My review of the HD-XA1

[goaliebob99]

I too made the plunge... I recived my HD DVD player from Robert who works for ValueElectronics.. Shipping and Delivery of the unit itself was quick and painless and I have to give Value Electronics A++ for the enjoyment of ordering and shipping!


Setup of the XA1 was a little painful in the begining as the HDMI port would not reconize the HDDVD player and showed a fuzzy screen. After a few reboots everything started working..

It took aproximatly 30 seconds for the HDDVD player to boot up. To me that was quick as my Phillips DVD Recorder takes just as long to boot up. After inital setup I went to go check to see if there was any firmware updates from toshiba as there was none.

The lighted remote controll is cool allthough it looks like its from the 70's. and the Mechanical Door Is Awsome.. My 2 year old daugher was intrested in it too ...

DVD SD playback is WAY COOL and looks very good. I find my self watching all those old dvd's again because the fact that the player does upconvert them to 1080I and also I would like to note that It does look better than some of the DISH HD channels Expecally TNT allthough thats not a real comparison. HD DVD Blows away Dish HD as I once again have that wow factor in my tv that has seemed to be lost with the voom channels and NBC, CBS. I would like to do a comparison with showtime / HBO and see how it works out. The reason for this I would have to suspect has something to do with the bitrates dish is sending allthough Dish HD does look damm good on the True HD channels.

The BUGS...

HDMI is real figity on the XA1. When I swiched over from a HD DVD movie to check the white sox score, I got an HDMI Error and had to restart the entire movie. From there I had to go back to the scene I was viewing.

Next, The toshiba's HDMI port seems to lock up my tv keeping me from switching channels after I turn off the DVD player. To fix this I have to turn off the TV and turn it back on.

Tonight while switching From one SD DVD to another I got the fuzzy screen again and I poped in the other SD DVD movie. From there I got a Green Screen. Once again I had to turn off my tv and turn it back on and everything was fine.

Over all this player is one of the most bad ass players on the market and I feel that It is worth the money for the A1.. The Features gained with the XA1 is not enough to justify the extra costs.. I am quite happy with the preformance so far other than the bugs above. Hopefully toshiba will relase a software fix soon. Other than that the software has been rock solid.

I give the toshiba XA1 A rateing of 9 out of 10. Let me know if there are any questions that you want answered and Welcome to HD DVD!

 

[teamerickson]

The HDMI thing is strange. I guess both units talk to each other. I've had it happen myself.

There are some bugs, but they're worth it and they should be fixed with an update.

You shouldn't have been trying to check the white sox score because it was called at 12pdt due to rain (they were scared to face the Angels again after last night! Check my avaitar).

 

[goaliebob99]

The HDMI thing is strange. I guess both units talk to each other. I've had it happen myself.

There are some bugs, but they're worth it and they should be fixed with an update.

You shouldn't have been trying to check the white sox score because it was called at 12pdt due to rain (they were scared to face the Angels again after last night! Check my avaitar).

This was 2 nights ago.... ... Also the last time I checked we still had the best record in baseball .... Everyone has there off nights

 

[CochiseGuy]

The thing I like the best about my XA1 (also from Robert @VE) so far is . . . . FedEx tracking FINALLY says "out on truck for delivery". Yahoo !!!!! (Sorry to sound like a gushing kid, but I haven't looked forward to something so much since the delivery truck rolled up with my first HDTV!)

It took all week for it to make it from NY to the Arizona desert, but Serenity & Goodfellas from Amazon and Jarhead & Last Samurai from Netflix are here waiting for it, and Apollo 13 & POTO from Robert are coming with the XA1. It will definitely be put through its paces this weekend. My Sony RP HDTV has only DVI input (HDCP compliant) and I'm using an HDMI>DVI adapter, so hopefully I won't have any HDMI issues.....

 

[Ilya]

HDMI is real figity on the XA1. When I swiched over from a HD DVD movie to check the white sox score, I got an HDMI Error and had to restart the entire movie. From there I had to go back to the scene I was viewing.

Next, The toshiba's HDMI port seems to lock up my tv keeping me from switching channels after I turn off the DVD player. To fix this I have to turn off the TV and turn it back on.

HDMI is a two-way protocol with handshaking, negotiation, etc. Sounds like your TV set disables HDMI as soon as you switch inputs. This doesn't happen in my setup (GWIII + HD-A1). I can switch inputs without losing HDMI handshake. I think this HDMI issue is specific to certain types of TV sets.

 

[DanielD]

Sounds like I have to get one of these. Maybe for the birthday in August? The HDMI issues bother me, I hope they get them resolved quickly. Somewhat quirky yet...

 

[CochiseGuy]

My Sony RP HDTV has only DVI input (HDCP compliant) and I'm using an HDMI>DVI adapter, so hopefully I won't have any HDMI issues.....

Ok, I put my XA1 through it paces last weekend. Watched Serenity, Apollo 13, Jarhead, Last Samarai and Phantom of Opera HD DVD's and a couple of scenes from 2 Superbit DVD's and a few episodes of Firefly: Complete Season DVD, to test its upconversiona ability.

Bottom line: I'm 99% satisfied, and it's a definite keeper. Worked perfectly right out of the box. Using a HDMI>DVI adapter, the only HDMI issues (HDMI 0 error message on the XA1 LED display) is when 1) I turned the XA1 with the TV off, and 2) when I had the XA1 paused and switched the TV to Dish 811 component input. The XA1 needs to be connected to a powered up display on the HDCP compliant input so they can handshake & keep the Holly execs happy that their HD content is not going to be compromised. No big deal, both times I just powered down the XA1 and powered up with the TV's DVI input active.

The DD+ audio content outputed on 5.1 analog is stunning. On Serentity & POTO, my 5.1 surround sound system has never sounded so full & alive. In the Apollo 13 blast off scene, the house was shaking. On standard DVD's, the digital output works better. The XA1's internet DAC's appear to be optomized for the HD DVD Dolby Digital + audio.
The HD DVD video output is the clearest, cleanest display I've ever seen on my Sony 57" RP 1080i TV. I've been very pleased with the Sd DVD upconversion quality with the Denon 1910 I've been using for several years. The XA1 upconversion is noticably better than the Denon.

I'd read about long load times for HD DVD, some complaining of several minutes! Those guys need to cut back on the caffeine. From disk tray closing to the FBI warning is 45-55 seconds. Not unreasonable. It has to inspect the disc to determine which laser to use to read it (red laser for DVD or blue for HD DVD), then inspect the HD DVD structure to determine video & audio content. Pop in a HD DVD, go get a beer or glass of wine, and when you come back it will be on the menu selections.
Speaking of menus, the WB releases have a much better menu structure. They're on the bottom, and when you navigate a small, semi-transparent screen pops up with choices, leaving the background scene in place. Much faster navigation with 'cute' little swoshing sounds. Universal releases are more like SD DVD - menus on the side, navigation taking longer as the selections load a whole new screen.

I give the XA1 only 99% satisfied - the only thing I don't like is the remote. Looks nice, but you have to press buttons & the toggle switch very carefully & slowly and aim it directy at the XA1. The backlit lights are a joke. If you pick the remote up the backlit flashes for a second, impossible to find the button you need. The first night I was shaking it madly, trying to get the backlit light to last more than a second. I finally figured out that if you press the OK button, the backlit lights last for about 10 seconds, giving you enough time. And then sitting on the table, the backlit lights flash on occaisionaly with heavy speaker vibrations. It might be useful as an earthquake early warning system . . .

Aside from the remote, one happy camper here. Now, if they will only come out with some more HD DVD titles . . . .

 

[Ilya]

Good reviews!
Can the XA1 remote be programmed to control the volume on an A/V receiver? Or is it limited to TV sets only, like the A1 remote?

 

[CochiseGuy]

Good reviews!
Can the XA1 remote be programmed to control the volume on an A/V receiver? Or is it limited to TV sets only, like the A1 remote?

No, just the TV set. From what I understand, it's just like the A1 remote only with backlit lights. In watching standard DVD's the other night, I found it was a lot more responsive on DVD's. So, maybe a firmware update for the A1/XA1 will make it more responsive on HD DVD.

Full Metal Jacket & Unforgiven HD DVD's on their way from Netlix today - they've been great for HD DVD's for me. I didn't think I wanted to own either of these. But, in next releases I have U-571 & Chronicles of Ridddick on their way from Amazon.

BTW - not to push Amazon (I don't own any stock ), they have a promo that if you buy 3 HD DVD's (or an HD DVD player), they give you a 10% discount off HD DVD titles for the rest of the year.