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HOT: Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player - $199.99 shipped

Originally posted by: jfall
pretty good deal, but it doesn't do 1080p 🙁
Click to expand...

If you want one that does 1080p, it costs $319.99 from the same store (with free shipping, free HDMI cable, and that 5 HD DVD deal).
 
The original video stream off the HD-DVD is 1080p. A 1080p TV will display video as 1080p. The fact that the A2 player uses 1080i as a transport container is irrelevant unless your TV's de-interlacer is brain dead. Save money and get the A2. Spend more and get the XA2 if you want top-flight SD-DVD upscaling also.
 
Originally posted by: butthead
The original video stream off the HD-DVD is 1080p. A 1080p TV will display video as 1080p. The fact that the A2 player uses 1080i as a transport container is irrelevant unless your TV's de-interlacer is brain dead. Save money and get the A2. Spend more and get the XA2 if you want top-flight SD-DVD upscaling also.
Click to expand...

how can you tell if your 1080p tv is deinterlacing a 1080i stream into a 1080p stream?
 
The vast majority of movies are encoded at 24hz, and none are encoded at 60hz. All the information included in the movie is transmitted through a 1080i signal. I'd think you would be very hard-pressed to ever notice any difference between 1080i and 1080p. *Maybe* on a 100"+ screen?
 
Originally posted by: datobin1
Availability: Shipping week of 7/30/07

Do you think they will have it then, or would we be waiting longer?
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No idea. You could call and ask.


Originally posted by: butthead
The original video stream off the HD-DVD is 1080p. A 1080p TV will display video as 1080p. The fact that the A2 player uses 1080i as a transport container is irrelevant unless your TV's de-interlacer is brain dead. Save money and get the A2. Spend more and get the XA2 if you want top-flight SD-DVD upscaling also.
Click to expand...
Well, I've been told that several expensive TV do indeed have braindead de-interlacers. YMMV.

The bonus of getting a 2007 1080p TV is the possibility of getting one with 120 MHz support, which would work well with those 1080p24 players. Or you could make sure you have a smart 1080p60 TV that deinterlaces well.

It's all moot for me currently though, since my TV is a 1080i CRT.


Originally posted by: cubby1223
The vast majority of movies are encoded at 24hz, and none are encoded at 60hz. All the information included in the movie is transmitted through a 1080i signal. I'd think you would be very hard-pressed to ever notice any difference between 1080i and 1080p. *Maybe* on a 100"+ screen?
Click to expand...
I don't think the screen size matters that much. You'd see the same deinterlacing problems on a smaller screen. However, I'd don't consider it a big issue. In the end I'd probably just save the bux and get the 1080i player.

 
Originally posted by: butthead
The original video stream off the HD-DVD is 1080p. A 1080p TV will display video as 1080p. The fact that the A2 player uses 1080i as a transport container is irrelevant unless your TV's de-interlacer is brain dead. Save money and get the A2. Spend more and get the XA2 if you want top-flight SD-DVD upscaling also.
Click to expand...

I couldn't have said it much better myself. Also as a + this think has excellent upconversion of SD DVDs...comparable to the quality of the oppo which by the way cost more money. This is exactly the price i got it for and i love it.

Ncage
 
Picked one up a few months ago from costco for 249$ (Costco labels it as HD-D2). As already mentioned, this thing is great for upconverting normal SDVDs. Prior I had a samsung HD931 Foroudja Upscaling DVD player and this thing blows it away for SDVDs. Highly recommend.
Also just received my 5 free HDDVDs by mail this week so it did take the 8-10 week turn around.
 
Originally posted by: LordGestle
Picked one up a few months ago from costco for 249$ (Costco labels it as HD-D2). As already mentioned, this thing is great for upconverting normal SDVDs. Prior I had a samsung HD931 Foroudja Upscaling DVD player and this thing blows it away for SDVDs. Highly recommend.
Also just received my 5 free HDDVDs by mail this week so it did take the 8-10 week turn around.
Click to expand...

Hi,
Is the Costco FD-D2 the A2 player being discussed here
Thanks
Ed
 
My chief complaint of the A2 is very SLOW loading.
Otherwise it does 1080i nativve or up-conversion very well.
I paid $199 during the Crutchfield's miscue.
It's a great deal @ $199 plus 5 movies (if we'll ever get them)
 
Originally posted by: estew33
Originally posted by: LordGestle
Picked one up a few months ago from costco for 249$ (Costco labels it as HD-D2). As already mentioned, this thing is great for upconverting normal SDVDs. Prior I had a samsung HD931 Foroudja Upscaling DVD player and this thing blows it away for SDVDs. Highly recommend.
Also just received my 5 free HDDVDs by mail this week so it did take the 8-10 week turn around.
Click to expand...

Hi,
Is the Costco FD-D2 the A2 player being discussed here
Thanks
Ed
Click to expand...

Double checked and the correct model is Costco Model HD-D2 == HD-A2.
 
Originally posted by: ncage
Originally posted by: butthead
The original video stream off the HD-DVD is 1080p. A 1080p TV will display video as 1080p. The fact that the A2 player uses 1080i as a transport container is irrelevant unless your TV's de-interlacer is brain dead. Save money and get the A2. Spend more and get the XA2 if you want top-flight SD-DVD upscaling also.
Click to expand...

I couldn't have said it much better myself. Also as a + this think has excellent upconversion of SD DVDs...comparable to the quality of the oppo which by the way cost more money. This is exactly the price i got it for and i love it.

Ncage
Click to expand...

Most TVs fail the deinterlace test which means you are actually not getting the full 1080p resolution but 540p instead.

Even more fail the 3:2 cadence detection (80% of the 2006 sets fail) which means you may see studdering, etc.

More info

But... I still think the A2 is a great deal. Why? Because all of the Toshiba HD-DVD players output 1080i. The 1080p output on the A20 and XA2 take the interlaced stream and deinterlaces it before outputting it... So you have...

1080p/24 content on disc -> 1080i/60 -> 1080p/60 -> output

There is supposed to be a firmware upgrade in Sept that allows the A20 and XA2 to output native 1080p/24 from the players however your TV has to support it.

I am hoping the new 2007 sets do a better job deinterlace/ivtc but none will be as good as the VP in the XA2.
 
Originally posted by: shingletingle
Originally posted by: ICantAffordIt
3.33/10 six month rating on reselleratings??
Not the best.
Click to expand...

Um, maybe you're looking at the wrong store. I don't know but he has a very good rep at avsforum.
Click to expand...

Nope, I can type 🙂
ValueElectronics.com
6 month rating: 3.33
Lifetime rating: 6

Of course, there are only 3 reviews for the 6 month rating, and 5 for the lifetime... so take that for what it's worth.

Good deal though...
 
I did my hd tivo and hd dvd player through them via pre order and both worked out fine. Only thing that sucks for me is paying tax within ny, but I still got both items faster than anywhere else.

The owner robert is a frequent contributor to both avs and tivo forums so he's well known and accessible.

Also the 1080p output is a non issue, I have a 1080p tv and 1080i output is fine. Until your tv can accept a 1080p/24 signal, dont even bother worrying about the progressive/interlace signal.
 
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