Toshiba HD-XA1

Pros: Sound quality of the DTS track good, picture quality acceptable but slightly below expectations

Cons: Every interaction with the player is very slow, this is a first generation firmware issue.

Summary: I was viewing the picture on a 12 foot screen using a Digital Projection 3 chip Projector with 2048x1080 resolutions up converted to 1080p. I compared the picture quality of The Last Samurai HD disc, from the XA1, with the same SD DVD output from a Kaleidescape server up converted to 1080i by the server and then to 1080p by the projector.
I was surprised that the differences were not as marked as I would have expected. Yes the standard DVD output from the Kaleidescape was softer with less detail and not as film like but I have seen pictures with more punch from my Satellite provider when transmitting content filmed in HD.
While setting up for this comparison the operational weakness of the player became very apparent;
1. Start up and stop times, minutes not seconds.
2. Response to any key on remote controller very slow, one initially thinks the controller is not responding.
3. When changing resolution of the player using the resolution key on the remote, the player stops, you then push the play button and the player starts up with the new resolution, but not from where the movie was when the resolution key was pressed but from the start of the movie. The problem is compounded if you need to go from 480p to 1080i the process needs to be completed twice, 408p-720p-1080i which takes several minutes to get back to were you started from in the movie.
4. The above process is similar when you switch from HDMI output to an analogue output, the player stops and returns to the beginning of the movie before setting the new output.
5. Trying to get the remotes back lighting to stay on for more than 1 second requires shaking the life out of it.
6. The menu structure for the player was quite basic.

My conclusion is that this product has been released with firmware in a very primitive state and/or the internal processors are too slow to achieve acceptable load and response times.