Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Add one more to the HD-DVD camp

Yup, I went HD-DVD. While I didn't pick up the top end HD-XA2 (even though I would love the 5.1 analog audio outputs for use with my Pioneer Elite VSX-54TX), I think that I will still be pretty happy.

I ended up with a $198 HD-A2. I know it is a model year older than the A3, and doesn't do 1080p like the A30 and A35, and yadda yadda yadda...

The price was right for me, the specs and performance are about identical to the A3, and I have a 720p projector, so I don't need 1080p.

As some of you know, I wanted to get into HD-DVD "on the cheap" so to speak. I won't get 2 free HD-DVDs bundled like the newer models, but don't care about the movie 300, and Bourne I've seen so many times that it would go to waste. Yes, I will still have to pick 5 other free HD-DVDs that many of which I don't care about either, but so what. They are free.

I am sure that some place will have a great sale on some other model, and someone will say that I should have waited... I say, "Bah! I am tired of waiting." Someone will tell me that the player is slow to load, or that there are problems with some of the players "glitching"... HDMI is a big source of the slowness according to people that at least pretend to know what they are talking about, and that isn't going to improve a ton any time soon. As for glitching, I hear that it is hit or miss. I am homing to get a player that is a hit.... or is that a miss???? Whichever works right out of the box. If not, I'll get it taken care of.

I plan on having some "adoption" issues anyway, but was willing to deal with them for $200. Some poor folks have been dealing with them on players that cost them hundreds more.

Someone will tell me that Blu-Ray is going to win out, or that it is superior. I've been tracking this whole thing for a year prior to actual release, and I just like how HD-DVD approached it, and the real difference for consumers is just what movies you can get on what format. So what will happen if Blu-Ray DOES win? By then, I will have gotten my $200 out of this machine and be ready for an upgrade anyway!

Someone will tell me, "Good job Nick!" or "Have fun Nick!" and I will thank them!



Party on everyone!

Good job Nick!



*Note to self* I'm really, really....really going to have to give these HD DVD players a (really) good look now that just about everybody has one except for me.


BTW ... Have fun Nick!

Congrats, Nick! You know, I've given it some thought, the whole load time thing, and it isn't really much of an issue for me. I mean, how many times have you popped in a movie and said, "I've got to watch this right NOW! NO, NOW DANGIT!" My XA2 takes a while to get going but so what? According to the manual, the HD players are more akin to computers than DVD players and require some boot time. While a movie is playing there are no problems.

So what if an older player takes some time to get going. It's a great way to get into HD without breaking the bank. Think about it--who's in a hurry to sit for two hours?

Caveat--I understand if you have kids the wait time may not work so well.

Funny aside--I remember the interminable load times on some graphic intensive games on the old Commodore 64. I'd go outside and play catch with my friend while the game was loading.

Have fun Nick. I am close to pulling the trigger on one of these. If they drop a little bit more(black friday perhaps?) then I'm in.

If you have some photos to share I'm sure we wouldn't mind...

Thank you, thank you, and thank you....

Not sure how much cheaper they will be for Black Friday... Might not be any 2nd Gen left by then, and then you are dealing with discounted 3rd Gen, which even on sale would be hard to get for less than $200 like the A2 was today.

THAT is the game we play I guess...

I think that I am going to sign up for NetFlix (I know, it is amazing that I'm not already.) to get HD-DVD rentals. I will be sure to rent some movies that I already have and see if I can grab some photos of the difference.

You did good Nick, and welcome to the club. My A2 has been problem / glitch free, so no worries there. Just make sure you update the firmware (via ethernet). It's quite painless.

In a year there will be gen four players most likely, so don't worry about not getting a G3 player.

A good source for HD/BR reviews is at Secrets http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/main.html
You can read them and decide if it's worth the trouble of buying or even renting before you do. I've found them very helpfull.

Also, a good, cheap HDMI AVR that I had for a while is the Yamaha 661. I think you can find them for under $400. It might be worth a look when you get the itch to hear lossless sound (and I'm sure you will).

Good job Nick! Welcome to the HD-DVD club!

Thanks EFalardaeu.

And Thanks mdrew! I stumbled across that review site when trying to decide what movies I want to "wait to" get for free with the rebate. Most of them I could care less about, but I figure I might as well pick ones that show off the system.

I'll have to keep the Yamaha 661 in mind and if I get that "itch" I'll have to see if the Yamaha 661 with HDMI outperforms my Pioneer Elite VSX-54TX... I don't even want to look at the specs now since I don't have funds to get anything different.

Congratulations, Nick! I'm always happy to see another HD convert. More consumers means maybe they'll hurry up with releasing more of my favorite movies in high-definition.

Thanks!

I've been fighting to get HD in my home theater since I got the Sanyo Z3 a couple of years ago. I picked up an old ZOOM sat. receiver that also tuner OTA stuff, and I like that, but no ability to record (yet)... I am planning on getting the HD antenna mounted outside this weekend instead of sitting on the floor in my daughter's room where it gets knocked over.

Dish is running a promo for current customers to get them to get HD with DVR, and I am SO close to getting that too since I already have dish....

Any tips on where to get HD-DVDs for a "good price" or should I just try fleaBay? Paying $30 a disc seems silly. I did manage to get Batman Begins for $19 at Walmart.

I get them all through Amazon.com. Normal price there is always 30-33% off, which can be anywhere between $19.99 and $27.95 ($27.95 being the combo format discs, which I tend to avoid, unless it's a movie I REALLY want). I hope some studios start doing some buy one, get one promotions like Disney did with select Blu-ray titles. Here's hoping we see a lot of those as the holidays approach.

Nick, the best deal can vary from disc to disc, but Deep Discount is usually very good, considering free shipping. CV's Amazon suggestion is also often good, including independent sellers there who sometimes have the lowest price even with shipping added.

Another congrats and welcome to the HD club Nick, I picked up 4 HD DVD's from here last week during a sale for $9.99 each Frys.com I'm sure they have sales going on fairly often.

Nick,

I just buy mine from Amazon and rent a few from Netflix that I don’t want to have in my collection. All this talk about HD players inspired me to buy an A35 today. Amazon had it for $398, so I just bit the bullet and ordered it. The A2 goes up for sale now….

How did you like the A2? Why the jump up to the A35?

Are there any "demo discs" out there? I know that you can find all sorts of demo DVDs (I actually have around 30 different demo DVDs) but what about ones for HD-DVD? I've seen a DTS-HD Master Audio disc on fleaBay, but didn't know if there was something that just shows the WOW of high def? I heard that Toshiba started bundling one with some laptop a couple of weeks ago, but haven't actually seen one anywhere that I could pick up.

Grats Nick!

I'm very happy with mine as well. 1080i is practically indistinguishable from an open window on my 46" screen. Once I added the A2 into my Universal remote so it turns it on with the rest of my gear when I hit [DVD] the wait time didn't seem as long. It annoyed me a bit at first only because the tray won't even open until it is done booting but now I never seem to notice it.

Thanks! For me, it takes about 20-30 seconds for my projector to fulling initialize, so if I hit the power on the A2 at the same time, I won't notice as much waiting.

I have a nice touch screen, backlit remote that has the programming to turn multiple devices on, etc, but the infrared field is too narrow coming out of it to get to my equipment in my rack that is on the side of my theater... I either need a different remote, or need to put in some IR repeaters....

I started out with an X1, which was built like a battleship and weighed around 25 pounds. The X1 was a great player, but not without bugs. It was also very slow to power up and load; so much that I couldn’t take it anymore. Considering that I use an external video processor, SD up-conversion was not important to me. When I bought the A2, none of the Toshibas had 1080P/24 capabilities, so the A2 was the logical choice for me at the time. Now that 1080P/24 is available and DTS-HD:M and DD-TrueHD is starting to show up on many HD disks, the choice for me is between the X2 and the A35. The X2 is still suffering from a couple bugs and I’m not confident Toshiba will correct them, or I would have preferred the X2 over the A35. User reports are very positive towards the A35 and that it works right, right out of the box.

Considering the A2, I think it is a fine little machine and besides feeling a little “playschool”, the only gripe I had was slow start up and load times (although much faster than the X1).

Welcome to the HD-DVD camp. Next year I'll go neutral, but for now I'm on the side where most of my favorite movies are.

I've watched 7 movies so far on my A35. Not one glitch to report. It seems like a decent player.

My EP500 really enjoys Transformers, especially the slow-mo scene where Ironhide jumps over the screaming chick on the street. That scene rocks the foundation.

Congrats. I had every intention of waiting for the war to sort itself out a bit more before jumping in, but near the end of this past summer, I jumped on a deal at Amazon where I got the HD-A2 plus 3 combo HD-DVD's(chose 300, The Departed and Happy Feet) for $210. Plus the 5 free HD-DVD's through Toshiba of course. This was too good to pass up. Since then I got the price reduced another $20 when Amazon reduced the price on the A2. So all that for $190.

I really love the A2. I use it with a Pioneer 1080p 60" plasma (6010), and it is stunning with HD-DVD's. Upconverted SD-DVD's look excellent as well. I do still keep my Denon 2900 connected for DVD-A and SACD.

I have over 500 SD-DVD's, and basically have no free time to watch them, so they mostly sit idle. So the last thing I really wanted to do was to start buying more DVD's (albeit in HD). But you know how that goes.

So I now have about 15-20 HD-DVD's, and although I really don't plan on going crazy buying HD-DVD's, it is fun upgrading some classics (like Goodfellas, Casino, etc.) or buying some fun new movies (like Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead), or buying good movies that look fantastic (like Batman Begins, King Kong, Troy Director's Cut, Matrix movies). Documentaries like Planet Earth and Galapagos look amazing.

So have fun. At these prices, it is very hard to resist taking the plunge into HD.

I heard on AVS that sears in the USA is having a black friday HD-A3 sale for $169.

Really, how can BR compete with prices like that this holiday?

We shall see how much a sub $200 player will effect HDM in January I guess.

I read that too.

If you don't want to sit in a long line or fight with the masses for an A3, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, Costco, and Amazon all have the A2 for a few dollars under $200 currently.

richey, that is how I got mine... Circuit City. Of course, there are no CC stores in Iowa, so I had to have it shipped. What a joke! I ordered on Friday, it shipped out today (not a BIG deal, but slower than most), but they sent it FedEx "SmartPost" which should be called "FedEx SlowPost" or "FedEx ItWillGetThereEventuallyPost"

I've gotten things from woot.com via FedEx SmartPost and it was TERRIBLY slow. My estimated delivery date is the 14th of November!!!

14th of November is an awfully long time to wait for a delivery. I didn't know the pony express was still in business?

Well, at least you'll have your camera batteries charged when it arrives...

Yeah... I gotta look at the positive...

I just read the A3 for $169.00 will be availble not only at Sears stores but online as well from 5:00am until noon, so no lines, it also comes with 300 and the Bourne Identity in the box.
If you are still on the fence waiting to jump and don't with these prices, I would say you were never really on the fence but were looking through a hole in it.

Gee, thanks! Now I have to wonder if I jumped the gun on my A2 for $199.00! If I returned the A2 (which hasn't come yet) it would cost me another $10 plus having to wait 2-3 more weeks. So is it worth "saving" $20 but waiting longer to get the A3 over the A2?

I know that the A3 comes with "300" and a "Bourne" movie, but I don't care for "300" and I've seen the Bourne series enough that I don't care there either. They are a "bonus" I guess.

300 is the worst movie ever to ship free with a HD player. I liked the movie itself OK but it was filmed with an inherent graininess that effectively adds to the overall ambiance, but makes it very disappointing if you wanted to use this as a movie to show off HD.

Close ups of things like Helmets and swords are very sharp but the picture as a whole looks like when they colorize old black and white films, with some extra pastel added.

One thing I do like in the movie though is the artistic scene choreography. You can take almost any second of the movie, hit pause, and it looks like an over dramatized, purposefully, posed painting of some epic moment.

Back to topic though, HD Ver. Free = OK, but don't bother paying 10 bucks extra for for a HD version. You'll get the same grainy effect in a regular DVD.

I just watched transformers the other night on my buddies Sanyo Z5 and Toshiba A20....wow

Nick, I would stick with the A2, I believe it has a few more features looking at Toshibas site, you still got a great deal and who knows if Sears will sell out or what they charge in taxes and delivery.

The A2 actually downconverts DD+ and TrueHD to 1.5 mb/s DTS through optical. The A3 does not do this, it will downconvert to 640 kb/s DD, you're better off the with A2, audio wise.

Cool. Is that only through optical, or can I use digital coax?

I wonder if that is what Toshiba did to "reduce manufacturing costs" with the A3 product line....

I am not sure nick, I know for sure it is thru optical...I don't even think the HD-A2 even has a coaxial output...

I just checked online and the HD-A2 does not have a coax output. Here is an exerpt from a CNET review...

"What's missing? Well, if you step up to the HD-XA2, you get everything on the HD-A2 plus multichannel analog outputs, a coaxial digital audio output, and an RS-232 port. Those connections can certainly be useful, but they're not huge omissions if you have an HDMI-capable receiver and don't need the RS-232 functionality. The step-up HD-A20 and HD-XA2 also offer 1080p output over the HDMI output--instead of the HD-A2's 1080i output. We'll discuss the difference in the performance section.

Savvy home-theater enthusiasts will also notice that the HD-A2 lacks the ability to output in 24 frames, which some claim can reduce judder. The ability to output in 24 frames per second is marketed as a cutting-edge feature, but so far in our tests we have not been able to see any benefit from using this feature. We will continue testing the benefits of 24-frames-per-second output, but as of now we don't consider it a significant omission."

Doh... I just assumed that they had it. I've never run across a player that didn't, but then again, it isn't like I look at players every day.

I guess I'll have to pick up my first optical cable... Glad to know now than in a week (or whenever the slow boat arrives from Texas to Iowa)when I want to fire it up and don't have audio.

Thanks!

What size should it get? I see 5mm and 8mm thickness. I would naturally think that 8mm would be better, but I need to make a somewhat sharp bend from one shelf to the next in my rack and don't know if 8mm would be too stiff??? Gotta love MonoPrice's good prices!

for the extra price for monoprice's premium, its really a no brainer If you're worried about the sharp bend, just get the 6 footer (would recommend this anyway, I have ran into too many circumstances when my 3ft optical wasn't enough).

6' will give you lots to work with.

Zombie non-bait.

Well, good news for HD-DVD...
K-Mart here in the States has dropped carrying Blu-Ray Players and only carry HD-DVD players. They will however continue to carry PS3 units.
Now of course the next big word will come from WARNER BROS. Up until now they have released titles on both Hi-Def formats but word has it they are about to pick only one. This could change the course of which format will finally win.

With PARAMOUNT sticking only with HD-DVD for 18 months and having the huge TRANSFORMERS and next SHREK 3, not to mention STAR TREK (The Original Series Remastered in Hi-Def) coming out in Nov.; and with the price drops on Toshiba players HD-DVD has a lot going for it it right now. Also, consumers are getting very upset over the new regulations set down on Blu-ray players released as of Oct. 31 which will make many new Blu film releases, and bonus features incompatible with previously released players. This all adds up to going against Blu.

This format war is very sleazy.

That works. I was liking the "premium" one, but just wanted to make sure that it would still be flexible.... Plus it comes with a Metal "Fancy" Connector...


Good news about K-Mart. Not that they are a huge reseller or tech stuff, but since they are one and the same pretty much with Sears, I wonder if the ol' Craftsman store will carry just HD-DVD as well? Pure speculation of course. I hope WB sticks with HD-DVD. If not it could almost cancel out some of the impact of the big drop in price for HD-DVD players.

All I want is LOTR on HD DVD. I will then be a very happy man.

I know. It was supposed to be 3rd or 4th quarter of 2007, now sometime in 2008....

That is an absolute MUST BUY for me! It was amazing on SD DVD, HD will be unbelievable.

I didn't know that K-Mart is still around. They're kaput here in Canada.

K-Mart did go bankrupt here in the states but the stores are still open, I believe Sears may have bought them out, since every time I go in one they want me to sign up for a Sears card.

Rumor has it that Wal-Mart will be selling the Toshiba HD-A2 for $99 this Friday to start the holiday season.

The suspense is killing me...

For $99 I probably WOULD return the Circuit City one! I would get about $90 back in the difference in price minus shipping. Plus I would actually get to use my new player this weekend instead of in a week or two.

Does anyone know how to find out about any possible sale on Friday short of calling the stores?

good question.

Wallmart only carries Blu-ray players, am I missing something, I have read they will enter the HD DVD player market soon with models from China.

HomeDad.... Huh???

There have been confirmations of a $198 HD-A2 coming in November (this weekend) for some time and a few stores started selling them early at that price. The whole "only models from China" thing also was "confirmed" to be false. Granted my information is from threads at AVS, but they are all over this situation from what I can gather.

Nick,
After doing some researching, it seems that Wallmart will be carrying the A2 at a price of $198.00,
As far as the China deal and the Venture HD DVD players, Wallmart has indeed backed out of that deal, It makes sense since they planned on joining the fray with a $200.00 HD DVD player and have been beaten to the punch by Toshiba.
I also read that on 10/08 if you go to wallmart.com it will list their Friday deals.

Nick is correct. I was in my local walmart a couple days ago and saw the A2 alongside a bluray player.

The rumors of a $99 player are coming from AVS...and we all know what how accurate they are so I really don't know if it's going to happen or not. Time will tell.

Fingers crossed though...

EDIT: It looks like it is TRUE??? Here is the latest thread confirming the low priced players at Walmart. AVS Toshiba HD-A2

Yeah, Wallmarts were not supposed to put them on the shelves until Friday, apparently some stores jumped the gun.
And if that's true from AVS I'm picking one up.
If true it should be stated in their ad on Thurs. and their sales are also rumored to be available online.

Yup looks like its confirmed on Wal-Mart's site - $98 for the A2 and $15 for select movies!

Just bought the HD-DVD add on last week from Best Buy with the Heroes Boxset and 2 additional free movies (in addition to King Kong packed in with the drive and 5 free movies via a mail in rebate).

At this price I'm temped to buy the standalone tomorrow and sell my 360 drive! Hell I'm even tempted to buy some to give away as Christmas gifts!

The format war is gonna get real interesting during this holiday season

Here it is Walmart
Wow! This deserves its own thread, this may end the format war!

I'm getting one for me tomorrow and maybe one for my father-in-law for Christmas. Then I will just return the Circuit City one. That's what they get for shipping it via FedEx SmartPost (slowest shipping ever!)....

I was waiting for the format war to end before picking a side, and I want one that does 1080p, but at that price it is almost worth getting even if I don't use it as more than an upconverting standard DVD player, since I just have a regular 480p player without upconversion now.

Plus I don't want to support Walmart, but that's another story.

You could always try Best Buy. They are supposed to have it for a dollar more.

I know the reality of what Walmart has done and is doing to the US economy, yet it is so hard not to shop there for us. It is about 5 minutes away where any other place to shop isn't nearly as close. But like you said, that is another story.

I can't believe that you guys in the USA can buy HD DVD players at those prices - I'm sure here in the UK we not only get ripped off on the 'its new technology so you pay more' thing but you guys get it half price just because of the dollar to £ exchange rates. What is the cheapest 1080p player you have over there now? Ours are like the equivalent of $600 still.