Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD Player
Very Impressive
This machine is absolutely fantastic.  I have my HD-A1 hooked up to a Toshiba 42HDX82 TV and a Denon AVR-2800, and the results are stunning!  I have watched several HD disks since I purchased the product, and I have had NO trouble with the unit whatsoever.  The sound reproduction is crystal clear through the Denon receiver set on 6 Channel External utilizing the Toshiba built in decoder. The video display through a very long 3 meter [and very expensive] HDMI cabel is virtually flawless.  <br />     The HD-A1 also breaths new life into old DVDs.  The upconversion seems to vary from disk to disk, but, by and large, it works very well for both video and audio. <br />     The unit is a bit large, but certainly not unattractive, by any means. Its innards are essentially those of a Pentium 4 computer, thus the need for the fan, which makes NO noise whatsoever, as opposed to some other reviews I have read.  Yes, it does takes a while to boot up. So what.  Given the strengths of the unit, I can well live with the wait.  It gives me time to make popcorn!  <br />     Shelling out 500 bucks for a new technology may seem foolhardy to some people, but for those of us who really enjoy high quality audio and video, it's worth every penny. If you think about it, early high quality new format machines [CD,DVD and VHS] were just as, if not more, expensive given the value of the dollar at their time of introduction. HD-DVD disks are only marginally more expensive then standard dvd and that certainly will go down in time.  <br />     I strongly doubt that Sony's Blue-Ray format will win out over HD-DVD, simply because of the cost of the player and the disks, not to overlook the compatibility issues. Adopting a new disk format after CDs and DVDs have been on the market for so long, and have become a familiar standard, will not seem logical to most consumers. And keep in mind, that in the past, Sony has come out with a few bombs.  Remember Beta? <br />     I recommend this machine without reservation. Just keep in mind that it is a first generation machine. Certainly there will be improvements and more features added in the future.  But if you have an early adoption mentality as I do, grab one.  You won't regret it. <br />     Next month: \\"Constantine\\" in HD-DVD. I can't wait! <br />             <br />       <br />      <br />      <br />      <br />  <br />  <br />