·  Approximate Unit Dimensions: Width: 17.72" x Height: 4.33" x Depth: 13.39" / Approximate Unit Weight: 16 lbs

Three weeks ago the world’s first commercially marketed HD DVD player debuted in the United States from Toshiba Corporation. Three models were released since. The HD-A1, which quickly sold out at large retailers like Best Buy, the HD-D1, a Wal-Mart exclusive, which appears to be a slightly different version of the HD-A1, and finally the HD-XA1, which carries a higher price tag of approximately $799 as opposed to the $499 price tag charged for the HD-A1 and the HD-D1. RCA will also be releasing an HD DVD player for approximately $499 while LG is also rumored to be working on an HD DVD player hardware release too.

When the cheaper Toshiba HD-A1 debuted at Best Buy stores on or around April 18, of 2006, the retail stores quickly sold out and within less than a week of the debut, Best Buy.com stopped accepting customer preorders and soon after there were people who had bought the players in stores selling units online through auction web sites at prices more expensive than the priciest of the first generation models to be released since. As a reviewer I found the entire issue extremely frustrating since I had reserved an HD-A1 in February and could not do anything but watch as other websites began to post reviews of the unit. These reviews often appeared to be either very positive or extremely negative. When I finally received Toshiba’s HD-A1 model to review, the unit was defective and had to be returned. I was livid then because I had HD DVD titles I was granted to review and a deadline looming over my head. So Toshiba sent me a loaner of their high-end unit, the HD-XA1, which sells for around $799 at retailers on and offline.

Within minutes of using the Toshiba HD-XA1 High Definition DVD Player I fell in love with the unit and was pleasantly surprised that none of the issues regarding discs freezing, slow start ups, and out of synch sound appeared to plague my viewing of both high definition and standard definition DVD software. Perhaps it was because I had read about the caveats related to the HD-A1 HD DVD player on other web sites that I was prepared for whatever shortcomings the unit might have, but despite whatever complaints some critics and costumers may have had about the entry level unit, the HD-XA1 HD DVD Player did not suffer from any of the problems related to playback of discs in high definition. So three days after testing the unit I took the plunge and purchased the Toshiba HD-XA1 from J&R Music and Computer World in Lower Manhattan, where with tax the unit cost me $866.95. While that is a lot of money to spend on an HD DVD player, it is still less than the entry-level Blu-Ray disc players Sony and some other manufacturers are going to sell and I felt safer investing in this player because of the good experience I had with the loaner Toshiba sent me. It was also easier to find and purchase an HD-XA1 because most consumers understandably purchased the HD-A1 since it certainly is wallet friendly.

While there may be little difference in terms of overall technical specifications between the HD-A1 and HD-XA1, I found that the improved performance and reliability based on my own personal experiences justified the extra four hundred dollars plus NYC sales tax I paid for the unit. So I returned the loaner unit to Toshiba and hooked up my player, which was a synch. Now I was ready to give the system a workout and then detail my experience and opinion. I tested the Toshiba HD-XA1 on three different widescreen televisions. One was a 23-inch widescreen Toshiba LCD flat panel HD TV with HDMI and a maximum resolution of 720p. The other was a 32-inch widescreen Tatung LCD flat panel HD TV with a DVI-D input with HDCP and a maximum resolution of 1080i and the last TV I tested it on was an older Philips 30-inch standard definition widescreen flat screen tube with component video input and a maximum resolution of only 480i since at the time I purchased that particular television, HD TV was still beyond my financial means and there was no HD DVD software or players available to make me justify the purchase. The Toshiba HD DVD Player worked well on all three televisions and since I experimented with down-converting the resolution for the Philips FST widescreen television, I even tested the unit using ordinary RCA composite video and audio inputs and the picture looked great.

Now please keep in mind that this is really a player designed for HD capable televisions and monitors with the appropriate inputs so as good as I felt the picture quality looked on a standard definition widescreen TV, I only tried it out because I had one readily available in my office and to get the full benefits of HD DVD you should at least have a TV capable of 720p resolution and preferably HDMI input. On the 23-inch Toshiba LCD widescreen HDTV at 720p using only the supplied HDMI cable that came with the unit, the HD-XA1 played back HD DVD titles like Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s “Serenity” and Warner Home Video’s “The Last Samurai” with lush colors and nice contrast and the sound came out of the television’s SRS WOW Surround Sound Speakers beautifully. Picture and sound through one cable is a beautiful thing. Yet for me the real test was going to be on my 32-inch Tatung LCD HDTV because that television does not have an HDMI input. Instead it has a DVI-D input with HDCP. Previously I had a standard definition up converting DVD player through HDMI output, which worked fine on my 23-inch LCD, but using commercially available and copy protected standard DVDs, would only playback standard definition DVD titles in 480p, which I otherwise known as progressive scan, on my 32 inch set with HDMI to DVI. So I hooked up the HD-XA1 using a Belkin Pure AV HDMI to DVI converter cable to the DVI-D with HDCP input on the TV and used a fiber optic digital audio cable on my 7.1 channel JVC home theater receiver, which does feature two HDMI inputs and one HDMI output along with the ability to up convert composite, Svideo, and component video inputs to near HD resolution through HDMI much like an up converting DVD player. I actually used this receiver on both the 32-inch and 23-inch LCD HD televisions because I wanted to see how it worked. While sound can be transferred directly from the player to the TV via HDMI, the audio did not pass through the receiver to the HDMI input on the 23 inch TV so regardless of whether I used a TV with HDMI or DVI with HDCP, I would still have to use either coaxial or fiber optic digital audio cables to get sound or use analogue RCA composite audio cables to try out Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby TrueHD two channel audio. For the two-channel Dolby TrueHD Soundtrack found on Warner Home Video’s “The Phantom Of The Opera” HD DVD release, one must use the supplied RCA composite audio cables that come with the unit. The player features built in audio decoders for these soundtracks, but in part because this is new technology, the audio hardware required to decode a digital Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD soundtrack does not really exist at least at affordable retail prices for the average consumer budget. Like anything else, this will change and prices will drop as will the cost of HD DVD capable players if the technology catches on, but for now one will have to decide whether or not they prefer hearing the new sound formats in analogue LPCM using the 5.1 analogue cables or choose the easier digital cables most people with standard definition DVD players and Dolby Digital/DTS capable receivers already use. So until the home theater technology catches up to Toshiba’s HD DVD format and until these receivers become more affordable, I am sticking with fiber optic digital audio except for cases where an analogue hookup is required in order to adequately review an HD DVD title.

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Using coaxial or fiber optic digital audio cable input, the HD DVD player will convert to bitstream to something closer to what standard definition DVD films already use. In the case of my JVC receiver, the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround Sound found on all of the HD DVD titles I’ve seen was interpreted as DTS Neo 6 Theatrical Surround Sound. Personally I found the DTS Neo 6 Theatrical Surround Sound to be livelier than almost any other Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 Surround Soundtrack I have ever heard thus far so personally I saw the sound conversion for now more as a plus given the circumstances. Please note results may vary according to one’s own home theater hardware capability. I watched three of the four HD DVD titles I was supplied to review as well as test the unit. While I have read complaints about the HD-A1 with regard to playback freezing and so forth on other web sites, I have not experienced any of these problems at all using both HD DVD and standard definition DVDs and the Toshiba HD-XA1 was able to upconvert regular DVDs on my 32 inch TV with DVD-D with HDCP to 1080i resolution better than my other DVD player does using HDMI. I tested the player with Warner Home Video’s “The Phantom Of The Opera” and “The Last Samurai” and I also tested the unit with Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s “Serenity” and “Doom: Unrated Extended Edition” and experienced no glitches whatsoever from these HD DVD titles. Preparing for a standard definition DVD review of Lionsgate Home Entertainment’s “SAW II,” I watched both “SAW” and “SAW II” back to back in part because I never screened the first film and wanted to enjoy the second film with some knowledge about the first film. Playback on these titles was excellent. I will have full reviews of “SAW II” as well as the HD DVD releases of “Serenity”, “The Phantom Of The Opera”, and “The Last Samurai” presently, but for now I can say that so far none of these titles have disappointed me. In addition to standard RCA composite video and audio cables as well as an HDMI cable, the Toshiba HD-XA1 High Definition DVD Player includes a long wand like remote that lights up and makes reading the button functions easier. The remote is absolutely necessary for playback of all the available features on the HD DVD titles on the HD-XA1 so keep it safe. The player also features an Ethernet LAN port for broadband Internet connection for possible future HD DVD interactive features and firmware upgrades. Cosmetically, the HD-XA1 is a beautiful looking piece of technology with a motorized door that opens to reveal the disc tray, basic function controls and two USB extension ports for possible interactive game features that could be found on a disc and may require a game controller and whatnot. While the software available on HD DVD has the potential to display HD content at 1080p, the HD-XA1 will only generate an maximum resolution of 1080i. I imagine second or third generation players will feature 1080p playback capability, but since my 32-inch set has a maximum resolution of 1080i, which is the case with many HDTVs on the market, the limitation was not an issue for me. The rear of the player also features an RS-232C port, composite and Svideo output and component video output in addition to the HDMI, LAN, fiber optic and coaxial digital audio outputs and the two-channel and 5.1 channel analogue audio outputs.

Since my personal experience with the Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD Player was very positive, I think the $799 price tag for the extra reliability was worth it and between the available players out in the market on and offline, consumers might be able to find and purchase this model easier than the HD-A1 or Wal-Mart’s HD-D1 model. While I cannot guarantee your experience will be as positive as my own, no one can, I am very happy with the HD-XA1 and I do recommend checking it out for yourself. With more titles already coming out from both Warner Home Video and Universal Studios Home Entertainment almost every week and with other distributors recently announcing support for the unit, I think at $799 or $499, Toshiba’s HD DVD players are a good bargain for next generation technology and definitely is a format to watch as time goes by and the market ultimately determines what will be the dominant next generation home video format, if any. Big thanks to Ken Ayukawa at Toshiba for the support and faith…

© Copyright 2006 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.

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