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

I decided to dip my toes into the HD disc market after buying a HDTV. The A20 seemed like a great match because it allows me to play all my current DVDs (I have a lot, and don't plan to toss them) very well and it won't break my bank account.

It upconverts DVDs to *near* HD quality. Cartoons like Disney look perfect, Monster House, Iron Giant, they all look great. Star Wars, Star Trek...wow! I read the one model up did even better but I didn't want to spend a lot on a player.

I've picked up around 10 HD discs and they're great, yes better than the upconvert. But unless you have a larger than 42 inch HDTV you might not notice any difference, honestly.

If you buy this player you won't be upset and you MUST then go and buy planet earth and batman. If you're a female maybe music and lyrics.

I'm planning on picking up content that really takes advantage of HD, so a lot of travel docs, nature docs etc:

Just got this in yesterday and can echo the thoughts of others on the slow poweron process. Coming from a previous (four year old) Toshiba DVD player that took forever to power on, it's not a huge difference to me. The lag just continues to be annoying (probably more so to my 4 year old son than me).

The upconvert ability for standard definition dvd's is at least half the reason I bought this player, it didn't make sense to spend the money on a new upconverting dvd player when for a few dollars more I could get something that played HD disks. The only complaint I have, and this isn't against Toshiba as I haven't found any players capable of this, but the upconvert is only available on the HDMI outputs. As my Onkyo receiver doesn't have HDMI in (or out), I had to connect direct to my TV and use optical audio (as I did with my old player) to the receiver. This makes for a somewhat confusing setup for my wife. Interestingly it does still output on the component cables while the HDMI is active, so I could still hook it up to the receiver and the family would at least see dvd's, albeit not as nicely upconverted.

All in all, my opinion is that it's a good deal for the money if you can live with the long startup times. Wish my wife hadn't just got Planet Earth for her birthday on standard def dvd as I would have bought the HD version - it still looks stunning though.

Toshiba has set new MSRPs for both the HD-A2 and the HD-20 decreasing both by $100.00, making them $299.99 and $399.99 respectively. If Amazon keeps their discounts anywhere from 20-30% off the MSRP, then waiting will definitely be worth it.

This is an awesome player. 1080P. Picture and sound are perfect. Plus I get 5 HD DVD's! What a deal.
Why I chose HD DVD over Blu Ray:
1) Sony has a major history of giving up on stuff they create (beta max, SACD's, mini-discs, etc.).
2) Sony has had a lot of troubles with the Blu-ray. There have been instances (The Prestige) of something called "disc rot." This is when mold spots begin to appear on the disks.
3) The 5th Element (Blu-ray) was a terrible release. They had to re-release it.
4) Yes, Sony is "winning" this format war. HOWEVER, pretty much all the current adopters will lose out when the new "standard" is released. I have read that some players will either not function, or will function at a reduced capacity.
6) Yes, more studios have agreed to support Sony. HOWEVER, they have been sued on at least two occasions within the past few weeks by companies stating they have stolen their technology. Also, there have been inquires into their possibly shady business practices in signing on so many exclusive studios.
7)Yes, again, more studios are currently supporting Blu-ray (or are neutral). HOWEVER, the biggest studio of them all is reportedly Universal. They are firmly HD DVD.
8) Sony equipment is overpriced.
9) Most of the Blu-ray players are actually PS3's. The gaming division of Sony is in a LOT of trouble right now. They released a report recently that they didn't lose as much money as they had thought because they didn't sell enough PS3's! (since they lose a certain amount of money for each, actually selling less PS3's resulted in less of a loss! Go figure). How much longer is Sony going to be able to hemorrhage money in this department?

I am not a Sony hater. I own several Sony products, including an amazing 60 inch 1080P HDTV and a camcorder (which I reviewed). However, I think HD DVD is a much better deal. Specifically:
1) Stand alone players are much cheaper! (my wife would have THROWN me into the STREET if I had spent the money for a Blu-ray).
2) The quality, in my mind is the same in terms of video. If you don't have a 1080P TV, you don't need a 1080P player! Don't believe the hype. (This player is 1080P, however). Check out Toshiba's other players depending upon your needs.
3) The extras are much more extensive on HD DVD.
4) This HD DVD player had an Ethernet jack for updates. How cool is that? Toshiba is planning a lot of updates which will only improve the functionality of this great player. How many Blu-ray players currently allow that?
5) Since my standard DVDs are presented in 1080P, my current collection is still enjoyable. They look fantastic on the HD-A20.
6) Check out how HD DVD is doing on Amazon. HD players and disks are selling like hotcakes! Is this a dead format? No way. HD is going to be around for a long time.

I have had this player for over a month. I really like it. 5 stars. I look forward to many years of enjoying HD!

I bought this player a few weeks ago from here on Amazon. I have it hooked up to a Mitsubishi WD-57732 1080p television and I must say the picture quality is great. If anything the upscaling of my SD DVD's makes this a worthwhile purchase. I previously had a Panasonic 1080i upscaling DVD player and the A20 blows it out of the water. I've watched HD and SD on both 1080i and 1080p and the picture is more defined on 1080p. Just remember that when you play DVD's in 1080p it will play brighter. Take the time to adjust your T.V. settings color, brightness and contrast. I did and it made all the difference.