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Toshiba surprises with firmware 4.0 HD DVD player update
Honestly, we were taken aback when Toshiba released version 3.0 firmware for its launch HD DVD players two years after release, but that has been replaced by absolute shock, at a 4.0 software update for the long-dead format. The whole family can join in on this one, either via the player or downloading and burning a copy from the website, with updates available for the whole line: HD-A1, HD-XA1, HD-D1, HD-A35, HD-A2, HD-A2W, HD-A2C, HD-D2, HD-A20, HD-XA2, HD-A3, HD-D3, HD-A30. The only official word is this patch "addresses certain playback issues" -- forum posters report 1080p/24 playback jaggies on MPEG-4 AVC-encoded titles like Transformers is no longer a problem. If everything is working fine (and, of course, you're still using your HD DVD player) it may be best to wait until more reports to avoid any potential compatibility problems.[Via Slashgear]Read - AVS ForumRead - Resource for : Firmware Update Information for Owners of Toshiba HD DVD Players:
90,000 HD DVD players sold in one weekend
We were wondering how well HD DVD was doing with those new price cuts, and now here's Video Business with the answer: according to sources at retailers, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Circuit City -- among others -- were able to move 90,000 stand-alone HD DVD players this weekend. Most of them were last year's entry level HD-A2, which sold for the low, low price of $99 -- but not all. This dramatically increases the user base for the HD DVD camp, but that's not saying much since the format only sold about this many stand-alone players in its first year. In the world of consumer electronics, 90k isn't that impressive, but considering the estimated loss Toshiba took on each unit, we can see why they'd want to limit the supply. The problem for the HD DVD camp is that they're really up against the PS3's sales, and even though only 40% of PS3 owners realize that there is a Blu-ray player built in, that's still about 750,000 people in the US. But ultimately, this format war is about selling movies, and we'll be keeping a close eye on the weekly sales numbers to assess the impact of this early holiday sales blitz.[Thanks, Utah!]
Best Buy fills backordered HD-A2s with HD-A3s
With the plummeting prices seen over the past week for Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD players, the real winner is consumers. At these prices, it's worth picking one up just for any HD DVD exclusives you're interested in. It's true that supplies were limited and the HD-A2 is a closeout, but it's a great deal still. In the virtual world, shoppers who clicked a little too late at Best Buy's website were issued backorder notices, and rightfully expected Best Buy to fulfill their orders. The discontinued status on the HD-A2 looks like it will result in a double-bonus, though. Customers who got in on the deal late were sent an email from Best Buy informing them that they would be receiving HD-A3s instead of the HD-A2. For those keeping score, this nice bit of customer service nets a $200 discount from MSRP!
How to buy a Toshiba HD-A3 for $87
The only thing better than buying last year's entry level HD DVD player for $99, is buying the latest for $87. While this might not be the most honest hack, we're pretty sure it's not illegal. Our friend Tyler from Format War Central decided to pick up an HD-A2 from Best Buy yesterday -- why not at $99? -- and noticed that in addition to getting two free movies, the receipt said he bought an HD-A3. So he figured he'd take Circuit City up on their "Low Price Guarantee" and upon displaying his Best Buy receipt they happily sold him a $300 HD-A3 for $87 (out the door) -- which also had two free HD DVDs in the box to boot.
Best Buy offers the Toshiba HD-A2 for $100, too, and other HD DVD deals
Wal-Mart may have been the first to tempt HD-fence-sitters with a $100 HD-A2 player (however limited), but it looks like it's not the only one, with Best Buy now also listing the very same player for the impulse buy-inducing price of $99.99. Of course, it's sold out online, so you may be better off trying your luck at your local store. Not surprisingly, the HD DVD PR folk are keen to talk up this recent spat of price reductions, including the still decent $197 price for the A2 at Circuit City and Amazon, and Sears's Black Friday price of $169 for the newer HD-A3 model, which also comes with two movies bundled in the box (not to mention the five free mail-in movies available with the purchase of any of the players).[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player: $100, this Friday, Wal-Mart
Still waiting to jump into the high def disc game? Or just wanted another weaker, cheaper player for the last-gen TV you phased out to your rumpus room? Well, whatever your reasons, some (not all!) Wal-Mart locations will be selling Toshiba HD-A2s for $100 -- down from $200 -- this Friday. Ridiculous, we know. Blu-ray gonna fight back? We hope so, we'd really like to get our hands on one for under $300, and not just by using our hookup that sells gear out of his trunk, you know?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Toshiba A2 HD DVD Player for $200 at Circuit City
When they say "competition's good," they obviously meant "competition means cheap HD DVD players": Wal-Mart's $198 Toshiba HD-A2 has been copied by Circuit City, which is now selling the same player for $197.99 online. Add it to your cart, and see for yourself. As one tipster said, with deals like this popping up this early, signs are looking good for one helluva Black Friday.[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]
Sony says standalone Blu-ray players are outselling HD DVD players
During the Sony press conference yesterday at CEDIA , Sony put up some charts to show how starting about 12 weeks stand-alone Blu-ray players were outselling HD DVD. They tribute this to the release of the $499 BDP-S300, but we're not so sure about that. Assuming the numbers are indeed true, we don't suppose the announcement of Toshiba's 3rd generation players would have anything to do with it, not to mention the fact that none of our local Best Buy stores even have the HD-A2 in stock. But what we really want to know is, who is buying all these Blu-ray players, with Profile 1.1 right around the corner?[Via FormatWarCentral]
Buy a Toshiba HD DVD player on Amazon and score eight free movies
There's really never been a better time to jump into HD disc land. The format war isn't going anywhere anytime soon, the players are the cheapest yet, and there are free discs by the bucket-fulls just for signing up. The latest promo on Amazon gets you three free HD DVDs if you buy an HD-A2, HD-A20 or HD-XA2 Toshiba player. Add that to the five free HD DVDs Toshiba will give you through mail-in rebate and you're practically getting the player for free. Amazon's currently having trouble keeping the HD-A2 in stock, and HD-A2s sold by third-party merchants don't qualify for the three free promo, but stick around and you just might be able to nab one. The promo runs from now to September 23.[Via AVS Forum]
HD DVD's latest firmware update enables web features
There is no doubt that both Hi-Def disc formats are a work in progress, and the latest update (for second-generation HD DVD players only) from Toshiba keeps HD DVD's interactive content at least one step ahead of Blu-ray. This latest update will help HD DVD fans enjoy web-enabled content included on a few titles like Warner's Blood Diamond, which hits the streets tomorrow; the update also resolves a few other issues such as the dreaded chroma bug. Like previous updates, you can download it directly to the player (if it's connected to the Internet), or request a free update disc from Toshiba. Read -- Blood Diamond's web-contentRead -- HD DVD chroma bugRead -- Firmware download
Toshiba confirms HD DVD promotional prices are here to stay
Although money talks, nothin' speaks volume to major manufacturers like, well, volume. In a presumed attempt to keep the recently increased flow of HD DVD player orders steady, Toshiba has reportedly announced a final decision to stick with the prices seen in recent promotional deals. More specifically, the company stated that the MSRP on the high-end HD-XA2 would sink to $799 (versus close to $1,000 before), while the mid-range HD-A20 would instantly become $100 more affordable after dropping to $399, and both of these units are set to receive 24p output through an update scheduled for September. The most attractive option (that would be the HD-A2), however, will soon be listed for a mere $299, and while none of these prices are apt to incite fits of uncontrollable jubilation, it's definitely a step in the right direction.
Toshiba's HD-A2 HD DVD player going for a mere $199
Now this is more like it. Sure, we've seen the prices of HD DVD players slowly but surely sinking over time, and while there's been more than a few inconvenient rebate offers of late, it looks like a new precedent has been set. Crutchfield is now offering up Toshiba's HD-A2 HD DVD player for a mere $199 after a $100 instant rebate, but we wouldn't count on this thing showing up anytime soon. According to the site, not only is inventory sitting at zero, but it also admits that the ship date is unfortunately "uncertain." Still, $199 for a second-generation HD DVD player ain't too shabby (have you seen one for less?), so be sure to check out the previous impressions before grabbing your place in the ever-growing line of customers trying to take advantage.[Thanks, Andrew]UPDATE: Too bad -- looks like Crutchfield was forced to jack the price up by a Benjamin or face an order backlog beyond belief.
HD DVD rebate promotion a success?
The recent rebates from Toshiba on stand alone HD DVD players has gotten us pretty excited, and it seems we're not the only ones. Toshiba is claiming that "player sales are up 5-10 times higher than before" and at least the one retailer that shares its data confirms this. In fact over the weekend the HD-A2 was rated the number 1 selling DVD player on Amazon -- no, not just in the HD category, but in all DVD players. While this is great and all, we're not sure how this is going to affect the overall outcome of the format war, but one thing is for sure, this holiday season is going to be very interesting for HD fans.
Toshiba updates second-gen HD DVD players firmware to 1.5
Attention owners of the HD-XA2, HD-A20, HD-A2, HD-A2W, or HD-D2 - really all of the second-generation HD DVD players. Toshiba just released a new firmware for your player that should addresses certain disc playback and HDMI/DVI related problems. O.K. there is two ways to get the update: 1st - simply download it via your broadband connection through the Ethernet port on the back, or - 2nd you can contact Toshiba Customer Solutions at (800) 319-6684 and ask for a firmware update disc. We are still wondering if all this updating is better for the consumer or the CE company. On one hand it does allow the consumer to always have a current edition product with all the right updates without worrying about what serial number they must buy. Then on the other hand, it allows CE manufacturers to produce a product not fully tested and then simply release an update when more testing is completed. Oh well, only time will tell.
Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player reviewed
It hasn't been on store shelves very long, but the folks at Home Theater Blog have put the few weeks since the HD-A2's launch to good use, taking the time to put the new entry-level HD DVD player on the block through its paces for a complete review. After going through the usual round of tests, they came out squarely in favor of the player, finding that it delivered the performance to match its new good looks, in particular showing a marked improved in load times over earlier players. Those not ready to ditch their massive DVD collections will also be pleased to hear that the HD-A2 will make 'em look about as good as they can, with up-scaling on par with the Toshiba's earlier HD-XA1 player. Of course, if you want to go 1080p this ain't the player for you (don't worry, Toshiba's still got a fix for ya), but if you're sticking with your 480p, 720p, or 1080i set for a while yet, it looks like the HD-A2 will deliver the goods without putting too much of a hurt on your bank account.
Toshiba HD-A2 on store shelves now
After a relatively brief delay, the cheaper of Toshiba's two second-generation HD DVD players for the U.S. is now available. Shipping in limited quantities to some dealers already, a few AVSForum members were able to pick them up at Best Buy yesterday and today. Priced at $499, in exchange for a new slim design and faster loading times (around 30 seconds from power on to movie play according to initial reports), this revision loses the 5.1 analog audio outputs of the HD-A1. Still, if you've been waiting for that bug free (don't bet on it) second revision hardware with HDMI (1080p coming on the HD-XA2) output not available on the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, this is it.[Thanks, Ken F.]
Toshiba second gen HD DVD players delayed worldwide
Toshiba just couldn't let Sony hog all the high-def DVD spotlight with its delays, so it has pushed back its second generation HD DVD players in the US and abroad. Despite the lack of an official statement from Toshiba US, a dealer on AVS Forum revealed that due to problems with a chip from a third party supplier, the lower-end HD-A2 HD DVD player originally due out right about... now has slipped into the second week of December. The HDMI 1.3-equipped, 1080p displaying $999 HD-XA2 is now scheduled to just barely make a 2006 release in the last week of the year. In Europe Toshiba has officially announced the delay, now anticipating a "quantity of units" of the rebadged HD-E1 due in December and the HD-XE1 slated for 2007. Second gen hardware is generally expected to atone for the bug-ridden sins of its predecessors, so hopefully a short delay now means avoiding a quick patch later. In the meantime there's always the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, or deciding which free HD DVDs to get.[Thanks, Max]Read - AVS ForumRead - Pocket-lint.co.uk
2G HD DVD players announced - HD-A2 & HD-XA2: $499 & $999 - UPDATE
Toshiba's HD DVD press conference at CEDIA 2006 just ended and the first big news is out. It appears we will be getting the same players announced in Europe recently, named the HD-A2 and HD-XA2, this fall. They both feature the new slim design -- hopefully a sign of dedicated hardware as opposed to the stripped-down laptop that made up the HD-A1 -- and the XA2 will feature an HDMI 1.3 output with 1080p. The A2 will start shipping in October for a price of $499, while the HD-XA2 will debut in December with a price-tag of $999. No other specifics were available, but we would not be surprised if the HD-A2 matched its European cousin in losing the analog 5.1 output present on current HD-A1s. Also mentioned in the press release was their estimate of 25,000 HD DVD-equipped homes in the US, as well as upcoming movie releases like Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift, Batman Begins, and The Polar Express. Niveus has announced HD DVD-enabled Media Center PCs with 3TB of storage scheduled to ship in September.UPDATE: Pics of both players straight from CEDIA
