Home > Consumer Reviews > Toshiba HD-A20 1080p HD DVD Player

The A20 did everything I wanted in a HD-DVD player, and at a reasonable price. I know everyone is debating the VHS/BluRay thing, and I finally had to decide how much longer I was going to do without a Hi-Def DVD player. Well, I bet on VHS and won, and this time I'm betting on HD-DVD, we'll see who wins later on. With the announcements of all the studios flocking to HD-DVD and the low entry price for 1080i HD-DVD around 200 bucks, it makes sense that blu-ray is headed down the betamax path.

There was one nice/not so nice thing about my A20. Amazon shipped it with firmware rev 1.0. Toshiba is now releasing rev 2.5. Is this a problem, well, it depends on how you use your player.

I went the direct route (bought a toshiba player with rev 1.0 firmware). I bought the miami vice director's cut disc with tons of extra features just for HD-DVD in it - inside the box was a TSA-style warning slip that said basically this disc makes use of ADVANCED HD-DVD features and may not be fully functional in your player without a firmware upgrade. I followed standard user proceedure and ignored it of course, played the video, got the pip shooting of the show (also in HD) and commentary, and technical specs on the boats, cars, etc, and suddenly pow - my screen displayed "Cannot play this disc - error 4083FD20BC3FF", which seemed more like a nuclear launch code than an error number but sure 'nuf the same number was in the player's VFD display on the front panel - only option was to pull the plug because this thing was dead.

After this I grabbed the nearest blue cat-5 cable on my home network, plugged it in, clicked DHCP in the network setup box, and in a few minutes I was connected to toshiba direct where the new version was 2.5

At 3.0 Mbps the file transferred pretty quick (36 blocks - the display updated 1/36, 2/36, etc. to let you know something was happening - patience is definitely called for during a firmware update I learned) - then the player went through a 5 stage update&burn Stage 1 - Stage 2. Now the most evil stage was Stage 5, which took over an hour to complete (I did finally RTFM and it said firmware updates took 20 minutes - more like 2.0 hours and you should not power off the player, insert a disc, press a button, scratch an itch, etc)

I left it overnight and came back the next day since the "successful" update powers off the player when done. I had Version 2.5 instead of 1.0 of the toshiba firmware. Playing Miami Vice 2006 director's cut again with all the neat HD features worked just fine this time.

Lesson learned - Everyone is shipping with "basic" firmware which lets you press play and turn on languages, but doesn't support all the u-control fetures quite right. Once shipped, the semi-final firmware is installed in the customer's home - by 1 of 3 methods

1 - The way I did - plug it into a broadband network link and go. I guess they figure that the people buying a HD-DVD will have a home network and include the required RJ-45 LAN connector on the back to save yourself some grief.

2 - plug your pc into a broadband link and download it, burn a cd-rom, put the cd-rom in the player, upon which it will do the upgrade. I guess people who don't have a cable stretcher for their cat-5 ethernet will use this option and sneaker-net the firmware into the machine.

3 - If you have HD-DVD but lack any computer skills at all, then call toshiba's 800 number M-F 9-5 EST and ask that they mail you the disk you could burn yourself in step 2, then when the USPS gets around to dropping it in your mailbox, put it in the player and do step 2 above.

I really did consider the option 1 a nice touch - being able to have appliances upgrade themselves over the house internet DHCP server is certainly a valuable addition - yes it took 2 hours instead of the manual's 20 minutes, but I'd be willing to bet the guy who wrote the manual had never done a firmware upgrade in his life so he was guessing in the wind on the 20 minute timeframe and was off by a factor of 6. It still beats burning my own firmware disc or waiting for them to answer the phone and snail-mail me a disc to use.

I have to wonder though. What about firmware rev 2.4 or 2.6? How often does toshiba find a bug and re-relaease the firmware? Should I invest in a UPS for my HD-DVD player to keep it running through a power failure for 2 hours if that happens while doing a firmware upgrade? They do caution you that any disturbance to the machine during the upgrade will leave it in an unusuable state requiring factory service.

Toshiba's thoughtfulness of putting an "instant gratification" port on the back of the player gives it 5 stars. If you've just bought the latest in technology, you won't mind a 2 hour upgrade when it could take two weeks if option 3 is the only one available. Fortunately for me I already had a blue cable in the media room to talk to the HD Projector and control its input selection / get bulb life info, etc. It wasn't alot of greif to upgrade the unit, however the manual is definitely WRONG - it is NOT a 20 minute process. Leave it overnight and UPS your HD-TV player + network and you will probably not have any problems when rev 2.6 comes out.

I just got this last week, and I've been surprised at how easy it's been to deal with. I plugged the HDMI cable (not included in the box, which is a shame, but I bought one with Amazon's deal for a good price) into my Sharp Aquos 42" LCD, and the optical cable into my stereo, and that was pretty much it. The unit fired up, it delivers a gorgeous picture with great sound, and that's really all there is to it. The only trouble I had was trying to connect it to the internet, but that was because I was setting up a wifi connection; if I'd just had an ethernet cable to plug into the back it would've been simple. All in all, it's dead simple to use, delivers exactly as promised, and is at a price point that may just bring it into the reach of a lot of people like me who were on the fence for so long.

This player is both an excellent HD DVD player and an up-converting standard DVD player. With standard dvds of movie material, it is much better than my Sony NS75H. The one weakness is that it does not display dvds from video sources--old tv shows that were originally recorded to video tape and not film--as well as the Sony. However, the standard dvds of Casino Royale or Curse of the Golden Flower look as if they are HD material--until you play a true HD DVD! Toshiba has an excellent record at updating all of their players, and in Sept. or Oct. this player will be capable of 1080p 24! If you have a TV capable of that but believe the XA2 to be a bit too expensive, this player offers excellent capabilities. However, if your TV is only capable of 720P or 1080i, I would suggest the A2--if you have no plans to upgrade at this time!

This review is based on my personal experience using it. The player looks good and plays great. I have a LCD HD-TV (Most people feel the need to add what kind of TV they have, the size and all the specs but is completely unnecessary) and look amazing in both HD and Standard. I am not a tech geek, just a casual TV user. They guy that comes home from work and watches some TV and a movie here and there with the wife.
PROS:

1) HD-Playback is outstanding and the up-conversion on the standard DVD is amazing. I had an older Toshiba up-conversion DVD player and was not nearly as good as the Toshiba HD-A20.

2) Easy to use and hook up. Has HDMI (of course) and all the other connections you would need such as composite, optical and standard.

3) Ethernet connection on back. This is for Web Enabled features on some HD-DVD's and for firmware updates. I also have a BD player which does not have a Ethernet connection which I think is a drawback. (NOTE: While installing the firmware my power surged and yes it is hooked up to a surge protector. The player reset. If the DVD player is interrupted while downloading firmware it will NOT work. I brought it to Best Buy who were out of the A20 and they upgraded me to the A30. The only difference I noticed between the two is the look and the remote on the A30 can not control the TV as well. Who cares. That why we have two hands.)

4) Remote can also be programmed to control basic function of your TV. The reason I am adding this is because the HD-A30 remote can not do that.

5) On the front has hidden controls for a sleek look and also has 2 USB connections. The manual says for future use (good thing for the Ethernet connection). (Maybe for thumb drives and what-nots)

Cons:

1) A bit slow at start-up. Maybe a minute to minute and a half. But this is not a big deal. I think people only complain about it because they need something to whine about. Turn it on and by the time you tear through all the plastic and get that frustrating sticker off the dang DVD, the player will be ready to go. It is a form of a computer and they all take time to warm up.

2) Firmware takes a while to download and install. The firmware is not detrimental to watching movies. It is easiest to do it while you are just watching TV and not when you are getting ready to watch a movie.

3) The remote could be set up a bit better. Just awkward.

4) This is more for people with younger kids. The DVD tray is a bit delicate. My 4 year old likes to put his own movies in, the tray is a not sturdy and looks and feels like it could break easy so be careful. It is not delicate like a mouse trap but is not like that of the old school players.

Overall this player is great and I am glad I bought it. I have watched is HD, Transformers, 300 (looked grainy but I read that is done on purpose by the director). In Standard and all looked great, Blood Diamond, The Condemned, Invincible, and the greatest movie ever made National Lampoons Christmas Vacation (never to early to watch that one).
GO NEW YORK ISLANDERS!!!!!!!!!!!

The Look and Sound of Perfect is the slogan for HD-DVD, and it couldn't be more true. The Toshiba HD-A20 comes fully equipped with all the hardware needed to play all current and probably future HD-DVDs, though I would HIGHLY reccomend a firmware upgrade before use, which can be done simply by connecting the unit to an internet connection, or calling Toshiba and requesting an upgrade disc.

The player was very easy to set up (HDMI cables make things simple). My older DVD players required component video and audio cables which was what 5 cables? Now its only one! Plus the power cable of course.

The startup time isn't really annoying... it's worth waiting 30 seconds to see a movie in a better-than-movie-theater quality. The quality of HD-DVDs are simply incredible, I constantly ask myself questions like, oh wow there was supposed to be snow in that scene? Or, oh that old trunk was dusty?! Now, some HD-DVDs seem to be better than others in quality (factoring in color and noise)but by enlarge the format is absolutely terrific. The audio even seems to be eons better than the regular DVD format!

My suggestion would be to buy this player, because the lower models only support 1080i... unless of course your tv only supports 1080i too, then don't waste your money because you won't be able to use 1080p. Great technology, at a much cheaper price than blu-ray, and you can finally use 1080p on your HD television!