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Toshiba HD-A30 High-Definition DVD Player

The HD-A30 is one of Toshiba's third-generation HD DVD-format high-definition DVD players, and was launched in September 2007. You can read more at the company website.

According to a product description:

The Toshiba HD-A30 HD DVD Player stands less than two-and-a-half inches tall but packs a long list of cutting edge features. The HD-A30 sells at a very reasonable price but has top-end features such as support for 1080p/24-frame video and HDMI-CEC compatibility.

ProductWiki said:

The Toshiba HD-A30 (MSRP $400) is one of three models released as part of Toshiba's third generation of HD-DVD players announced September 8th, 2007. Most notably it now supports full HD video at 1080p running at 24 fps (1080p/24fps) meeting the highest video standards. It offers SD upconversion up to 1080p as well using its built-in video processor. All 3rd gen models feature the same form factor: a high gloss, black acrylic face plate, and are 1/2 the height 2.34" (59.5 mm) of 1st gen models.

Few reviews are available online. CNET wrote:

Overall, we couldn't help but feel that the HD-A30 was extremely similar to its predecessor--the HD-A20--which isn't a good thing, as 1080p output on both players is disappointing. Don't get us wrong, there's a lot to like about HD DVD hardware compared to Blu-ray hardware, such as its lower cost and stronger mandatory requirements. And if your HDTV can accept and properly display 1080p/24, the HD-A30 delivers excellent picture quality as well. The problem is that the vast majority of HDTVs can't handle 1080p/24 properly, which means that for most people, the HD-A30 just doesn't justify the price premium over the HD-A3.

An Amazon.com reviewer lauded the product:

The player itself is beautiful, both in appearance and on screen (watching on 1080p Samsung LCD). Picture quality of HD-DVD is, as expected, superb, and DVD upscaling is the best I have ever seen (easily destroying my 1 year old Sony).

A very few negatives. Boot times are still a bit slow, it takes about 40 seconds before the HD-DVD logo appears on screen, with another 20 seconds to load the disc, it's around 60 seconds total from power on to actually start watching the disc. Discs also don't resume play, which is odd as it seems to be a feature. If you don't power off the unit and stop a disc, it will resume where you left off, but if you power off the player, it restarts from the beginning, very odd, but Toshiba could easily fix in a firmware update.

All in all I am very, very pleased, the unit feels sold, looks amazing on your shelf and features some of the best video quality I have ever seen. The few, "problems" don't really bother me, but I wanted to mention them as it could turn off some people.

* Get the Latest Price on the Toshiba HD-A30 High-Definition DVD Player.

November 1st, 2007