Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Toshiba HD DVD

This is topic Toshiba HD DVD in forum The Afterlife at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Larry Myers (Member # 738) on 07-15-2008, 01:55 PM:

I have a simple question about the discontuned Toshiba HD DVD player. Right now, the A2 and A3 players max out on progressive scan at 720P. The A30 will do 1080P.

Will firmware updates to the A2 and A3 allow a 1080P setting? If so, how do you update these machines?

I understand with Samsung BluRay, they require you to download onto a DVD-R dics and install the firmware by that DVD-R dics. Is it the same for Toshiba?

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 07-15-2008, 03:44 PM:

The last firmware update I did was about 3 months ago. It updated to firmware version 2.0. This was for the A3. I have an ethernet connection to the player and that is how I get the updates. This last update did not upgrade the ability to do 1080p. I will check later to see if there is a new update and if so download it and see if anything is upgraded.

According to the information I downloaded about the Blu-Ray Samsung BP1500 you can use a USB device or ethernet to download updates.

Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 07-15-2008, 04:08 PM:

The A2 and A3 are limited to 720p and 1080i as a result of their hardware, if I recall correctly.

As far as updates go, you can update them via the Internet (at least you could before HD DVD was killed off, I haven't tried to update my A1 since January/February) and via CD/DVD update discs that you could obtain from Toshiba by mail or by burning an ISO image from the Toshiba web site.

Posted by Larry Myers (Member # 738) on 07-15-2008, 04:33 PM:

Is there a EZ way of telling what verson is loaded in the player?

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 07-15-2008, 06:02 PM:

On the A3 you go to the set up screen then go to General then Maintenance then update. It will tell you the latest update it has. I just did the latest update a few minutes ago to Ver. 3.0. It still did not upgrade the unit to 1080p so my thinking is along with Scott's that it may be just hardware based at 1080i.

Posted by Larry Myers (Member # 738) on 07-15-2008, 06:21 PM:

What do you think the differences are between Version 2 and Version 3?

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 07-15-2008, 06:36 PM:

Below comes from Toshibas Web site.

Firmware Update Version: 3.0

Applicable Models: HD-A30, HD-A3, HD-D3, HD-A35, HD-A2, HD-A20, and HD-XA2.

Overview: As part of our commitment to provide world-class service to our customers, Toshiba is supplying this firmware update for use by purchasers of Toshiba HD DVD Player models listed above. This firmware update improves support for 1080p/24Hz OUTPUT and auto mode(for HD-A30 and HD-A35), improves network connectivity for supporting the download of web-enabled network content associated with certain HD DVD discs, and also addresses certain disc playback and HDMI/DVI related issues identified by Toshiba.

Posted by Larry Myers (Member # 738) on 07-15-2008, 07:03 PM:

Thanks

It looks like I will just go ahead and bid on A30 on Ebay. Does anyone know what the difference is betwiin a A30 and A35 machine. It seems I can get an unopened box A30 for a little less then $100 but a A35 seems to be going for about $300 plus?

[ 07-16-2008, 09:21 AM: Message edited by: Larry Myers ]

Posted by Geena Phillips (Member # 3726) on 07-19-2008, 10:25 PM:

Keep in mind that most 1080p HDTVs worth their salt will de-interlace a 1080i signal, yielding a picture no different than if you were running from a 1080p player.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-20-2008, 01:14 AM:

It is impossible for a 1080p TV to not deinterlace a 1080i signal. However this won't look as good as 1080p sets that run at 120Hz (or other true multiples of 24). It also introduces lag due to processing (most won't notice).

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-20-2008, 02:53 AM:

Larry, aren't you running a single chip DLP with a resolution of 720P anyway?

Posted by Larry Myers (Member # 738) on 07-20-2008, 12:23 PM:

Brad, I wanted this for a HDTV set that does to 1080P. Also I might upgrade to a 1080P projector later if the price falls another 35%.

At his point, I believe the main difference between a A30 and A35 machine is the sound. The A30 is going for about $100 and the A35 is going for about $200. A "new in the box" sealed A35 went for $300 on ebay "buy it now". So there is a demand.

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 07-20-2008, 01:07 PM:

I think the A35 allows the pass through of the bit stream over HDMI for the Dolby TrueHD and DTS MA formats so a receiver with the capability of decoding these tracks can do so instead of using the internal decoders on the player.

Posted by Larry Myers (Member # 738) on 07-20-2008, 03:44 PM:

I also wonder if there is also a better upconvert feature in the A35 for standard DVD's to be played at 1080p.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 07-21-2008, 01:45 AM:

quote: Darryl Spicer
I think the A35 allows the pass through of the bit stream over HDMI for the Dolby TrueHD and DTS MA formats so a receiver with the capability of decoding these tracks can do so instead of using the internal decoders on the player.

[slightly-OT]
In this same vein... what's the point of paying extra for having decoding circuitry in your receiver if all the players that support those formats can decode them all by themselves?

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 07-21-2008, 02:43 AM:

quote: Chris Slycord
[slightly-OT]
In this same vein... what's the point of paying extra for having decoding circuitry in your receiver if all the players that support those formats can decode them all by themselves?

Because some of the decoders that are built into the players will not decode the tracks fully especially the DTS-MA. Some of the newer receivers that offer 7.1 decoding have the decoders built in them for both of the newer formats. Basically you are future proofing yourself with these type receivers. When more and more receivers become available with the decoders and more players allow the pass through of the undecoded bitstreams over HDMI, eventually newer Blu-ray players will start to become available with out the decoders. That should help bring down the cost of the units. This will take time though.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 07-21-2008, 01:04 PM:

Ah I figured by now most players supported all the formats. But of course we're talking about a player that's no longer in production so it would make sense for it to not support everything that new players do.