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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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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The Super Blu Player offers increased HDTV entertainment choices, because it can play 50 to 60 percent more high-def movie titles than either single-format player. With full networked interactivity available from selected HD DVDs, and the capability to handle networkedBD-Liveinteractivity in forthcoming Blu-ray discs, it is the latest available technology that plays both disc formats. Viewers can enjoy advanced options such asPicture-in-Pictureavailable from many Blu-ray discs as well as HDi web-connected interactivity available from many HD DVDs. Access to these features enables viewing of storyboards, production videos and director's commentary as the movie is playing, as well as accessing up-to-date information. The Super Blu Player also accepts additional entertainment content via a network connection, making for an unmatched entertainment experience. In addition to supporting the latest high-def disc technologies, the Super Blu Player is the ideal match for movie enthusiasts and even music enthusiasts as it supports audio CDs and the ability to up-scale standard DVDs to 1080p resolution through HDMI connection. BD-Java interactive capability for Blu-ray Discs and HDi for HD DVDsAdvanced video processing and HDMI 1.3 with deep color supportLG Simplink for convenient control of other LG Simplink products through existing HDMI connectionsHDMI output provides an uncompressed all-digital audio/video link for the highest-quality connection and supports copy-protected HD broadcast content USB media host for MP3 WMA audio and JPEG photo slideshowsOutputs -HDMI, composite video, component video, coaxial digital audio, optical digital audio, stereo audio Width x Height x Depth -16.9x2.9x10.6

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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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Sony DVP-NS710H/B 1080p Upscaling DVD Player, Black Review

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(More customer reviews)This DVD player does an excellent job of upconverting in my opinion. I also have a far more expensive Oppo DVD player and I would say they are on par.
One 'feature' I dislike about these DVD players is in the manufacturer's quest to make the box look sleek and simple, there are only a couple of buttons: open/close, play and stop (aside from the power button). Why, oh why, do manufacturers not put skip or fast-forward buttons on the box? Is this to force us to buy new remote controls when the kids make them disappear? I just don't like the idea that a piece of equipment become less functional without the sometimes elusive remote control.
Still, it does provide a beautiful picture, very sharp and one I believe almost maximizes the contrast, color and clarity provided by our expensive plasma tv.
A very good value when considering the quality for the price point.

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The Sony DVP-NS710H breathes new life into your DVD collection by upscaling your existing DVDs to 1080p near HD resolution via an HDMI connection. It includes other high-end A/V features such as BRAVIA Sync, which gives you one-remote access and control of your DVD player and other BRAVIA Sync-compatible devices.

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Samsung DVD-1080P7 Up-Converting 1080p DVD Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I have this unit plugged into a 55" Sony projection TV with an HDMI cable.
The up-converted picture is great; episodes of House are much sharper than with a progressive scan DVD player, Star Wars looks terrific, etc. No complaints on the picture quality at all. The unit is small and looks attractive. Some people have complained about a buggy firmware in these reviews, but I haven't noticed any bugs.
The best feature, besides the picture quality, is that you can turn off the unit while a DVD is playing, turn it back on later, and the player remembers where it was--no more pausing for hours or days (or dealing with the frustration of trying to "rewind" or "fast-forward" to where you were).
There are some drawbacks though. The number one issue is that the player is slow to respond to the remote commands. Pressing "power" on the remote takes a few seconds to turn off, and so I often press it again--which eventually turns the player back on. Menu, play, pause, etc. also lag just enough to make me wonder if the player got the command or not.
This wouldn't be so bad, except the remote/player combination is finicky about the angle of the remote to send a command successfully. I find I have to hold the remote at just the right angle (not directly pointing at the player!) for it to work. I guess the idea is that users want to hold the remote so that they can read the buttons, not aiming it at the player--neat, but I am using to aiming. This is extremely aggravating, so I am docking 2 stars for this.
Another annoyance is that when the player switches between layers on the DVD, there is a huge and obvious glitch in the video playback. My ancient JVC player didn't do this, nor have I seen this on el cheapo Zenith players.
But this player is cheap, small, and is a good value for passing the time until the HD-DVD/BluRay thing is resolved.

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The Samsung DVD-HD1080P7 Hi-Def Conversion DVD Player is designed for those who accept nothing less than HDTV quality. Now you can enjoy enhanced resolution from your conventional DVDs - the player upconverts them to 720p/1080i/1080p, giving them amazing clarity. You'll be impressed by the dramatically improved sharpness, color and detail Samsung's HDMI output and DivX (MPEG-4) playback add, even on large-screen displays. Samsung's EVQ (Enhanced Video Quality) and Progressive scan output give you true color reproduction. And at 1.8" in height, it fits neatly into any home theater system. Simply connect your DVD Player to your Home Theater System with a single cable for the high quality pictures and sound.Picture CD/JPEG disc viewer Plays MP3 and WMA filesEZ View Letter Box Eliminator 14-bit/108MHz video D/A converter 24-bit/192KHz audio D/A converter Instant replay & skipMoving zoom and Super scan playback Video Outputs -HDMI, Composite, S-Video, Component Audio Outputs -Coaxial, Optical, L/RIncludes remote control. Dimensions -16.9 x 1.8 x 9.8 Weight -4.6 lbs.

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Samsung DVD-1080P9 1080p Upconverting DVD Player Review

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(More customer reviews)For the price point, this is a feature rich player. What you get:
- a very sleek looking player that loads fast. Compared to the Phillips I bought at a big box store for the same price a year ago, it is greased lightning.
- a functional remote that is comfortable and easy to use.
- a USB port on the front of the player to play .mpg and picture files or to rip music to a flash drive or MP3 player from a CD or DVD.
- easy to navigate controls on the front panel. This is essential for me because my employees, who will not have the instruction manual available, will also be using the machine.
- an HDMI output, as well as the regular RCA type jacks.
- a ton of other features I will not use in my particular application.
Setup was a snap, even without so much as a glance at the instructions. I was even able to do a picture slide show from a flash drive without instructions, it is that intuitive. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars:
- If you want to connect an old school coaxial cable (the one that you screw on - with the little wire in the middle of the cable), you are out of luck
- I don't see any instructions on how to get it to control the volume on my TV (and it does not do it on it's own) even though the remote indicates it has the capability.

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Samsung DVD-1080P9 Upscaling DVD Player DVD-1080P9 DVD Players

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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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The Samsung DVD-C350 allows you to enjoy a widescreen view without having to see black letterbox bars. EZView eliminates them on 4:3 TV screens with the push of a button on your remote. Multi-format playback ensures compatibility whether you’re watching a DVD, DVD+-, DVD+-RW, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3, WMA, JPEG or MPEG-4.

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