Home > Consumer Reviews > Toshiba HD-XA2 1080p HD-DVD Player

The HD is as expected - beautiful picture. For years to come we will be viewing regular SD DVD'd. The SD picture is stunning. I also have a PS3 for my Blu-Ray but the SD on the PS3 is just fair. Both standards put out a stunning HD picture. This player is very well built - heavy duty aluminum throughout its construction. Loads and opens much faster than previous models and the price made it a reasonable purchase. I find many of my Netflix HD DVD's are HD-DVD. If one enjoys viewing @ home one needs both formats for the time being. The outstanding SD upconverting is the deal breaker for me. I have seen and owned upconverting players before - yes one's set will say it is 1080 i or p - but it does not look any better. This player makes SD look beautiful! From what I have viewed of both formats the HD-DVD are looking better to my eyes. The picture is a little sharper - on both the colors are fully saturated and stunning. For now enjoy - who cares who wins!

I was very very very very very (did I mention very?), hesitant to move into the Hi Def arena, due mostly to the fact that the whole HD-DVD v's Blu-Ray debacle was still ongoing. I researched quite a bit and very nearly went for blu-ray (technically speaking it is superior) but given the dificulties of major manufacturing refits, and the outlying cost to distribute, I felt that that the technically inferior HD-DVD would win out and opted for that. It all reminds me of VHS v's Betamax, vhs being technicaly inferior but winning non the less.
Well this sounds as though I am putting HD-DVD down I am not. I recieved this player today and after setting it up (around three minutes) I sat back and watched Swordfish on my 47" Westinghouse (also fantastic) and all I can say is.........WOW! the picture quality is amazing, I mean amazing, I really cannot begin to describe it. I remember watching my first DVD "Idle Hands" and could not believe the quality, and today I got that feeling all over again.
The Player itself looks amazing, beautifully built, it feels real, not like the lumps of plastic thrown out a lot these days. The remote is one of the sexiest things ever (I just wish I din't have so much AV or I would use it instead of the harmony.
Don't wait any longer this is what your television has been wating for go out, buy (get it here on amazon, cheaper than anywhere, and shipped next day), I swear you will love it just as I do.......

I recently bought the HD-XA2 HD DVD player and could not be happier. I have a Samsung 40" LCD HDTV LN-T4061F which displays at 1080P to match with the player and the picture is incredible. Color, depth, smoothness, everything is almost too good. I have HD Cable which only broadcasts in 1080i at max is rough to look after watching HD through this player. My sound system is OK, I have a pioneer 5.1 system that is run through an optical cable and what comes out is incredible, but I really want a new system that has HDMI and can run Dolby TrueHD. Any suggestions? To all those who complain about load time...it is not that bad, maybe 30 seconds, go get a drink while you are waiting. I have had no problems with the player before and after I uploaded the latest firmware update and have had no problems with time delay with the remote. This machine is awesome, try watching Troy, even if you do not like the movie, it is like looking at live action. I can not wait to see Matrix on HD DVD. For comparison, I did have the XBOX360 HD DVD player, it was OK. It played fine, but the picture was flat compared to the 3-D like images on the Toshiba. In part because of the lack of HDMI. I also have a friend that has PS3 and I am not too impressed. The picture is good, but blu-ray seems to lack the color and contrast depth that I see in HD DVD. We will see what happens in the future. This player also upconverts very well, but even the best upconverted movie does not touch my HD DVD's. To sum up, this player is worth every penny, I have had no problems except taking my face of the TV!

Excellent DVD player. Watching it on a Toshiba 72MX195 DLP television. The picture is terrific. The sound is also great (5.1 through my stereo system). The upconversion of standard definition DVDs is about the best I have seen. The only drawbacks are the slow initial startup. Though, it really does not bother me. And that I notice the transition (there is a noticeable stop in action) between layers on standard DVDs.

Bought this after seeing online reviews (Sound and Vision etc.). The picture detail on upconverted DVDs (with a 720p dlp display) is amazing. I can imagine how good they'd look on a 1080p display. I tried a couple of HD DVDs and of course it got even better. Another reason I purchased this player was it's ability to decode new generation of Dolby sound within the player and output it to the external 5.1 inputs of my amp since my amp does not have hdmi connection. All I can say is the difference in sound quality is fantastic. I've had no problems with the unit or the backlit remote. I'm very happy with this purchase.