DVD-RW, DVD-R, CD-RW - DVD Video, CD-DA, HD Video Playback - MPN: HDA3 See Product Details
Description
With the HD-A3, Toshiba delivers the excellent picture, sound, and interactivity features of HD DVD, and adds a new, sleek, compact chassis. The combination of stellar high-definition picture quality up to 1080i, near high-definition picture quality of upconverted DVDs output through HDMI, leading edge audio and web-enabled capability provides a new level of Home Theater Experience.
Quick Glance
Video Upscaling: 480p, 720p, 1080i
Product Type: HD DVD Player
Summary
Product Title: Toshiba HDA3 HD DVD Player
Manufacturer: Toshiba
Power Score: 3.9 | 20 Reviews
General
Product Type: HD DVD Player
Components and Compatible Media
Media Supported: DVD-RW - Play, DVD-R Double-layer - Play, CD-RW - Play
Number of Discs Supported: 1
Interface
Output: A/V (Composite), Audio - Digital Optical, Component Video, HDMI
Interface Connection: Ethernet Yes
Audio Video Connectors: HDMI Yes, Component Video Yes, Composite Video Yes
Video Quality
Video Upscaling: 480p, 720p, 1080i
Audio Quality
On-board Decoders: Dolby Digital
Dimensions
Height: 2.3"
Width: 16.9"
Depth: 12.9"
Weight: 7.26 lb
Dimensions: 2.34" Height x 16.90" Width x 12.90" Depth
Warranty
Warranty Information: 1 Year Limited Warranty
More Info
URL: Manufacturer Link
Additional Specifications
Green Compliance: Yes
Dual-Layer Media Support: Yes
Strengths: Picture is sharp even at 720p, Ethernet connectivity, Lots of firmware support.
Weakness: Slow on initial boot up. Read times of HD DVD's slow but acceptable. Would have been nice to include a digital coaxial out as well as optical.
This is a great player to get yourself started with an HD format. It's tough to go wrong when the amount of HD DVDs you get with the player for free costs more than the player itself! Even if HD DVD were to lose, this is a great upconverting DVD player. It will also always play the HD DVDs you do buy. So there is little to worry about with such a small investment.
Strengths: Boots faster than the A1 player, smaller in size and weight than previous HD-DVD players, excellent at upconverting standard DVDs, excellent for HD-DVDs
Weakness: Remote is kind of bland, takes over 30 seconds to boot up, Only outputs some audio formats over HDMI, downsamples some formats to Dolby Digital instead of DTS for the optical out
Overall this player is very nice. It's a definite upgrade from my previous HD-A1 player. It boots faster than previous models, although the boot time is still longer than I'd like. Picture quality is excellent for both standard and HD-DVDs. The player also comes with 300 and The Bourne Identity HD-DVD and you can mail away for 5 more HD-DVDs from Toshiba. This all helps offset the cost of the...
Strengths: Awesome picture clarity. Great upconversion
Weakness: Very slow response time, remote not that user friendly. No 1080p
Hands down great picture quality. It also includes 2 free movies - king kong and 300. Used DVI to connect it and it connected without any problems immediately. It always starts in setup mode - i have tried fiddling but didnt help. The response time is very slow. Changing subtitles via remote interrupt normal movie watching as it bring up a pop up dialog right in the middle of the picture (and...
Strengths: Excellent performance, fast start times, easy firmware updates, a bit smaller than HD-A2, upconverts standard DVDs
Weakness: No 1080p output just 720p/1080i. BUT, if you understand how all of this works, its just marketing hype in relation to HD-DVD movies and Blu-Ray movies.
I also have the previous generation HD-A2. This newer model has a little quicker load times and a sleeker appearance. Both upconvert standard DVDs exceptionally well along with playing every HD-DVD I can throw at it with ease. The picture is fantastic. If you have a good quality Plasma or LCD HDTV, you won't be disappointed. You can upgrade firmware through the included Ethernet jack or by...
Strengths: Great video/sound via HDMI; compact; great upconverting player for regular DVDs; lots of free HD-DVD movies
Weakness: Long load time (12-15 secs); laggy remote operations for HD-DVD disk only (regular DVD ok)
bought this with 10 free movies (2 in the box, 3 instantly at worst buy, and 5 more MIR). heard about the infamous "408bc504" error, but have not experienced it yet (knock on wood). do some research if this bothers you, but hopefully future firmware updates will fix this - or maybe get a retailer warranty for $20 so you can exchange it for upto two yrs.
Strengths: Price point. A very sharp picture when playing HD DVDs.
Weakness: Very slow response to remote commands: forward,skip,chapter change etc. When playing a standard DVD, there is a highly noticeable pause when it needs to change layers. No Coaxial. Plenty of bugs.
As many have noted, the loading time is slow and you'd think they would have improved this in this 3rd generation player. However, most HD players are still plagued with this issue and I've yet to hear of a fast loading player so I won't take away for that. Moving on, I suppose for less than $200 this is decent buy, but I think I will be looking for a new player soon. The main problem with this...
Strengths: Inexpensive, free movies with purchase, slim design, starts up fast.
Weakness: I guess if you want 1080p, you don't get that.
Fantastic HD DVD player. DVDs load very fast, the player starts up fast, and it's simply a very nice looking mostly black player to put with your TV and other equipment. Plus it comes with two hd movies in box-- 300 and Bourne Identity. And a mail-in rebate for five more hd movies, including Italian Job and others. So a new model A3 player, plus 7 movies for less than $200. Great deal! Have had...
Strengths: Amazing picture quality, firmware upgradeable, nice looking, price advantage over Blu-ray, etc.
Weakness: It is supposed to be faster than the last generation model HD-A2, but it still takes a while for the unit to get ready for playing after turning it on.
Overall speaking, the Toshiba HD-A3 is an excellent HD DVD player and probably the best buy at this moment in terms of value. Although it does not output 1080p video signal like its upper model HD-A30, most reviews on the Internet found out the 1080p on the HD-A30 unit is not that good and people prefer the 1080i format better, which is exactly what the HD-A3 does for less money. Another feature...
Strengths: Plays HD DVDs excellently, PQ is amazing, Upconversion on this unit beats that of any sub $100 consumer unit, on-board HD sound processing
Weakness: Optical Output puts a cap on quality of sound going to receiver, loading time can be slow ~30 seconds. Initial firmware has bugs but can be fixed with update.
The player is excellent in that HD DVDs look awe inspiring, extra features such as interactive extras and PIP commentary is very cool. Upconversion on this unit is better than any consumer-level standalone unit you would pick up at your local B&M store - being a videophile believe me when I say this thing can beat a $100 upconverting DVD player in terms of PQ and probably sound quality. Quality...
The Toshiba HD-A3 (MSRP $300) is the entry-level model of Toshibas third-generation of HD DVD players. It is very similar to its predecessor, the Toshiba HD-A2, and does not offer any significant improvements to this player other the improved form factor of the player. There are two noticeable changes: Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA(core) are still passed over HDMI, but they are now downrezzed to Dolby...
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excellent HD-DVD player
Strengths: - video quality
Weakness: - boot time, load time, no DivX support, no 1080p
This player is very solid, with excellent HD-DVD video quality, which is the most important feature. It also does a good job upconverting plain DVDs. Boot time and disc load time are still pretty sluggish. I would not want a player that was any slower than this one. What I really can't understand is the lack of DivX support in a player this expensive. It's kind of ridiculous to have to have...
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