Gizmodo: toshiba hd-xa2

Toshiba's HD DVD Players Getting a Price Drop

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:58:15 EDT

It looks like the Blu-ray camp managed to scare the pants off Toshiba with all of their world domination talk so in response, Toshiba has lowered the MSRP on the HD-XA2, the HD-A20, and the HD-A2 down to $799, $499, and $399, respectively. We knew these drops were coming, and the timing couldn't be better to help boost HD DVD's lagging sales. – Louis Ramirez

Toshiba's MSRPs Beginning April 1st [AVS Forum]

Reviewed: Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD Player (Verdict: So Much Better Than This Time)

Gizloco — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 09:03:37 EST

Toshiba's second generation HD DVD player, the HD-XA2, doesn't suck, something you couldn't say about its first generation player. HD Guru just scored the player's first review and walks us through why Toshiba actually did a good job with the HD-XA2. Faster load times, top notch upconversion and 1080p output are the biggest draws here. The XA2 lost some five pounds compared to the A1 and is nearly half as tall. That means no more having to reinforce your home entertainment center just to get the player to safely sit atop. Disc loading is also faster, taking around 22 seconds to load once the unit is turned on.

It can't all be smooth sailing, can it?

Well, if the review is to be trusted (not having any pictures of the player strikes me as suspicious), then the only real complaint is that the XA2 shut off when switching around inputs on the TV. Going from source to source (Video 1, Video 2, etc.) freaked out the player, which then turned off. Toshiba says that a fix is in the works.

Thankfully, it looks like Toshiba really outdid itself with the XA2. It learned from its many mistakes with the A1 (for instance, the XA2 is actually a dedicated HD DVD player; the A1 was more of a striped down PC with an HD DVD drive tacked on) to create what looks to be the best HD DVD player on the market. The review skirted the issue of what looks better, Blu-Ray or HD DVD, but promised that the picture quality is "fantastic." This one looks to be a safe bet. – Nicholas Deleon

Toshiba HD-XA2 Review- An HD Guru Exclusive [HD Guru]

Toshiba's All Powerful HD-XA2 Ready for January Release

Louis Ramirez — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 16:00:24 EST

The folks at AVS Forum are reporting that Toshiba's HD-XA2 (the HD-A2's mighty brother) will be coming out next week. The XA2 was supposed to debut this year, but production delays forced Toshiba to opt for a January release instead. The $999 player (which will feature HDMI 1.3) ships on the 3rd and will support 1080p/60Hz on launch with firmware upgrades already slated for the following month. If only both camps in the next-gen battle would get their acts straight. – Louis Ramirez

Toshiba HD-XA2 Update [AVS Forum]