Toshiba HD-A30 1080p HD DVD Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I didn't buy this from Amazon, but since reviews of the player are scarce, I thought I'd share some thoughts.
A few short months ago I bought the Xbox add-on to try the HD-DVD waters, and have been nothing but impressed, so when my standard DVD player died (my 7th one in 8 years, I'm a very heavy DVD watcher), I decided to invest in a player that will (hopefully) last (I also purchased a 4 year warranty this time).
The player itself is beautiful, both in appearance and on screen (watching on 1080p Samsung LCD). Picture quality of HD-DVD is, as expected, superb, and DVD upscaling is the best I have ever seen (easily destroying my 1 year old Sony).
A very few negatives. Boot times are still a bit slow, it takes about 40 seconds before the HD-DVD logo appears on screen, with another 20 seconds to load the disc, it's around 60 seconds total from power on to actually start watching the disc. Discs also don't resume play, which is odd as it seems to be a feature. If you don't power off the unit and stop a disc, it will resume where you left off, but if you power off the player, it restarts from the beginning, very odd, but Toshiba could easily fix in a firmware update.
All in all I am very, very pleased, the unit feels sold, looks amazing on your shelf and features some of the best video quality I have ever seen. The few, "problems" don't really bother me, but I wanted to mention them as it could turn off some people. Thanks for reading!

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The Toshiba HD-A30 HD DVD Player stands less than two-and-a-half inches tall but packs a long list of cutting edge features. The HD-A30 sells at a very reasonable price but has top-end features such as support for 1080p/24-frame video and HDMI-CEC compatibility.
A Refined, Slimmer Look The HD-A30's refined design--with rounded edges, a slim chassis, and a high-gloss black face plate--looks sleek and elegant in your home theater system without taking up too much real estate.
Outstanding Performance All of Toshiba's HD DVD players support the enhanced features of the HD DVD format, including picture-in-picture video, audio commentary, and Web-enabled network capabilities. With an Ethernet port, the A30 can connect to the Internet for firmware updates to keep the player up to date on new features, and to support the growing number of HD DVD titles with interactive online features and bonus content.
The HD-A30 uses the latest HDMI 1.3 interface to connect to your HD television, providing large bandwidth to eliminate any data bottlenecks and to support new technologies for the utmost in viewing experience. The HD-A30 can output video at 1080p, the highest resolution available, and includes support for 24-frame video, which maintains the native 24-frames-per-second rate of films, thereby delivering an experience more similar to one in theaters.
If you have a large collection of standard definition DVDs, the HD-A30 will upconvert them to near-HD quality for display on your HD television. Progressive scan output means the scan-lines of interlaced video are eliminated and the result is a clean image that has no motion distortion or artifacts. In addition to 1080p, the HD-A30 also outputs at 720p and 1080i if desired.
Sparkling Surround Sound The HD-A30 supports most surround sound audio standards, with built-in decoding for Dolby TrueHD 5.1ch, Dolby Digital Plus 5.1ch, DTS 5.1, and DTS HD (core only).
One-Touch Convenience You can use the CE-Link (HDMI-CEC) to connect the HD-A30 with other CEC-capable devices for unsurpassed simplicity and convenience. For example, if the HD-A35 is connected to a compatible HDTV, you can turn on both the HD DVD player and the TV and start playing a movie with a single touch of a button on the remote.
The HD-A30 is backed by a limited 1-year warranty.
What's in the Box HD-A30 HD DVD player, remote control, and power cable.

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Samsung DVD-C350 DVD Player (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)This newly developed Samsung DVD is an unbelievably great DVD for only $35.00 including taxes and delivery. I was looking for the newest DVD players at a good price. My problem was there was not one review on this DVD player.
Great upconverting picture, sound, fast loading, reads and plays really bad discs that would skip or freeze on my old dvd/vcr player. Plays burned DVDs with no problems. Very easy to set up and hook up.
I bought this as a replacement for a refurbished Toshiba DVD player that only lasted 15 mos. I have used this DVD player for 1 day. The only problem is an incredibly small remote which is hard to read if you need reading glasses and no hdmi port.

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Panasonic DVD-S58 1080p Up-Converting DVD Player, Black Review

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(More customer reviews)Warning! The description for the DVD-s58 model seems to be pasted from the DVD-s54 model (discontinued), which despite the lower model number is actually a notch or two above this one. I bought the s58 with the understanding it would play AVI (Divx) encoded discs... it DOES NOT support Divx.
For what it is--a basic upconverting DVD player--the Panasonic DVD-s58 performs well, but did not suit my original purpose in purchasing it.

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Start watching your favorite movies with the Panasonic DVD-S58 disc player, which featuresMulti-format DVD/CD/MP3 playback and a high quality picture with 1080p upconversion with HDMI output. Additionally, this disc player comes with a VIERA Link remote to allow you to control multiple compatible devices with one remote.


Key Features
HD-Quality Images The DVD-S58 features a 1080p up-conversion function that converts standard definition (720 x 480 pixels) images from DVD sources to high-definition (1920 x 1080 pixels) quality images. And with the addition of HDMI 1.3 with Deep Color to our DVD players, the up-converted signals deliver vivid, sharp and exceptionally detailed images.
VIERALink Compatible As the types of media continue to increase, VIERA Link™ capabilities continue to evolve. Using your VIERA HDTV's VIERA Link™ remote, the newly enhanced Seamless GUI (graphical user interface) menu displays on the TV screen, making it easier to operate connected components like Panasonic's DVD-S58 DVD player.
Play Almost Anything Incredibly versatile and multi-format-friendly, this DVD player can play back just about any DVD or CD you can throw at it. Specifically, it can play back the following disc formats: DVD-Video, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R (including dual layer), DVD+R (including dual layer), DVD+RW, CD, CD-R/RW, WMA, MP3, JPEG, MPEG4 and DivX.

What's in the Box Disc Player, remote control (with batteries), power cord, operating instructions

Specifications


Disc/Media Compatibility

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Panasonic DMP-BD50K 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player Review

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(More customer reviews)OK so I am one of the many who were waiting for this player for one big reason. I have expensive audio components and didn't want to replace them just to get HDMI input for True HD and DTS Master Audio. Now that I own it I can positively confirm that this player decodes both of the Hi-Def audio formats internally and sends them to the analog outputs... and OH MY what a huge difference over AC-3 or DTS!! The most noticeable thing is the ambient sound that is lost in compression. Watched 5th Element last night and the beginning of the movie starts with this echoing reverberation during the credits. In AC3 it sounds like an echo, but in TrueHD it's all filled in with a very deep sound field and detailed ambient sound. The overall impression is sound that is much fuller and balanced. It also has a nice feature called Dialog Enhancer which bumps the volume of dialog in soundtracks so you can hear the dialog when listning at low volume levels (so your spouse can sleep...feelin' me?). In 2 words - Worth it!
Next the features and a bonus for older Mitsu owners. I have a Mitsubishi WD-62628 1080P DLP TV. This unit was one of the first 1080P TV's made. They did not have the video processing capability at the time to take a 1080P input. So it's max input on the main HDMI connector or component video is 1080i and the TV upconverts to 1080P. This has left owners of this family of TV's with a quandary in that they want to see movies from their Blu-Ray player in 1080P not 1080i. There have been rumors that you can use the HDMI-2 input for native 1080P input if you tell the TV that a computer is connected. Well I can confirm that this actually works just fine !! You set the Net Command to enable HDMI-2 and that a PC is what is on that input. Disable the audio part (if you are going to use the analog outputs from the Panny like me) and then tell the blu-ray player to output at 1080P (rather than auto-detect). The TV will momentarily display a message that the video signal is non-standard, but will then display it anyway. So I get HD audio and 1080P video with my older TV and non-HDMI audio processor!! Bonus #2 is that this Panny player also has picture controls for brightness, contrast, gamma, color, and black level so you can tweak the picture if necessary. It also has canned settings (normal, cinema and 2 others). I find that movies look best in Cinema. It deepens the color and seems to provide better color spectrum.
I hope this answers the questions for a bunch of you that are still sitting on the wall. This one finally does it all, A/V wise. I have not hooked it up to the LAN yet for BD-Live functions. That was not a big part of my plan for this but will happen shortly.
Happy viewing!
Post Review Note: One thing I have discovered is that the picture controls on the BD50 don't offer as much adjustment as the controls on a TV. The straight 1080P input is a little on the bright side. I found that the BD50 will not enable 1080i component video and HDMI at the same time, it's one or the other. Once you turn on HDMI, it drops the component video to standard def no matter what you set it on. This means I can't look at upconverted 1080i (via component video) with full picture controls vs 1080p on HDMI-2 with the minimal controls offered by the BD50 without stopping the movie and re-starting it... Jury is still out on this one.

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The DMP-BD50 is Panasonics third generation Blu-ray disc player. Blu-ray media offers a wide range of functions that foster the transition to HD including 1080p image quality, lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio and versatile Picture-in-Picture applications. The DMP-BD50 adds the new BD-Live function, which uses the internet to further enhance your entertainment experience by allowing you to download additional contents and share the information with other BD-Live users. In the future, BD-Live will allow users to connect the DMP-BD50 to the internet to download such data as images and subtitles, and to join in multi-player interactive games that are linked to bonus movie content contained in Blu-ray discs.

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Pioneer DV-420V-K Multi-Format 1080p Upscaling DVD Player Review

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(More customer reviews)We originally tried the Samsung DVD-1080P9 after moving up from an old 480i Sony, but the 9P had trouble reading some of the more scratched up DVDs. Also, the Sony would remember your last play spot for the last 6 DVDs that you played, which the Samsung didn't. Not quite satisfied with the Samsung we decided to try out the Pioneer DV-420V-K and after one night of fiddling we're returning the Samsung.
As other's have said, it has all the important remote buttons on the face of the player, it has a high quality video output, and I have had no problems yet reading scratched up DVDs. As a bonus it remembers at least the last two DVD's play spots which is very handy if you have kids and want to swap out parent's material for the kidstuff. I also like the setup menu and manual better on the Pioneer.
Highly recommended.

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DV-420V-K Multi-Format DVD Player Featuring HDMI, 1080p Upscaling, USB, and ivX/WMV Playback VIDEO FEATURES - Dual-Layer DVD-R/DVD/DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD+R/ DVD+RW Compatible SVCD/VCD/CD/CD-R/CD-RW Compatible HDMI Terminal for Digital Audio/Video Out HDMI Upscaling (to view on a 1080p display) WMV (Windows Media Video) Compatible Official DivX Certified Product Compatible with All Versions of DivX Video (including DivX 6) with Standard Playback of DivX Media Files 108 MHz/12-bit Video DAC PureCinema 2:3 Progressive Scan I/P Simultaneous Output USB Input for Compressed Video (DivX/WMV) and JPEG HD JPEG Playback JPEG PhotoViewer (Fujicolor CD) Video Adjust Function with Sharpness/Brightness/Contrast/Gamma/Hue/Chroma Level Control Zoom Function AUDIO FEATURES 96 kHz/24-bit Audio DAC USB Input for Compressed Music Playback WMA (Windows Media Audio)/MP3/MPEG-4 AAC Compressed Music Playback Compatible Dolby Digital Output Dialogue EnhancerVirtual Surround Sound Equalizer (Rock/Pop/Live/Dance/Techno/Classic/Soft) CONVENIENCE FEATURES KURO LINK CD ➝ USB Recording Photo + Music Mix (JPEG Slideshow with Music) Advanced GUI Disc Navigator for Easy Browsing Last (Position) Memory: 5 DVD Discs/1 VCD Disc Resume Function Screen Saver Auto Power Off TERMINALS 1 HDMI Terminal 1 USB Input 1 Coaxial Digital Output 1 S-Video Output 1 Audio/1 Video Output Component Video Output (DVD, Video CD)

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Samsung DVD-H1080R Upconverting DVD Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I've had this unit for a few days now, and so far it has done everything as advertised. The DivX playback via USB is very impressive: no stuttering and very high quality. One caveat that I would like to point out: this unit does NOT play WMV files. I saw that WMA was listed and hoped that it would support WMV as well, but no such luck. Other than that, I've been pleased with it thus far.

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With super-stylish looks, this lightweight and very compact Samsung DVD player upconverts standard discs to 720p, 1080i or 1080p. This means you can now watch your DVD movies in beautiful near high definition. It also plays the most popular multimedia formats like DivX, MP3, WMA, JPEG and MPEG-4 clips. Slim, but powerfully-packed with upscale features, the H1080R takes DVD players to another level.

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Sylvania NB530SLX Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)This player does all the important stuff very well. I was able to have it entirely set up in about 5 minutes. The picture quality is great, and I'm especially pleased with the upconversion of my DVD library. It does not have a remarkable number of outputs, but it has the HDMI and Coax outs that I need. The downsides are the cheap-feeling remote, the time it takes initially to load Blu Ray disks, and the fact that higher-end players have higher-end features.
Pros:
-cheap (especially since I got it free with the Amazon deal!)
-has the necessary features (mute HDMI audio, picture settings)
-great picture.
-Really easy to set up and use.
Cons:
-The remote is rather sad and pathetic.
-Long load times of Blu Ray disks (does not appy to regular DVD)
-Lack of high-end features.

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High Definition Blue Ray DVD Player, with HDMI output,1.1 profile with Bonus view.HDMI output,1080P upconversion,progressive scan,HDMI 1.3 version support,deepcolor processing,Dobly Digital output.Dolby digital plus,Dolby true HD,DTS,DTS HD,LinearPCM. Advanced user interface,Vitual surround sound and Screen Saver.Parental Lock,Trilingual OSD,SD Memory Slot.

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LG BH200 Super Blu Blu-Ray HD DVD Combo Player Review

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(More customer reviews)The LG Super Blu combo player has made my life a lot easier. I jumped into high def this past summer with HD DVD and built up a library of 48 movies. Of course, as my luck would have it, the tides have turned considerably in blu ray's favor, so rather than give up on my HD DVD collection, and not wanting to take up extra space with a blu ray player, this LG is the ideal solution. It delivers impressive audio and video on both formats and upconverts standard dvds to near high def resolution. Set up was a snap and the player is very user friendly. I would highly recommend this unit to anyone who already started an HD DVD collection and is now ready to enter the "blu" world.
ADDENDUM: Written 8/31/08
I want to add to my original review posted above: I just purchased two more of these LG BH200 combo players at Best Buy, where they were just on sale for $339.99. At this incredibly low price, I could not resist getting two more, one for my second Toshiba 42 inch LCD 1080p television and the other for my Panasonic 32 inch LCD 720p televsion. All my hi-def tvs now have this magnificent LG multi format player connected to them via HDMI cables, allowing me complete flexibility to watch all of my HD DVDs, Blu Ray discs and standard dvds. I have not ceased to be extremely impressed with the amazing crystal clear video images on both hi def formats. The sound is equally impressive, and, as of yet, I do not have any HDMI receivers, so I am using 5.1 channel DD and DTS surround sound, which is clear and crisp. I can only imagine how awesome 7.1 channel hi def sound must be. The standard dvds I have are upscaled to near 1080p resolution, allowing me to enjoy my existing dvd collection with almot hi def images. On some dvds (Star Wars for instance), the images are so crystal clear, at first glance, you think you are watching a blu ray version of the movie. I have not had any compatability issues with this unit, and have been able to play recordable dvds and cds as well. It does everything, and does it amazingly well. My hat goes off to LG for making one of the finest, if not THE finest, hi def players out there. I e-mailed the company recently to ask if there was any truth to rumors that they were discontinuing this model anytime soon, and if so, if they were going to replace it with a new combo player. They wrote back and said they were not planning to discontinue the BH200 at this time, but would not be making any HD DVD players in the future. I am glad I was able to purchase two more of these babies before they become extinct. I also downloaded a firmware update onto a dvd, but have not yet installed it, as I am simply enjoying watching all my multi-format movies without any problems. I will install the update in the future, if needed. This player makes a great stand-alone blu ray player, even if you do not own any HD DVDs, and a great upconverting player as well. But if you, like me, have an HD DVD collection, this is a great way to be able to continue to enjoy the format without replacing them with blu ray versions. This will absolutely give you the best of both worlds!

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