Home Theaters

Last week, I was speaking about the battle between High Definition DVD formats, and the fact that Sony, with the PS3, has outsold HD DVD movies by a wide margin. Blu-ray is leading by a good margin in sales - for now.

Well, the prediction has come true about the HD DVD consortium and its bold move to make HD DVD the big format on the block. Price is the hammer it is using to beat down the purveyors of Blu-ray.

It was predicted that the Toshiba HD-A2, a new model sporting the standard list of features, would be released at WalMart, at a price under $200. WalMart may have the Toshiba soon, but it hasn’t appeared yet, and Circuit City is stealing any thunder from the world’s biggest retailer.

Announced today, the Toshiba HD-A2 High Definition DVD player is on sale for $198, at Circuit City. Don’t have a Circuit City near by? No problem, as the price above not only includes free shipping, it also includes  a mail-in rebate for 5 HD-DVD movies free. This is putting a huge stake in the heart of the Blu-ray camp, as this pricing will catch many new Christmas buyers, and the movie rebate offer goes until the 28th of next February.

HD-A2 is plain, but sturdy, and CHEAP!     CHEAP is nice when you can get Toshiba quality.

The HD-A2 has upconversion for standard format DVDs, to both 720p and 1080i,and connection for HDMI, component, S-Video, and RCA outputs. Also included is ethernet connection, for those extra features on the special featured discs. Optical output by TOSLink is provided as well, so those who don’t have HDMI for audio need not worry.

full product description follows: ____________________

HD DVD playback: High definition playback delivers 720p/1080i resolution at a transfer rate higher than DVD or even HDTV, resulting in a more detailed, realistic picture.

Built-in multi-channel decoders: The HD-A2 has built-in processors to handle the multi-channel decoders for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD , DTS and DTSHD. It employs the use of four DSPs to decode the multi-channel streams of the wide array of audio formats. These 32-bit floating-point DSPs are world renowned for their high accuracy and are employed in many high quality audio solutions in the home theater market.

High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI): HDMI is the first industry-supported all digital audio/video connection providing the transmission of uncompressed digital video and multichannel audio on a single cable. When matched to a compatible HDMI-equipped HDTV, this single cable connection ensures that all signals remain in their pure digital form.

HDMI upconversion: Enjoy backwards compatibility and play your collection of standard DVDs on the player. In addition, via the HDMI interface, the HD-A2 scales the standard definition DVD output to a resolution of 720p or 1080i. Not only does this output the video in HD standard resolution, but because the conversion takes place in the player, the signal remains free from excessive digital-to-analog conversion artifacts.

Connections: In addition to HDMI, the HD-A2 also includes component video and S-video outputs, as well as TOSLINK digital audio outputs, so you’ll be able to connect to virtually any TV or home theater system.

Sleek design: The HD-A2 has a slim profile and a depth advantage that allows it to fit into almost any home environment.

Supported formats: The HD-A2 supports HD DVD, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD-RW, and audio CDs.

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This well built, quality brand player will do two things; it will put the screws to Blu-ray providers, forcing a good and cheap model before Christmas, and it will also force the players made in China by lesser known names further down in price. The only reason to buy one of the lesser known brands will be a large break in price from the Toshiba, or lack of availability. (Remember, with 5 free movies, the $200 player becomes a $140 player!)

 check those free movies!

Hopefully, Toshiba will have all hands on deck to keep the stockpiles full of HD-A2s.

If you can’t get one for any reason from Circuit City, BuyDig.com has the same deal for the Toshiba player (including free shipping).

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