Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Questions about HDDVD A3 purchase

As mentioned in another post Future Shop is having a Boxing Day only special on the Toshiba HD DVD player, $99 plus 2 "free" movies.

Here is my current configuration:
My TV has only only a DVI input along with component.
My current dvd player connects to the TV via component & the audio to the receiver via coaxial
The Motorola 6412 connects to the TV via a HDMI to DVI cable & audio goes to the receiver via coaxial.
My receiver is an old but trusty Harmon Kardon AVR320

If I connect the Toshiba and Motorola 6412 to a splitter (using HDMI cable) and then connect the splitter to the TV using a HDMI to DVI cable will everything work? Or will the DVI cause problems, possibly with copy protection?

I am pretty sure the Toshiba has optical output only for audio so I'll have to get a new cable to connect it to the receiver.


Sorry if the above has already been asked, most of my spare time this summer was spent careging for my mother and I'm really not up to speed on a lot of things.

Thanks in advance
Wayne

Thought of upgrading the receiver? You could go HDMI for all the connections. Even the lower end receivers now have HDMI. Denon's from the 1508 up have 2 HDMI inputs and they are relatively cheap. Then you would just need to buy an adpater From HDMI to DVI for your TV. Audio and video switching is then taken care of buy the receiver.

Do they even make HDMI splitters?

Hi Wayne, it's great to see you back and posting again!

Although I can't give you much technical information regarding the connection of the A3 to your TV but I would *assume* that the HDMI->DVI switcher you are referring to would work...

I bought an A2 through that WalMart sale a month or so back and I am not impressed with the unit at all, it's connected to the TV via HDMI and optical out to the HK635 for the audio. The problem I keep having with the A2 is that it skips way too often with SD-DVDs and completely locked up twice while trying to watch the Bourne Ultimatum $29 HD-DVD disc, I don't see where it upconverts any better than either my Denon 2910 or our Oppo 980H nor is the audio any better. I have the 2.5 firmware installed but I've yet to install the 2.7 update, Rick (Wid) is in the process of sending the disc now....I can only imagine that whenever I do get the 2.7 firmware updated a week later they'll come out with the 3.1 firmware update, I can also wonder how long this little cycle will continue until all of the bugs are worked out of the unit. The A2, along with the few HD-DVD disc I've already purchased are probably going to end up in the spare closet and the Denon will be pulled out of retirement and continue to do the job it's done for a couple of trouble free years.

I'd hate to think I need to upgrade to a $1,500 receiver or more for a processor to be able to take full advantage of what this HD-DVD player has to offer only to stay POed half the time because it simply doesn't work.

Other than that, I really like the thing.


Oh yea and BTW, I *still* haven't been able to watch the Bourne Ultimatum ... I hear it's a pretty good movie, can anybody fill me in?

Yes. Jason Bourne finds out he used to be a model, like Derek Zoolander.

wasn't that an amazing twist! i never saw it coming..i think it was pretty sweet though that he took all the money in his swiss bank account and built the "Bourne school for kids who can't kill good"

Really though it is quite a good movie, even on plain old SD DVD!

Right, and the middle act of the movie explaining why Jason dropped out of the top secret program because of his gas problem. Hard to sneak up on people when they can hear you coming. Like Charles said, a wasted opportunity in the bass department. Again, another good twist, though.

We should really put a spoiler alert on this thread.

Freaks!

You guys just *had* to give it away ... didn't you?

Thanks a lot.

Imagine your surprise when you realize they were actually right!

Rick you don't have to upgrade to a $1500 receiver, a $500 will do. the Denon 2308 does everything you should need or $700 for the 2808. I know you shouldn't really have to upgrade at all.

The first couple of generations are always a little buggy. I hope next years crop are just that much better.

I'm running the A2 in the same way Rick is and it seems to be doing fine. I have no plans for a new reciever til this one (Onkyo 502) completly breaks down.

Jason I'm not understanding where the upgrading part comes into play? If the A2 is skipping with my 635, what's to keep it from skipping after I spend another $500 (min?) for an upgraded receiver? Maybe I could then hear all of the minute details within the skips?

I'm thinking the closet upgrade would be the best upgrade for this little jewel and my system.

From the 'SXRD' thread in the Home Theatre forum.....




I absolutely agree!

Sorry, upgrading receiver won't help the skipping issue, I misunderstood. Like I said before the skipping with the SD discs, I am sure, is due to that layer break, but the skipping with HD discs I don't know. I haven't been looking for solutions as I don't have a HD player.......yet.

Out of curiousity anyone know if the BR players are having these skipping issues?

Jason I'm not sure so many of the HD-DVD player owners are having issues with the skipping, I've heard mention of an 'occasional' skip, in my estimation once is unacceptable but I believe more of these players are doing this skipping more often than not than is being reported.

The whole HD-DVD thing and loss less sound would be an awesome adaption to any body's system but I feel at this time it's not without issue and to expand what Terzaghi stated above regarding the Sony SXRD...

"I think they should have perfected the technology before they sold it"

Plain and simple.

My A2 does not skip at all on any type of disks. Maybe you got a bad one? Maybe you should see if you can exchange it?

Rick, stop using all your DVDs as frisbees and drink coasters. No more skipping.

Do you know anybody else with the same player? You could try your disc in theirs and see. Or they could bring theirs to try it in your system. That might be the quickest way to see if it's your player.

Sean, you mean watch 'em only? Hmmm ... I never made the connection.

That doesn't seem to be too practical though, just how in the hell am I supposed to justify buying this stuff to my wife if it can't be of more use around the house?


Lorenzo and Skyhawk...my good buddy Wid is coming down to spend a week with us here in a couple of weeks, I'll have him verify the skipping and them maybe a return might be in order.

Judging from the DVDs I get from Netflix, a lot of people don't just watch the movies, they place the discs in the driveway and back over them, too.

Ha ha. Seriously, I've had my share of playback issues with HD DVD discs. I've had to wait on firmware updates to play a few titles, which, as you say, is unacceptable. These blue laser formats were in development before DVD was even released onto the market, so the half-assed launches from both camps baffles me. I know that technology is only getting more complicated, but it's unreasonable to part with so much money and get such a bumpy ride out of it.

Our apologies Wayne ...

As you can probably see by now things haven't changed much since you've been away ... we can still hijack a thread now as well as we did prior to your departure.

What was your question again?

Rick,

I have watched eight HD titles, including Bourne, on my A2 and everything has worked perfect. I did upgrade to 2.7..why don't you try that and if the problem persists, take it back for exchange or warranty.

Greg

Greg the 2.7 update should be here any day now, Rick (wid) downloaded it for me and mailed it so whenever it gets here I'll upload it...if that doesn't solve the problem I'll take the player back.

I also have the A2 and it has not skipped once during a movie.

maybe some of them have problems and some don't

Wayne, as you know, HDMI and DVI cables themselves are identical; just the connectors on the ends differ. So, HDMI/DVI cables with the different connectors on the ends work well and the DVI factor shouldn't cause any difficulty on the setup you describe.

The last couple of movies I got from netflix had no scratches, no finger prints... of course the Alison Krauss and Union Station - Live DVD had no center track either - in any format. Although, I did have a center channel on the root menu only with my Oppo, but not my D2 with this CD. Weird.

I have had no skipping issues with my D2, but the Oppo is far better at upconverting than the D2.

Scott

The only ones I get with no scratches are either brand new or obscure foreign movies. Not very popular, the latter ones.

Based on the above comments I may just rethink the purchase, it's certainly not the money, it's the possible frustration I wish to avoid.

Then again standing in line at 6am in freezing temperatures waiting for the store to open might just be what I need

Here's another A2 owner that hasn't had any problems whatsoever, and I'm playing rented Blockbuster HD-DVDs that have seen some action (I don't understand why people can't handle DVDs carefully ). Just watched the Startdust HD-DVD last night, which I, surprisingly, enjoyed very much.

I'm sorry to hear you're having the problems you're having, Rick.

MY girlfirend and I watch stardust in the theaters a while back. It actually was not a bad movie, and different than your typical movie that comes out every week.

Jack, I'm hoping the 2.7 firmware will take care of the issue. It just happens every so often but whenever it does start skipping it skips a lot and I have to power the A2 off and reboot, and other than the Ultimatum disc it has been perfectly fine on all of our other HD-DVDs ... also every thing I have put in the player has been my own DVDs, it hasn't had a rental in it yet.

Maybe that's what it needs, a proper break-in.

Wayne I believe you'll really be impressed with video on the A3, it is nice and for $99 you can't hardly go wrong with the purchase....I'll have a cup of hot cocoa for you. Stay warm!

I did get the 2.7 firmware downloaded today (Thanks Wid!) and still cannot watch the HD-DVD Bourne Ultimatum!

Prior to the update it locked up at the 00:57:20 mark, after the update it locked up at the same point and a message came on the screen 'Error Code 408bc504-Cannot Read Disc', I made a call to Toshiba and they seem to believe it's more than likely a bad disc, he also said to return the disc and get another. I skimmed through a couple of SD-DVDs and it never did skip so I'm hoping the firmware update fixed the problem. Toshiba also told me that if the problem persist I'll then have to send the unit in for a repair.

Me too!!!!!!!


LOL! Yeah, get a hammer and beat on those discs and everything will play just fine.

Jack, here is an informative thread from another site regarding this 'Error Code' issue.....

HighDefDigest


The earlier firmware versions are first brought up but later in the thread they are up to the 2.7 version.

I've had that code on my X2 several times, but only with rented HD DVD's from Netflix. Usually me wiping the disc clean fixes the problem.

Thanks, Rick. You're, obviously, not the only one to have experienced this problem.

I'm trying to order one online (it's actually the HD-D3 on offer from FS) but the web site keeps saying "gee, sorry, who'da thought all these people would be online trying to buy cheap stuff, please come back later when everything is sold out" ;(

Looks like it's sold out at Future Shop. Best Buy actually has the same model on sale for $199 if you want to spend $100 more and they have lots left.

Isn't that a Boxing day door crasher? If it is, it isn't available till 6 PM EST on the 25th.

Nope you can get it online right now. At least at Bestbuy.ca that is.

I know the $199 at BB is good but the $99 I thought wasa door crasher and won't be available till as I just saw at Future shops site 8PM EST. You can browse the site starting at 6Pm EST.

I just looked and the HD-DVD D3 is in fact a door crasher for $99, so it won't let you buy it till 8PM EST. Good luck!

Well yeah that's right but it was 8 EST tonight which was a few hours ago. In store though is a different matter. Wednesday morning bright and early for some. I already have my A2 and A20 so i don't need anymore. Good luck to all the shoppers tonight and on Wednesday!

Opps, I didn't realize it started tonight, I just kept seeing Boxing day and 8PM.

Yeah, Boxing Day sales now have a relatively flexible relationship with Boxing Day itself.

I resisted the urge to buy it for $99. The idea of one minute load times turned me off :). I'll wait for Gen2.

Didn't you know they're already on the third generation? Yeah, it will be nice when the load times are down to nothing, but I haven't been too annoyed. It gives me time to get something to drink.

I get annoyed at the 10-15 sec load times of my present DVD, I think I would be returning it for a 1 minute load time. Hopefully next year at this time things will be a little more settled in the HD war and the players will be faster.

I guess I'm impatient in a different way. I want my high-def movies NOW. Ha ha.

Looks like the 2.7 firmware update cured the skipping with the SD-DVDs and after returning the HD-DVD Bourne Ultimatum disc for another one everything seems to be up and running just fine, great movie BTW. I'm starting to *really* like this player now.

Where did you guys hear about the one minute load times? Even prior to any updates ours was never near half of that, it is probably in the 15 second time frame.

Hot Dog! Now that's some good news. So glad to hear this, Rick.

Agree about the load times. Haven't timed it, but it doesn't seem much different from the Oppo or the 2910. It's certainly not different enough that I've noticed or been bothered by it. And, trust me, I'm a very impatient person.

Rick, it may be that the load time includes the powering up phase, too. My HD-DVDs start running after 10 seconds or so, but the real wait is when I power the XA2 on. I read these new machines are more akin to computers than DVD players, and thus take more time to power on and off.

Honestly, the load time doesn't bother me.

Good to hear Rick.

Thanks Jack, man it's sooo nice to be able to watch a SD DVD now and not have to wonder not *if* but *when* will it start skipping. I had to run the A2 through it's paces though, whenever I first uploaded the 2.7 firmware I threw in a SD disc and let it play while I was doing other things around the house, whenever that disc was finished I loaded up another disc ... did that continuously for three days just to see if the skips would return and they never did.

Sean, you know my good friend Rick (Wid) and I were on the phone today and that very subject came up regarding the load time of these units whenever they are powered up, I was telling Rick that I usually turn our A2 on whenever I get home work, regardless of what time we'll watch a movie or even if we won't just to have it ready whenever we do watch something. I'm guessing the unit can be left powered up 24/7 .... no harm, no foul, right?

Wayne, make sure to upload the latest firmware for your new A3 ... and let us know how you like it, I'm now very happy with ours.

Rick and his wife are coming down to spend a few days with us next week and he *says* he's going to show me how to download the firmware updates onto a disc ... in return I *have* to show him how we true Floridians upload the boat with big game fish from the wild blue yonder. He has his work cut out for him, that's for sure.

Shoot, if that's the price for a fishing trip I'm gonna drive over right now. . .

That's the kind of work I look forward to

I love that these forums have actually created good friendships. We've all heard how careful one must be on the internet, particularly children, and with good reason. But, we don't hear much about the fact that there are a LOT of terrificly good people on the internet, and that lasting and true friendships are quite common.

You two families have a great time together. But Wid, I think you're going down too early. To me, winter doesn't really get ridiculously old until February.

(Note to self: Find a good internet friend in Florida. Oh wait! Forgot I've got a brother in Ft. Myers )

You are right Jack, Feb is one of the worst months around here but I look forward to getting out of here anytime in the winter. I want to make it down during good fishing weather, Rick says fishing is good in Jan.

Yeah, the best thing about February in these climes is that it's only 28 days long. Unfortunately, this coming year, it's 29 days . In a typical winter that extra day feels like a week.

You're right, though. Getting outa here anytime during winter is a relief.

You just need to go out and have fun in the cold. Actually, this particular day was sunny and warm (for the season).

Annual New Years Day Topless Run

Sorry, it won't be what you think.

You're right.

Yea, what's all that white stuff on the ground? I don't know that I've ever seen it before.

Me neither. A truck carrying powdered donuts must have spilled there.

I've been wonderin' ... do y'all suppose Wayne (you know, the original poster) is *still* standing in line for that A3?

I thought for sure he'd have a report by now.

LOL! Well, I hope he's sitting in front of the TV enjoying his A3.

LOL; well sadly the answer is "no" I didn't buy it. I'd like to be able to say that there were way too many negative comments about that unit from some poster named "Rick" for me to make the purchase . But that's not true at all.


This is hard for me to say but it was the death of my mother right before Christmas that removed any thoughts I had of purchasing that unit.

Before I go any further I have to say she was a lovely lady with an incredible smile. She has a very long and interesting life and was happy right to the end. I'll miss her forever.


Now I've got to try and turn this post around.

Rick I'm happy that your problems with the unit got solved. As for me there's always the next Boxing Day sales.

Now please continue on as normal.

Wayne

Wayne, I'm sorry to hear such news. My thoughts will be with you.

My thoughts will be with you Wayne, very sad news.

I lost my Mother last January, Wayne. I know what you are going through. You'll be in my thoughts.

Sorry to hear about both your losses.

Thanks Peter.

Jack, I wasn't aware of your mother's passing, and my belated sympathy to both you and Wayne. From personal experience I can appreciate the care responsibilities that you undertook.

Thanks everyone, it really does help.

Jack, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. You are also in my thoughts, keep the happy memories alive.

Wayne

Thanks John. No, I didn't bring the news to the forum. I'm not exactly sure why. Having seen Wayne be courageous enough to share, and the kind reactions to his sad news, I probably should've at least mentioned it. I guess I just didn't feel I could do it as graciously as Wayne.

Wayne, I think one of the greatest testaments to a life well lived is, at the end of that life, leaving behind a loving, grieving child (children). For if a child grieves the loss of a parent, that parent surely did something right to earn the child's love. In your post above, your small, eloquent tribute to your Mom speaks volumes about the fine, decent person she was, and the wonderful job she must've done.