Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD Player

Toshiba took the lead last year in the high definition disc arm wrestling match by launching the first product in the United States. That HD DVD player, the HD-XA1, was to some people a little unfinished, yet it started what has been a bitter battle, at least for home theater enthusiasts, involving the industry’s major manufacturers and Hollywood’s biggest studios.

Toshiba’s current HD-XA2 is a completely different beast from its grandfather. Where the XA1 was a bulky, noisy PC in DVD’s clothing, the XA2 is a slick, slimmed down living room component. In 2006 the only differentiating factors between the A1 and the XA1 was an Ethernet port, motorized door and a fancy remote. Now the XA2 is clearly a top-line product with features other models from Toshiba lack.

The XA2, like all HD DVD players, allows hookup by component to a high def TV, but the HDMI output is the preferred connection as it allows a pure digital signal transmission. Earlier high def players had some issues in which the HDMI connection would sometimes work and sometimes not, which resulted in many users opting for the component cables by default. The XA2 has overcome that obstacle. I never had a problem with the HDMI connections properly shaking hands on three different TVs (including one with a DVI port and an HDMI adaptor).

When connecting via HDMI you have the option of outputting the video at 720p, 1080i or 1080p resolution. If your TV is a 1080p model, you’re a lucky person and should choose that option. If, like most HDTV owners, you have a 1080i or 720p model, it may take a bit of experimenting to see what works best. When I hooked it up to a 720p display I found that setting the player to 1080p and letting the TV do the scaling worked best overall, though the manual instructs you to set the resolution to match your display.

This player does include video processing from Silicon Optix. SO’s Reon-VX HQV processor—the new “It” processor—handles scaling, deinterlacing and upconverting like a pro, better the onboard processor in most HDTVs. Samsung’s new Blu-ray player (also reviewed in this issue) also uses the same processor. The Reon allows you to make a number of picture adjustments such as color, mosquito and block noise and edge enhancements usually found only in displays or separate processors.

Audio hook up has been simplified a bit over previous models. An Analog Devices SHARC processor handles the audio side. The player can output Dolby Digital Plus and DTS TrueHD via HDMI to a supporting receiver or you can use the player’s onboard decoders and output the audio via the analog audio jacks. This is an improvement over the entry-level Toshiba A20 which only allows the new high def audio codecs if you have HDMI.For owners of pre-HDMI surround receivers, the XA2 is the way to go. Of course, you can pipe standard Dolby Digital through the optical or coaxial digital outputs, so the XA2 is loaded with options.

When I tested Toshiba’s original HD DVD player last year, I was impressed with the high definition picture, but disappointed with the unstable playback of the device. The new player holds up the former’s exceptional picture quality while exhibiting none of its troublesome quirks. On test discs, the Toshiba passed with flying colors, exhibiting less artifacts and errors than most any DVD player I’ve used, including Sony’s Blu-ray PS3. On HD DVDs, the picture was exceptional. Peter Jackson’s King Kong was detailed, yet film-like and didn’t lack the background video noise seen in the standard DVD version. One of my favorite sci fi movies, Serenity, looked realistic through my Optoma HD73 projector.

Of course, most people won’t restrict themselves to only watching HD DVDs on this player. Via the HDMI output you can upscale standard DVDs to 1080p (1080i via component). This job is handled by the Silicon Optix Reon processor, and as expected, it did a very good job. The result was not as fine as a high definition disc, but it’s a significant improvement over a standard 480p output.

While I won’t tell you which high def disc format to go with, or which one I believe will win out (don’t know, don’t care), I will tell you that if HD DVD is the one you want, then this is the player to do it. yy