What does a $98 HD-DVD player look like?

[yettitheman]

Yes.... I got one today.

So, you are probably wondering what a $98 HD-DVD player looks like (in this case, a Toshiba HD-A2, Made in China).

Well, so far, I'm impressed. I'll let the pictures talk.

Shiny shiny box!

Packaged pretty well.

Firmware notice. Nice.

Remote control..

Cables and such. Yes, those are my pants :lol:

Front View

Back Panel



I'll post back after I hook it up to my TV and do the firmware update.
And yes, you can see my pants in one picture. I was hot

 

[yettitheman]

Connectors

 

[Nomo]

I hate you.
See my post in the Deals section.

 

[yettitheman]

See my post in the Deals section.

That's effed up.

 

[Adam]

That's a pretty spacious pizza box that you're got there, yetti, although I think that I can see the lid in the last two photos of your first post.

 

[yettitheman]

That's a pretty spacious pizza box that you're got there, yetti, although I think that I can see the lid in the last two photos of your first post.

Yeah... I've added a few boxes under my bridge. I'm king of the homeless lol

I'm actually watching The Addams Family with this... it's doing better than my Sony DVD player... however I do believe that it is not up-converting through component. Not a big deal to me right now, it's only a 30" TV with component only (1080i monitor).

When I get a different TV, I'll slap HDMI on it and I'm sure it will do much better. I'll be sending off for that 5 HD-DVD offer as well, so I'll have more analysis later on how the quality actually is.

Yes, the boot up and turn off time is somewhat long, but it's not annoying to me. In fact, the rest of the operation is good.

However, the 1.2/T17 firmware is the latest (at least that I'm sure of), and updating right now won't do anything except say "uh... can't do now" or if you try again, get a blank screen and then it locks up and scares the **** out of you... so yeah.

 

[Gasman]

however I do believe that it is not up-converting through component.

Nope, SD DVDs will only play at 480p through component.
But a HD DVD will play at 1080i.

 

[Gasman]

However, the 1.2/T17 firmware is the latest (at least that I'm sure of), and updating right now won't do anything except say "uh... can't do now" or if you try again, get a blank screen and then it locks up and scares the **** out of you... so yeah.

Nope that is wrong. It is 2.5
And can be put directly onto a blank CD-R.

Real simple to do, and MUCH faster than ethernet update.

Exact link for the HD-A2
http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/tacpassets-images/notices/hddvd2firmware.asp

 

[yettitheman]

Nope that is wrong. It is 2.5
And can be put directly onto a blank CD-R.

Real simple to do, and MUCH faster than ethernet update.

Exact link for the HD-A2
http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/tacpassets-images/notices/hddvd2firmware.asp

Oh sweet. That's what I needed, a much easier way to update.

 

[gus6464]

At least Toshiba had the decency to include some A/V cables with you A2. My A3 just came with a power cord and remote.

 

[yettitheman]

I will say this, the fan is noisy. Expect me to remedy this very soon when I get some time (and money ).

 

[zildjian]

I will say this, the fan is noisy. Expect me to remedy this very soon when I get some time (and money ).

Weird. Mine is quiet. Maybe I've gone deaf!!!! My girlfriend thinks it's quiet too, so hopefully it's not just us. Anybody else have fan noise issues? I don't understand why the difference would occur.

 

[Nomo]

Weird. Mine is quiet. Maybe I've gone deaf!!!! My girlfriend thinks it's quiet too, so hopefully it's not just us. Anybody else have fan noise issues? I don't understand why the difference would occur.

Just got mine hooked up.
I don't feel that the fan is execptionally noisy.
Is it just the sound of a fan or more of a grinding noise?
My only disappointment so far is the lack of a digital coax connection. I just hate optical. Too much of a pain to blindly insert to the back of anything.

Also, has any one else had problems installing the firmware update?
The disc seemed to burn just fine, but when i insert it into the player I get the message "this is not a DVD and will not play".
I'm thinking the player is particular about the brand of CD-R I'm using.

 

[Adam]

Also, has any one else had problems installing the firmware update?
The disc seemed to burn just fine, but when i insert it into the player I get the message "this is not a DVD and will not play".

Nomo, sounds like you might be missing a step in the process prior to putting the disc in. That happened to my parents when they tried to install a firmware update on a Philips DVDR. To fix their problem, I had them open the disc tray, initiate the firmware update menu (using their remote in that case), and then close the disc tray with the update disc in it. Perhaps that might work for you.

 

[Nomo]

LOL, thanks for comparing me with your parents.
I'll keep trying.

 

[Adam]

LOL, thanks for comparing me with your parents.
I'll keep trying.

Didn't mean it like that! The instructions were misleading for their update, and I wasn't sure if something similar was happening to you. Good luck with that. Hopefully someone here will chime in and let you know how they got it to work.

 

[Gasman]

Also, has any one else had problems installing the firmware update?
The disc seemed to burn just fine, but when i insert it into the player I get the message "this is not a DVD and will not play".:

Are you making sure you are doing a executable ISO (CD image)??

 

[Johnd]

Also, has any one else had problems installing the firmware update?
The disc seemed to burn just fine, but when i insert it into the player I get the message "this is not a DVD and will not play".
I'm thinking the player is particular about the brand of CD-R I'm using.

Just a few key steps Nomo when burning updates:
-Make sure the .zip file extracts properly
-Only burn the large .iso file
-Burn as an image and not as a data CD
-Burn using the slowest setting
-User a free program such as DeepBurner (link)

Got this from avs when researching A2 update. Cheers.

 

[Gasman]

-User a free program such as DeepBurner (link)

Why a free program?
Nero (even regular), works perfect.
I have to assume almost all people have nero.

Here are some ways to burn an ISO.
http://www.petri.co.il/how_to_write_iso_files_to_cd.htm

But good post John.

 

[Nomo]

Thanks guys.
I have Roxio. Came with the computer. For the amount of burning I do it works fine, (til now).
I'll try some of your suggestions. The executable disk idea seems to make the most sense.