Reviewers at Consumer Electronics Net weren't impressed with the $500 Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD player, calling it "a disgrace." Fan noise, crashing, a clumsy remote and slow performance doomed the first-to-market player, and the reviewer wasn't too impressed with its standard-definition DVD up-rezzing capability, either. There were even choice words for electronics retailer Best Buy, where a duplicitous blueshirt tried to sell the reviewer an unnecessary $100 HDMI cable, denying that there was already one included in the box. Said the reviewer of the Toshiba player:
"Please, do yourself a favor and don't go through the trouble of buying it, setting it up and being frustrated by it. Wait until this format is more mature, because now, it reminds me of the early days of MS-DOS computing. The only reason I give it more than one star is because of the high quality of its video. Not recommended under any circumstances. 2 out of 10 stars."
Overall, it's a disappointing performance for the HD DVD player for which we had such high hopes. It can only get better.
Review: Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD Player [Consumer Electronics Net]