Originally Posted by videoguy
(Post 8889348)
Interesting! Mine did the same thing. I wonder if you are running the video through your stereo like me (or maybe if has nothing to do with the stereo). But for me, I found out that the problem seemed to alleviate when I switched the default audio setting (I believe it's pcm) to bitstream. Or maybe it was the other way around. But I know it's the opposite of whatever the default factory setting is.
By the way, is one audio setting required over the other for HDMI? I don't know because I have mine hooked up via component RCA cords and optical audio cord. |
I bought my A-1 two years ago and have had no problems so far. I am also afraid of it giving out considering the size of my collection.
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After 3 emails and a fax, Toshiba finally got my receipt and authorized a return exchange. One thing that surprised me; the guy asked if I still had the firmware disc or if I needed another one. I said these are refurbished that have already been upgraded haven't they? He said they were new in the box and would need the firmware upgrades. ???
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