Video Asylum

Posted by 4season (A) on May 21, 2007 at 11:03:38

Having recently purchased a 32" Sharp Aquos LCD TV offering 1080p, it seemed a shame not to take full advantage of it, so I also picked up Toshiba's middle-of-the-line HD-A20 HD DVD player and an inexpensive HDMI cable.

Considering the vast amount of money behind the HD DVD format, the player looks surprisingly ordinary: Just a slender black box with a nearly featureless front panel, interrupted only by the large power switch, a small black eject button and bit of metallic trim. Hidden beneath a flip-down panel are basic controls and 2 USB ports. It's footprint is a largish 16.9"w x 13.58"d, and there are no provisions for placing it vertically.

Internal layout is tidy, and most electronics are contained on two circuit boards: One appears to be a switch mode power supply, and the other, larger board contains the logic. The transport itself looks like a modified PC drive, differing mostly in it's mount points and connectors (but the actual interface is ATA). A small fan sucks cool air in from small vents on the sides, and exhausts (slightly) warm air out the rear of the cabinet. Sheet metal seems to be a heavier gauge than I've come to expect, giving the player a solid and rather hefty feel.

Power-up takes about 45 seconds, after which, the HD-A20 feels about as responsive as any other DVD player. The cooling fan is barely audible: Much quieter than the one in my older Sony Playstation 2, and of no particular consequence, IMO.

Scaled to 1080p, regular DVDs look terrific when viewed from my regular seating, about 6' from the screen, obviously much smoother than the 480i output from the Playstation. Among other things, I watched K-Pax, Jacques Tati's Playtime (Criterion reissue), Pan's Labyrinth and Jackie Chan's Supercop (NOT a videophile quality recording, but enjoyable nevertheless)

I've only got one HD DVD movie onhand at the moment, but Charlie & The Chocolate Factory looks fabulous even when viewed from 2' away from the screen.

The HD DVD spec calls for an ethernet jack to be provided, and sure enough, it's there on the rear of the Toshiba: But let's hope that it's use is never required in order to simply watch a new movie. You can also use the network connection to update your player's firmware, and via my 256K DSL line, the update from 1.0 to 1.5 took around 50 minutes. Supposedly, the update improves HDMI performance and allows full 1080p over a non-encrypted DVI connection, but I couldn't verify this. IMO, the HD DVD people should plan on 90% of their customers never touching the network connection or updating the firmware at all. Although the super popular Nintendo Wii game console also has network connectivity and frequent updates, none are required for basic gameplay, only for "extras". That's a lesson the HD DVD people would do well to follow.

Overall, I wish it were smaller and more stylish (and could be stood on it's side) like Sony's Playstation 3, but I find nothing to fault about the HD-A20's performance, which is terrific.

• http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvd/product.asp?model=hd-a20   (Open in New Window)