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Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Model number: HD-A30 |SKU: 8494499
Experience all the thrills of your favorite movies in stunning high-definition with this HD DVD player that's equipped with CE-Link HDMI connectivity for a simple way to navigate home theater.
Average Customer Rating:
4.1 out of 5(78 Reviews)
Rating Breakdown
(78 reviews)
5 stars
(39)
4 stars
(23)
3 stars
(6)
2 stars
(3)
1 star
(7)
64 of 78 (82%) customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Review 21 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
3.05
Toshiba HD A-30 Player01/24/2008
By reg49from Glen Ellen, CA
What's great about it: Great picture and sound What's not so great: Only 2 Hollywood Studios making HD Movies as of January 2008
"I purchased this model after the price came down and since I already had an A-20, I was able to have one in my living room and one in my bedroom. It is unfortunate that after I own two now that the announcement came out that only 2 Hollywood Studios are producing HD movies, whereas all of the others have now gone over to the Blu-Ray format. Well Sony won out with their format, which I also own a Sony Blu-Ray player as well and I do believe that the picture is better on Blu-Ray and the sound on the Blu-Rays is of the best quality with several movies now in 7.1 sound; it does make a big difference. Most of the HD movies are simply in 5.1 sound; I wanted both though for there are a lot of movies out there that are only in the HD format. So if you can afford it go with both players then take advantage of this great sale price, if you can only afford one, go with the Blu-Ray."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
0 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Review 22 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
4.05
Toshiba HD-A30 Firmware Updated01/23/2008
By SJS1from PA
What's great about it: Great Audio / Video Performance What's not so great: Boot Up Time
"After reading all the BBY reviews I still opted for the Toshiba HD-A30 @ $199 and 9 (count 'em 9) free HD DVD's. With firmware update disk down loaded and ready I set up the A30 only to find out that my unit already had the latest 1.3 version of firmware installed. I've only watched one HD DVD on the unit since I bought it (last night) but no freezes or glitches, only great video and audio. I would have entered a 4.5 star rating if I could."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
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Review 23 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
5.05
Great Product for HDM01/23/2008
By yukon04from WPB. FL
What's great about it: Supurb PQ & Sound, 1080p/24fps capable What's not so great: Resume feature lacking on some disks
"Purchased this unit yesterday, 1/22/08 as a companion unit to my old HD-A1. Viewed "Eastern Promises" last night @ 1080p/24fps. Picture quality was equal to any movie theater! Sound excellent at 5.1. Great buy at $199.99 plus 7 free movies. It clearly bests my BluRay Samsung BDP-1400 which I purchased over Christmas. The Samsung has softer image and a less bright image. I have the Contrast and Brightness cranked way up to equal the Toshibas. Maybe the Sonys or Pannys have better image, but they are $200.00 more. For the money, the Toshibas are a much better buy."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
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Review 24 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
5.05
Great Product01/17/2008
By Chribergfrom West Des Moines, IA
What's great about it: Awesome Picture What's not so great: Not Updated out of Box
"This player has great picutre quality and was easy to set up and start enjoying. Had some minor issues right away with HD DVD movies not finishing, but updated the firmware and everthing works perfectly now. 5 free movies by mail-in-rebate, plus 300 and Bourne Identity in the box...couldn't pass that up. I will end up buying a Blu-Ray as well someday to make up for some of the movie titles not available on HD DVD."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 25 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
4.05
Hd Dvd is rather stunning minus the flaws!01/17/2008
By homeaudioguycctxfrom TEXAS
What's great about it: One heck of a picture and sound..does exceed expectations..true hd 1080p video What's not so great: load time and boot time..isnt up to date with firmware out of box..hope hd dvd wins war
"Well i will kinda skip over the standard reveiws of load time and boot time and firmware. All i can say is you better invest in either a lan connection for it or be ready to sit and watch it load on a pc disk to transfer to the unit cause it wont work right out of bx unless you update it. Really sucks cause if you think about it, if firmware was avail. in mid nov 07, it should be on new units especially since i bought mine on sunday jan 13 08. The upside, i have some serious gear with this unit to go with. I have a pioneer vsx 1017 running audio and i ran the hdmi into this receiver from the hd dvd. It will work but you cant do the audio due to the pioneer only doing video transfer, unless im not doing it right. Its ok i have the optical connection for audio and im estattically happy with that considering i have 2 jbl stadium dual 8" towers for front L & R ..the jbl LC1 for center and jbl monitor 5.25 " sets for rear surround and rear back surround, and a jbl 12" 600 watt sub. Need i say more? lol! The hd dvd player has alotttt of audio output cause i had to turn down the speakers via the setup menu on my pioneer. The picture quality is rather stunning considering the only thing lacking in my setup is the tv. I have a insignia 32 lcd and honestly this tv isnt bad since its not really 1080p capable.. it says on info menu in hdmi mode its doing it, but you can tell its not made for it. Dont worry its getting upgraded in a month with a pioneer 60 plasma. The firmware is rather hard if you arent familiar with electronics and the way firmware goes. The downside, again firmware for one. Theres just no reason to sell this unit like this even if its at its lowest price due to format war and toshiba trying to hurt blu ray. Toshibas customer service walked me through the update but it took a bit to get it right, two trys..and this unit takes like 40 secs to load and boot..better than the original before update of about a minute. The remote isnt that great, rather plain if you ask me for this type of technology. And yes its a computer for a lack of better words, so treat it like one..it takes a minute to load or boot most comps, so give this the same respect. It even tells you in the owners manual about the load times. I have had a few errors pop up before firmware update, one was cannot read disc on hd, another was no disc and another it just jhung up reading a disc. But since the update no glitches as of yet! shhhh i dont want it to hear you repeat that...j/k... All and all i feel along with my friends etc, that hd dvd will win the format war for lots of reasons. Sony is tryin to pin alot of people in the corner with their tech. and since you can get a game unit to play blu ray, why buy a blu ray player. Kinda dumb if you ask me, to offer bluray player for more than a ps3 and expect the win over the entire world. Hd dvd is rather new tech. along with blu ray, i watched this unit side by side with blu ray and same tv's at best buy and i thought the hd looked better by a fair margin. Blu ray is overrated and for the cost of a blu ray its unreal to even try to spend that kinda cash on something to me that isnt just blow me away better at side by side comparsion. So in closing, get the hd-a30 if you want full 1080p, stunning audio, and crisp clear movies even in reg dvd format, do the update and grab awhole lotta popcorn to engulf ur nite with this thing, cause after i hooked it up I didnt want to go to bed.!"
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 26 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
5.05
Think of it THIS way01/14/2008
By tealeaffrom OC, CA
What's great about it: Inexpensive; EXCELLENT upconverting DVD player What's not so great: Slow boot time; Blu-ray is coming strong and fast
"This product about the same price as a GOOD upconverting SD-DVD player. To the untrained eye, an SD-DVD looks ALMOST as good as an HD-DVD on this player. Assume for a minute that HD-DVD withers and dies within 2 years (which I don't think will happen). The purchase includes 7 HD-DVDs (2 in the box + 5 in the mail). As of today, you can rent over 350 HD-DVD titles on Netflix. By the time you get through the titles you like on that library, it will be 6-12 months from now -- my bet is Blu-Ray will come down to this price point inside of a year, and maybe touch $100 in 2 years. Assuming you throw this away in 2 years and buy a Blu-Ray -- total cost is $300 -- which is still less than a 1080p Blu-Ray player meaning you're money ahead."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
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Review 27 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
4.05
already obsolete! (sad to say)01/13/2008
By tiimebomb99from charlotte
What's great about it: great picture in HD and SD What's not so great: going to be obsolete VERY soon
"Wow. What luck. I bought this right before Christmas after doing a lot of homework and decided to take a plunge, figuring the format 'war' would go on for a while. Good price and HD-DVD features are much better than Bluray (in my opinion anyway). Good upconvert with SD titles. Then, less than two weeks after I bought it Warner Bros announces they are pulling out of HD DVD support which GREATLY tips the balance in Bluray's favor. Only a matter of time before Paramount and Universal (the only remaining major studios supporting HD DVD) jump ship to Bluray only. Sadly, I couldn't see keeping a soon to be obsolete player so back it went to Bestbuy. Player looks great (after firmware upgrade) but HD-DVD just isn't winning this one, sorry to say. Probably why it's half price at Bestbuy right now! Had to give it 4 stars since there won't be many movies coming out for the format."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:No
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Review 28 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
5.05
Very good value01/11/2008
By golfermanfrom washington, DC
What's great about it: good picture, good sound What's not so great: slow to operate, that's all
"I got this for xmas from my wife -- which worried me because she does not do much research on such purchases. So after I got it I did some research and read the reviews. Lots of good things being said and some bad things. When I checked and found that my unit had the 1.1 version of the firmware, I figured I would be in for some operating glitches. Not so. Mine has worked fine out of the box on six different DVDs. This player seems more well-made than others I have seen. It doesn't seem flimsy and it doesn't make any weird operating noises. I have ordered the new firmware disc from Toshiba, however, and will install it when it comes. The remote is simple to use. The machine has operated flawlessly without any confusion on my part. I matched the resolution of the player to my HD TV -- very simple,no problem there. I would agree with some folks that it does seem to take a while to cylce through the "turn on" and "insert disc" modes but, hey, big deal -- you get used to it. If I recall correctly, the Toshiba literature does advise owners that they are turning on a computer and as such, time needs to be allowed for it to boot up. For $300 (including 7 HD DVDs) you get a good HD picture with good sound. Probably, if I spent $1,000, I would get a better picture and better sound but this is certainly good enough for me and my family. We love it. I got my money's worth."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
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Review 29 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
4.05
Great player01/10/2008
By rpsofrom Kansas
What's great about it: Great picture and sound What's not so great: HD DVD's are pricey
"I did the firmware update out of the box by connecting to my router. The player then froze while I was watching a bonus feature on the included 300 disc, but hasn't given me any trouble since then. I ran a Cat 5 cable to my entertainment cabinet so I can have it connected all the time for future updates and to access web content on some DVDs. I have played some non-HD DVDs and it gives a very nice picture from them also. I was glad I had read these reviews before I brought the player home so I knew about the firmware update and the slow loading of discs. Knowing that it was a computer, I was not as frustrated with the wait time for it to boot up and load. As someone else said, you turn it on, and go get your popcorn. It is ready to play when you get back. I am hopeful that the HD DVD's will come down in price soon, but in the meanwhile, at least I can watch regular DVDs on this machine."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
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Review 30 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
4.05
Shows off what my TV can do!01/07/2008
By Linaresfrom Southern Cali
What's great about it: Picture quality, sound is fine What's not so great: A little slow on loads, but doesn't bother me.
"This player works just fine. Just owning an HD TV isn't enough. This player stretches out my TV's legs. The picture is so clean and so smooth that even stupid movies are worth watching."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
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Review 31 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
3.05
Great but Losing01/06/2008
By TXiuManfrom Little Elm TX
What's great about it: Great picture/sound quality after firmware update What's not so great: HD-DVD losing format war
"After updating the firmware for the unit I've had nothing but a wonderful experience. This unit gives crisp and clear picture and sound making an amazing combo that can't be beat. My only regret is that after the Time/Warner announcement that they are pulling support for HD-DVD to support Blue-Ray exclusively it looks as though HD-DVD might be on it's last leg. There were already a limited selection of quality movies that were being released on HD-DVD and now that number is dwindling. For that reason I give this unit only three stars...if I was rating JUST the unit it would get four stars, but not being able to get movies to play on it DOES hamper its ability to be a great player. I only hope I'm wrong and that this unit will NOT end up in the same place my Laser Disc player did back in the late 90's."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:No
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Review 32 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
1.05
A piece of junk01/05/2008
By Mustangman
What's great about it: Great picture What's not so great: You can't watch an entire movie
"After reading some of the other glowing reviews, I have to wonder if they had the same machine I did. It will not play an HD movie all the way through. I tried to update the firmware through the internet. That did not work. I tried burning a CD and updating it that way. That did not work. I called Toshiba and was told they were out of the discs containing the update. They were sorry. I spent most of Christmas and a couple of days after trying to get this thing to work. No one should sell products that won't work out of the box. BestBuy was great and promptly refunded my money. I believe, however, that dealers should demand that Toshiba fix these problems before selling them. What good is a great picture if it constantly freezes up after a few minutes of play? And no one should have to be a computer expert to watch a movie. I was very, very, very, very, VERY, VERY upset with this player."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:No
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 33 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
3.05
Fantastic picture, still has bugs01/05/2008
By toasterfrom Toledo, OH
What's great about it: 1080p/24 support, great upconversion, web-enabled features What's not so great: Still bugs to work out, VERY slow load times, no stretch feature
"Purchased this unit Oct '07. The picture quality is excellent in 1080p, and HD moves in 24fps mode look wonderful (you must have a TV that also supports this). The player does a good job at upconverting non-HD format. Now that more movies are being packaged with a dual-format disc, which allows you to play the same disc on a non-HD player or in full 1080p resolution on an HD-DVD player, I think the HD-DVD format will gain some ground. Lack of backward compability historically has limited other superior formats (think Super VHS or DAT audio), and the inability to play a Blu-ray disc in a non-HD player is a significant limitation for anyone with more than one TV and player in their home. Like most HD players, it seems to take forever to power on and load a disc. Powerup can take 45 seconds or longer. Loading an HD disc can take almost a minute. Even ejecting a disc and turning the unit off take a long time, but these issues are common to most HD players. Updating the firmware is a must, as numerous bugs have been addressed. If you plug the unit into an internet connection, this can all be done directly from the menu. But the latest 1.3 firmware (from 11/19/07) still leaves some bugs. If the unit is set to 1080p/24 mode for HD titles and you play a non-HD disc, the movie isn't played correctly (strobe-like effect between frames) and must be set back to standard 1080p via the menu. The remote control navigation buttons don't work correctly on some non-HD titles. This issue was improved in the 1.3 update, but still remains with some titles, making it impossible to get to the setup or other menus on the disc. A feature I miss is the ability to stretch the image. When playing DVDs (mostly non-HD) in 4:3 or fullscreen format, the player doesn't have the ability to stretch the image. Some TV sets can do this instead, but I found that my new set doesn't allow me to stretch a 1080p signal that comes in through the HDMI port, so I'm stuck with watching the movie in 4:3 mode. This is a disappointment, given that the $79 player that this unit replaced was able to stretch the image (for non-HD content). Overall, this unit is a good value, especially at the $249 sales price."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
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Review 34 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
1.05
JUNK01/02/2008
By audionutfrom Chicago
What's great about it: Inexpensive, easy to set up What's not so great: Everything else
"Got it home did the firmware update, 7 min 12 seconds into the movie it froze up would not respond to any remote or front panel functions. Had to pull the plug to reset it. Exchanged it for a new one this until went 1 hour 25 minutes then froze like the first unit. Took it back got my money back will wait until they get things sorted out by then the price of the HD/BluRay combo units will be affordable."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:No
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 35 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
4.05
HDDVD A-30 VERY GOOD12/31/2007
By hacuna90from Portland, OR
"I recomended before watch your movies download firmware update for this dvd a-30 is too complicate download but I called to technical support toshiba and he helped me to install my firmware. The best way is download the software on your Pc and then burn the disc, If you computer does not recognize ISO go web page http://www.ntfs.com/iso-burning.htm and download iso-burner.exe and run and then step1 HD-A30-1300U and follow the instructions. Good picture and quality in my HDTV 40'Samsumg 1080i The worst part is you need to buy HDMI Cable $59.99"
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Review 36 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
5.05
Very Nice Unit12/30/2007
By Broom99from FL
What's great about it: Picture Quality ease of use What's not so great: HD format battle
"When opening the box it is recommended to do a firmware update before using to take care of current issue's , but I played both movies that came with the unit flawlessly before the update. Connected to the internet with the unit the next day, Firmware downloaded in about 40 mins. Unit showed steps 1-39 as firmware downloaded. Very Happy with this purchase!"
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Review 37 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
4.05
HDDVD A-30 Good Buy12/30/2007
By Makbellyfrom Minneapolis Mn
What's great about it: Good Picture Good Sound What's not so great: Long loading time
"I bought this player today and i have to say i'm quite pleased with it. The picture could be displayed up to 1080p/24 without any glitches or distortions on my Samsung 50" DLP 1080p HDTV. Word of caution though, if you are in the market to purchase the 1080p/ 24, 1080p over 1080i I have to warn you that i could not tell any difference between the two resolutions. The most important thing to keep in mind here is that you will need to update to the latest firmware version as soon as you get it out of the box or else you will face problems during playback. The best way to do it is to simply download the software on your PC and then burn the ISO file to a disc (I used Nero Express as i had issues with Dvd decryptor) and then insert the disc in the player and follow the instructions. Go to http://support.toshiba.ca/support/ceg/downloads/index.asp# and make sure you select the HD-A30 Version 1.30 Do not waste your time trying to upgrade using the ethernet port as it didn't work coz it's not set by default and you have to figure out how to get it right which is time consuming plus you don't want your internet connection freezing during upgrade as it could be disastrous for your HD dvd. Also this is faster than waiting for Toshiba to send you a disc. Just make sure you do not interrupt the update process once started or else you will damage your player. I also tried all the different audio options and they all worked with my Yamaha Receiver which doesn't have a HDMI Input and still sounded very good with the optical ouotput. Also upconversion on Regular DVD is really great. Kind of what you get on those fake HD channels on TV. Overall, after following all the necessary steps i watched the entire 300 HDDVD without any issues whatsover. I am glad with this purchase."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Review 38 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
5.05
Great Product12/29/2007
By CoAsTeRDaNfrom Richmond, VA
What's great about it: Good 1080P picture
"I bought the A3 unit for $200, on that day this version was 400. At the time I only had a 1080i tv, so I only needed the A3. But for Christmas I got a new 1080P tv, so I wanted the 1080P HD player. It was still under 30 days, so Best Buy let me return the A3 and pay the 50 bucks to upgrade to this the A30 1080P player. I can tell a huge difference in the picture. You may want to get this now while its on sale before they run out! Very pleased wtih picture quality and ease of use. I am also very happy with Best Buy and will continue to shop with them."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 39 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
4.05
Great player, but you have to upgrade12/27/2007
By OldTechiefrom Syracuse, NY
What's great about it: Great picture, flawless operation, good price What's not so great: Must do software upgrade before it will work
"I think that this was well worth the $250 I paid for it. It has a fantastic picture, (although my HDTV is only 720P natively). With the upgrade it works flawlessly. Without it, it crashed as soon as I put "The Bourne Identity" in it, although it would play regular DVDs and CD with no problem. I knew from my research it would need an immediate software upgrade, so I started my installation by running a Cat 5 cable from my network hub to where I was installing it. On the day after Christmas, the download failed twice, probably due to server overload from everyone upgrading their new HD DVD players. I started the upgrade again as I went to bed, and by the morning, all was well. Both Blu-Ray and HD DVD are still in their infancies as products, and these units were manufactured before the software was really ready. The fact that the software can be upgraded, as bugs are fixed and features added, is a plus, in my mind. The tech-illiterate consumer could easily be overwhelmed and baffled by this process, however. Toshiba will mail you an upgrade disk on request, if you can't or don't want to do the download. I find that although my 2 year old 720P 42" Plasma can take a 1080i input, the picture looks better when I have the Toshiba HD DVD player limit it's output to 720P. Hopefully, when I upgrade my TV to 1080P, this player will be even better.
I was going to buy a unit with less than 1080P capabilities, but there wasn't enough price savings now to justify limiting its future."
Would you recommend this product to a friend?:Yes
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 40 for Toshiba HD DVD High-Definition DVD Player with 1080p Output
Customer Rating
4.05
Overall a Decent buy12/26/2007
By Airbornec507
What's great about it: Price, Future upgrades for better compatability, Picture quality good What's not so great: 1080p mode as it plays right now with the firmware update is not worth the extra $100
"Overall this player is an excellent buy. The picture quality is outstanding when in focus. I can't tell a difference btw 1080i, 1080p and 1080p 24fps. My TV is a 42" Plasma 1080p. This product was flawless on startup out of the box. All you have to do is go into the settings and set up the Internet connection correctly, for those who seem to be having problems, in the player then connect it to the internet via LAN and Leave it be until it turns itself off. This will take about 45 minutes or so. Boot it up and let it play all you want. I've played HD DVD's including Transformers for over an hour and a half with no problems. The only issue I hope Toshiba addresses for this model through firmware updates is the somewhat fuzzy picture when the object on the screen is out of focus. The picture being focused on however is brilliant. If I had to make the purchase over again today I'd buy the AD-2A player since I can't tell a difference in the 3 top modes of play."
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