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hd-a2 posts

90,000 HD DVD players sold in one weekend

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Nov 7th 2007 at 9:58AM

We were wondering how well HD DVD was doing with those new price cuts, and now here's Video Business with the answer: according to sources at retailers, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Circuit City -- among others -- were able to move 90,000 stand-alone HD DVD players this weekend. Most of them were last year's entry level HD-A2, which sold for the low, low price of $99 -- but not all. This dramatically increases the user base for the HD DVD camp, but that's not saying much since the format only sold about this many stand-alone players in its first year. In the world of consumer electronics, 90k isn't that impressive, but considering the estimated loss Toshiba took on each unit, we can see why they'd want to limit the supply. The problem for the HD DVD camp is that they're really up against the PS3's sales, and even though only 40% of PS3 owners realize that there is a Blu-ray player built in, that's still about 750,000 people in the US. But ultimately, this format war is about selling movies, and we'll be keeping a close eye on the weekly sales numbers to assess the impact of this early holiday sales blitz.

[Thanks, Utah!]

Best Buy offers the Toshiba HD-A2 for $100, too, and other HD DVD deals

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 1st 2007 at 3:38PM

Wal-Mart may have been the first to tempt HD-fence-sitters with a $100 HD-A2 player (however limited), but it looks like it's not the only one, with Best Buy now also listing the very same player for the impulse buy-inducing price of $99.99. Of course, it's sold out online, so you may be better off trying your luck at your local store. Not surprisingly, the HD DVD PR folk are keen to talk up this recent spat of price reductions, including the still decent $197 price for the A2 at Circuit City and Amazon, and Sears's Black Friday price of $169 for the newer HD-A3 model, which also comes with two movies bundled in the box (not to mention the five free mail-in movies available with the purchase of any of the players).

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player: $100, this Friday, Wal-Mart

by Ryan Block posted Nov 1st 2007 at 1:46AM

Still waiting to jump into the high def disc game? Or just wanted another weaker, cheaper player for the last-gen TV you phased out to your rumpus room? Well, whatever your reasons, some (not all!) Wal-Mart locations will be selling Toshiba HD-A2s for $100 -- down from $200 -- this Friday. Ridiculous, we know. Blu-ray gonna fight back? We hope so, we'd really like to get our hands on one for under $300, and not just by using our hookup that sells gear out of his trunk, you know?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Toshiba A2 HD DVD Player for $200 at Circuit City

by Conrad Quilty-Harper posted Oct 27th 2007 at 4:20PM

When they say "competition's good," they obviously meant "competition means cheap HD DVD players": Wal-Mart's $198 Toshiba HD-A2 has been copied by Circuit City, which is now selling the same player for $197.99 online. Add it to your cart, and see for yourself. As one tipster said, with deals like this popping up this early, signs are looking good for one helluva Black Friday.

[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]

Buy a Toshiba HD DVD player on Amazon and score eight free movies

by Paul Miller posted Aug 28th 2007 at 10:31AM

There's really never been a better time to jump into HD disc land. The format war isn't going anywhere anytime soon, the players are the cheapest yet, and there are free discs by the bucket-fulls just for signing up. The latest promo on Amazon gets you three free HD DVDs if you buy an HD-A2, HD-A20 or HD-XA2 Toshiba player. Add that to the five free HD DVDs Toshiba will give you through mail-in rebate and you're practically getting the player for free. Amazon's currently having trouble keeping the HD-A2 in stock, and HD-A2s sold by third-party merchants don't qualify for the three free promo, but stick around and you just might be able to nab one. The promo runs from now to September 23.

[Via AVS Forum]

HD DVD's latest firmware update enables web features

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Jul 2nd 2007 at 12:01PM

There is no doubt that both Hi-Def disc formats are a work in progress, and the latest update (for second-generation HD DVD players only) from Toshiba keeps HD DVD's interactive content at least one step ahead of Blu-ray. This latest update will help HD DVD fans enjoy web-enabled content included on a few titles like Warner's Blood Diamond, which hits the streets tomorrow; the update also resolves a few other issues such as the dreaded chroma bug. Like previous updates, you can download it directly to the player, (if it's connected to the Internet) or request a free update disc from Toshiba.

Read -- Blood Diamond's web-content
Read -- HD DVD chroma bug
Read -- Firmware download

Toshiba's HD-A2 HD DVD player going for a mere $199

by Darren Murph posted Jun 11th 2007 at 9:59AM

Now this is more like it. Sure, we've seen the prices of HD DVD players slowly but surely sinking over time, and while there's been more than a few inconvenient rebate offers of late, it looks like a new precedent has been set. Crutchfield is now offering up Toshiba's HD-A2 HD DVD player for a mere $199 after a $100 instant rebate, but we wouldn't count on this thing showing up anytime soon. According to the site, not only is inventory sitting at zero, but it also admits that the ship date is unfortunately "uncertain." Still, $199 for a second-generation HD DVD player ain't too shabby (have you seen one for less?), so be sure to check out the previous impressions before grabbing your place in the ever-growing line of customers trying to take advantage.

[Thanks, Andrew]

UPDATE: Too bad -- looks like Crutchfield was forced to jack the price up by a Benjamin or face an order backlog beyond belief.

Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player reviewed

by Donald Melanson posted Jan 15th 2007 at 6:56PM

It hasn't been on store shelves very long, but the folks at Home Theater Blog have put the few weeks since the HD-A2's launch to good use, taking the time to put the new entry-level HD DVD player on the block through its paces for a complete review. After going through the usual round of tests, they came out squarely in favor of the player, finding that it delivered the performance to match its new good looks, in particular showing a marked improved in load times over earlier players. Those not ready to ditch their massive DVD collections will also be pleased to hear that the HD-A2 will make 'em look about as good as they can, with up-scaling on par with the Toshiba's earlier HD-XA1 player. Of course, if you want to go 1080p this ain't the player for you (don't worry, Toshiba's still got a fix for ya), but if you're sticking with your 480p, 720p, or 1080i set for a while yet, it looks like the HD-A2 will deliver the goods without putting too much of a hurt on your bank account.

Toshiba HD-A2 on store shelves now

by Richard Lawler posted Dec 8th 2006 at 2:59PM

After a relatively brief delay, the cheaper of Toshiba's two second-generation HD DVD players for the U.S. is now available. Shipping in limited quantities to some dealers already, a few AVSForum members were able to pick them up at Best Buy yesterday and today. Priced at $499, in exchange for a new slim design and faster loading times (around 30 seconds from power on to movie play according to initial reports), this revision loses the 5.1 analog audio outputs of the HD-A1. Still, if you've been waiting for that bug free (don't bet on it) second revision hardware with HDMI (1080p coming on the HD-XA2) output not available on the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, this is it.

[Thanks, Ken F.]

Toshiba second gen HD DVD players delayed worldwide

by Richard Lawler posted Nov 15th 2006 at 12:43AM

Toshiba just couldn't let Sony hog all the high-def DVD spotlight with its delays, so it has pushed back its second generation HD DVD players in the US and abroad. Despite the lack of an official statement from Toshiba US, a dealer on AVS Forum revealed that due to problems with a chip from a third party supplier, the lower-end HD-A2 HD DVD player originally due out right about... now has slipped into the second week of December. The HDMI 1.3-equipped, 1080p displaying $999 HD-XA2 is now scheduled to just barely make a 2006 release in the last week of the year. In Europe Toshiba has officially announced the delay, now anticipating a "quantity of units" of the rebadged HD-E1 due in December and the HD-XE1 slated for 2007. Second gen hardware is generally expected to atone for the bug-ridden sins of its predecessors, so hopefully a short delay now means avoiding a quick patch later. In the meantime there's always the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, or deciding which free HD DVDs to get.

[Thanks, Max]

Read - AVS Forum
Read - Pocket-lint.co.uk