Toshiba HD-A2

CNET Editors' Rating

3.5 stars
    Overall score: 7.0 (3.5 stars)

Very good

Average User Rating

75 reviews

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Toshiba HD-A2 - overview Toshiba HD-A2 - front Toshiba HD-A2 - ftalt Toshiba HD-A2 - back
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  • Toshiba HD-A2 - Video
  • Toshiba HD-A2 - overview
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CNET Editors' Review

CNET Editors' Rating

3.5 stars Very good
    Overall score: 7.0 (3.5 stars)
  • Design: 8.0
  • Features: 6.0
  • Performance: 7.0
Edited by: David Katzmaier

The good: Relatively inexpensive; excellent image quality on HD DVD; solid upscaling performance on DVDs; Ethernet jack for firmware upgrades; onboard Dolby TrueHD decoding; much faster load times than its predecessor.

The bad: No 1080p output; HD DVD could lose the format war; no multichannel analog outputs.

The bottom line: Offering most of the performance of more expensive players, the HD-A2 is an excellent value for budget-minded buyers looking to jump into HD DVD.

Review:

Editors' note: Toshiba officially announced it will stop producing HD DVD products, bringing an end to the format war. For that reason, CNET recommends that people avoid buying this player for high-definition movie playback.

So far our biggest knock on dedicated players of HD DVD and Blu-ray discs has been that price puts them out of reach of the average consumer. HD DVD players have always been less expensive than Blu-ray players, however. The first-generation Toshiba HD-A1, for example, debuted at half the price of the least-expensive first-gen standalone Blu-ray players. Now Toshiba has rolled out its second generation line ... Expand full review

Editors' note: Toshiba officially announced it will stop producing HD DVD products, bringing an end to the format war. For that reason, CNET recommends that people avoid buying this player for high-definition movie playback.

So far our biggest knock on dedicated players of HD DVD and Blu-ray discs has been that price puts them out of reach of the average consumer. HD DVD players have always been less expensive than Blu-ray players, however. The first-generation Toshiba HD-A1, for example, debuted at half the price of the least-expensive first-gen standalone Blu-ray players. Now Toshiba has rolled out its second generation line of HD DVD players, and the least-expensive member, the HD-A2, continues the trend. Its street price is near the $300 mark, placing it even closer to affordability for people looking to invest in a high-definition disc format. The HD-A2 lacks some of the features of the step-up HD-XA2, like 1080p output and multichannel analog outputs. On the other hand, the HD-A2 offers the best price-to-performance ratio of any of the standalone high-definition disc players, with excellent image quality on HD DVD discs, and onboard Dolby TrueHD decoding. We can't give the HD-A2 our unqualified support--there's still too much uncertainty in the ongoing format war--but overall it's an excellent value for budget-minded early adopters.

Design
The design of the HD-A2 is a welcome upgrade over the bulky, industrial-looking HD-A1. The HD-A2 has a comparatively slim-line chassis, with measurements coming in at about 2.5 inches high, 17 inches wide, and 13.5 inches deep--a full inch and a half shorter than the A1. The front panel is glossy black and sloped forward, which gives it a unique look among more boxy components. To the far left is the Power button, illuminated by a blue light when it's on and a red light when it's off--unfortunately it can't be dimmed. To the far right is the LED display, which, thankfully, can be dimmed or even shut off if you're striving to limit light sources. The bottom-third of the player contains a flip-down panel; underneath are some additional front-panel controls such as Play, Stop, and chapter forward/backward buttons. There are also two USB-like "extension ports" that don't have any use as far as we know.


Under the flip-down panel are some front-panel controls and the "extension ports."

A big plus in our book is that the HD-A2's remote is completely different than the HD-A1's. Instead of the long metallic wand that became the ire of many an HD DVD early adopter, the HD-A2's clicker has a more traditional design. Toward the center of the remote is the navigation pad, which also has diagonal buttons, for some of the more advanced interactive features on HD DVDs and menus. The rest of the controls are adequately placed, although we would have liked to see more button differentiation. To be fair, the HD-A2's remote is probably average at best; it just seems a lot better when compared to the remote included with the HD-A1 and the step-up HD-XA2.

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Average User Rating

4.0 stars out of 75 user reviews

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star: 49
  • 4 star: 13
  • 3 star: 4
  • 2 star: 6
  • 1 star: 3

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Most Helpful User Review

4.5 stars 24 of 26 users found this review helpful

"The best Toshiba so far" By nelll81

Pros Slim design, Faster movie loading time, better remote control.

Cons Lacks of the 5.1 surround sound for standard DVD, It should be easier to upgrade firmware via USB wireless internet connection and its finish is fine but is finger print sensitive.

Summary The Toshiba HD-A2 is a piece of art, not perfect but art anyways. Mission impossible III (HD) did its job with my Panasonic HDTV 1080i, that was the first movie that I watched in the Toshiba HD-A2. I’m not going to be saying silly comments or be too technical ... Expand full review

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By sommer182

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Specifications

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Quick Specs

  • Product type: HD DVD player
  • Analog to HDMI Conversion: Up to 1080i
  • Sound output mode: Stereo

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