Hi,I am new here.I just bought(1 week ago) this player.I have watched the 2 movies that came with it on my LG 47' LCD flat screen and boy they sure looked great.I do not have a new enough receiver yet to decode the HD sound.I got the Onkyo HT-s780 7.1 home theater system(3 yrs old). I do not know if I should keep it or take it back( I have till 2-22) because all I hear is that it will not have any movies to play because HD has lost the war! All though American Gangster is about to come out on HD. What would you guys do? Take it back and invest in a Blu Ray player or keep it since it does up-convert quite well. Movies that are made well you can't hardly tell the difference. I would sure like some feed back on you guys ideas!!
Sincerely- stumped

Kind of a no-brainer. Buy or rent as many HD-DVD movies as you like and enjoy them. Nobody is going to take away the player or the discs. At current prices, even the A-30 is a good value as nothing but a up-scaling DVD player. But of course, without the HD audio, you're only experiencing 1/2 the thrill.

Don't be a lemming and quit something just because you read somewhere that it's "dead". It's not dead yet.

Yo stinman47-

Welcome to the forums-

You have one of the best upconverting DVD players on the market - for a really reasonable price - that will make the standard DVD's look great!!

So why in the world would y'all want to return it-eh??

Definitely don't take it back. Studios can switch loyalties at the drop of a hat and the Toshibas definitely have the edge for DVD up-conversion. Honestly all of that stuff about HD-DVD having lost the war means absolutely nothing when you consider the fact that less than 2% of the total population even owns a high-def player of any kind (Blu-Ray or HD-DVD). In otherwords the actual war is far from over since most people haven't even invested in a high def player of any kind. Furthermore studios on both sides have proven that they can switch loyalties at the drop of a hat (or in this case the drop of a dollar). Here are some other facts to consider:

1. You still have exclusive support for the forseeable future from the following (in otherwords you won't be able to get any Blu-Ray releases from these companies):

NBC Universal which includes the following:

Universal Studios
Focus Pictures
Rogue Pictures
USA Films
The Sci-Fi Channel
NBC


Paramount which includes the following:

Paramount
Dreamworks
Dreamworks Animation
MTV Films
Nickelodeon Films
Comedy Central DVD
CBS
PBS


You will also have support from Warner until the end of June AND BBC (who produces the popular documentaries ie Planet Earth, Galapagos) will continue to release in both formats.

2. HD-DVD is region free which means you can pick up import titles from all over the world and there are some titles that are Blu-Ray exclusive here that you can pick up on HD-DVD from other countries. Check out the HD-DVD section at www.xploitedcinema.com. Blu-Ray still has the lovely region coding which means that you really don't have this option with them.

3. HD-DVD has been experiencing very strong hardware sales since the price reductions.

4. Depending on where you buy from an entry line Blu-Ray player will set you back a bare minimum of $320 shipped from amazon. Furthermore the BDA has discontinued it's free movie offer, so at most you will get Spiderman 3 with the purchase of one of these machines. Definitely a far cry from the 7 free you get with your HD-DVD player.

5. Specs are not finalized on Blu-Ray yet and the current entry line standalones are V1.0 spec and will not support such features as Picture In Picture or Web enabled features (both of which are all finalized and standard specs on your A30). Furthermore they cannot be upgraded to such specs. The PS3 is the only unit that they can say with confidence will be upgradable to the new specs but that will set you back a bare minimum of $400 for the cheapest model. As it sits right now there are no V2.0 (Web enabled spec) standalones on the market.

6. Even if Blu-Ray beats out HD-DVD they have a long way to go before they can overtake DVD and quite honestly you could easily end up with Blu-Ray going south in a couple of years as well because it could easily fail to take over from DVD at that point and the next big thing could come along.

7. Even if HD-DVD does tank you are going to be able to pick up a whole bunch of high-def titles for dirt cheap while the folks with Blu-Ray will still be paying a premium for a while (players and movies) and you can enjoy high-def at a cost effective price while you wait for Blu-Ray to become more affordable.


Am I biased towards HD-DVD? Definitely, but the bottom line is that there is a whole bunch of mis-information being spread about the HD-DVD format by the Blu-Ray camp that it is irritating to say the least. I don't mind having limited selection on a player that cost me $150 or less (I own the A3) but I refuse to spend $400 on a format that doesn't have full support of all major movie studios. The BD cronies keep saying that paramount and universal are both going Blu but the line-up for the next few months for both still shows HD-DVD exclusive material for high-def. So unless you paid a ridiculous amount for your A30 then I suggest holding on to it and getting your money's worth out of the sucker rather than buying into a technology that is more expensive, is un-finalized and still has no guaranteed support from two of the major hollywood studios. Others will disagree with me but I feel that you should know that it isn't quite as "over" as others make it out to be.

Thanks for everybody's input. I had bought a Toshiba SD-6000 upconvert a week or so before I got the HD-A30.I was in Best Buy looking at Gateway PC's that had both drives(Blu-Ray & HD-DVD) combo and seen the sale of 199.99 for the HD-A30 and it puts out 1080P which is the native res of my TV. I had 40.00 worth of coupons from Best Buy rewards program so I returned the SD-6000 and bought the HD-A30.I have not sent off for the 5 free movies yet because you have to tear off the UPC code on side of box. All in all I got $164.00 invested in it. I kind of want a new PC that can do HD. The movies are very expensive thats for sure. I rented a high def movie from xbox.com,or what ever it is,and played it through my Xbox 360 and it could not compare to the HD-A30. I wish I could watch HD movies like some I know over at Anydvd forum by way of Power DVD Ultra from them loaded onto the hard drive but thats a whole other scenario. I missed out on that one,that version of Power DVD is no longer available .
Is the movies on that link you sent me in english or what? Seems like a movie made here in USA would be in English. I have never bought a import movie.Is it just the same movie but sold there first and then imported back here.Are they in Pal instead of NTSC?I don't think I have ever even watched a import that I know of. I have decided to keep this player for the fact that it makes my DVD collection look great on my TV and I will eventually join Netflix just to rent some HD material.Thanks for the info Jesterrace

I just went to http://www.xploitedcinema.com/ and I seen that most movies are in English first with other options from where there from. Thanks!

You seem to be new to hidef but you got yourself a good HDTV. I wouldn't invest on ANY hidef players if I were you. Wait another month or two until Q2 2008 and hope we are able to read the market, whether HDDVD is dying or not. If HDDVD is not dead, for sure the player will get even cheaper. Save the $40 reward zone for something else. Yes you can buy and keep the HDDVD movies but what good is it if you can't watch new HDDVD movies after May/June.

Other consideration is the movie titles. You decide what titles that interest you and which format offers the most. I enjoy HDDVD's Transformers, King Kong, Hero and the like. Also Bluray's Live Free or Die Hard, 3:10 to Yuma, Cars, Ratatouillle and other Disneys for the kids.

Is not uncommon for early adapters like myself to have both formats but for new comers including my friends I suggest to wait a bit more. Yes you can use the A30 as dvd upconverter but so does the blu format. You're not late yet. That version of PowerDVD is still available, just google "PowerDVD Ultra 7.3.3319a".

@stinman you should also have a look in the bargain basement forum. Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble both have tons of the Domestic HD-DVD titles (ranging from a total of 97-147) for $15-$20 shipped each. Even if HD-DVD does tank it's going to be a long time before a) these titles are available in Blu-Ray b) will be that cheap.

Jesterrace,dude I just read one of your post from about 4 wks ago where you took your HD-A2 (I think) back. Your telling me to hang tough,but why did you return yours? I do see that player is 1080i but I do not believe you can see the difference on any TV smaller than 50' Just wondering. I still haven't tore my upc off yet to send off to get the movies. Once you do it's all over,no returning it then. Oh well, I got 164.00 invested and some free coupons Best Buy sent me for being in the rewards program from where I bought my LG 47 LC7DF Flat panel I am going to keep it and send off today to get my movies!!

I returned my A3 because I purchased it for around $180 shipped AND mine was overly sensitive when it came to rentals, the slightest scratch or dust would cause it to give read errors. This was in late december and I returned it the second week of January. After the official price-drop I purchased another A3 for the low price of $135.67 and I got 9 free movies to boot (2 of which were handpicked titles). So I got the benefit of the same player for cheaper, 2 handpicked titles and a unit that definitely has a stronger laser and is better at reading rentals. So I still have an A3 I just ended up getting a better deal by returning the first and getting another.

Quoting myself... now that from the news Netflix drops HD DVD, I would think twice to keep the player.... We now have one less resource to get HD DVD movies. Do I care, yes? As said in another thread, I mostly rent HD and BR movies before I decided to buy one. I own only a few HD and BR movies that I really want to keep (or my kids wanted to watch over and over again).

I guess we can wait for the cheap sales on clearance for HD-DVD. Then again, who knows.

BUMMER,last night 2/12/08 I litterly tore off the upc code.I tried to just peel it off with a blow dryer but it would not work.I had to take a box cutter and tear off the first layer of cardboard .I am screwed now. I could of putted that money towards a new PC with a quad core and a hd 2400 video card for 749.00 at Best Buy. I downloaded a Power DVD 7.3.3319a ultra last night.It will play the movies loaded from the hard drive. Oh well,maybe I could glue it back on,it is a perfect square cut!ha ha I only spent 64.00 more dollars than a good up converter most of them are around 100, Pioneer is 99.99.The toshiba 6000 I took back was 74.00.I have not ever bought anything over the internet except for a dvi cable from Ebay for my LG 22' flatron monitor.I have till 2 19 to take it back.I have the upc in a envelope ready to mailMan there is no where to rent now is there?Later Jesterrace!

I was just looking at Blockbuster and they have HD titles,some of the new ones are blued out.I don't know what that means?

From your posts, it looks like you don't have a dvd player anymore? I don't know, maybe you might as well keep the A30 for dvd playback.

I've jumped to both formats since early last year with a Blu-ray/ HD DVD burner on my dedicated home theater PC and later a PS3. I am enjoying both formats on my plasma HDTV. Saw all the glory of high definitions. Even my older son, everytime we watch a movie together, he would ask "is this hidef?". No this is DVD.

A lot of people is waiting to jump into the high-def. They got HDTV and no players. But this confusing war just make things more difficult. The industry and retailers are sick with it and they want the transition to go smooth and as soon as possible.

I've had netflix (not anymore) and I had to wait for weeks to get both my HD and BD movies. Tried blockbuster and the movie selection is worse. Nevertheless, I have about 50 movies from both HD and BD, that's about $1K++ invested.

At this point, I wouldn't recommend a friend getting a HD DVD player (or even a Blu-ray player unless s/he wants a PS3). I would seriously wait. If you think spending $160 on a A30 and "that's it", wait until a few months and look again at your high def collections.

On the other hand, I had a friend called and I know that he's making good money (a professor at a univ). He has a huge HDTV in his living room, a projector in his "theather" and a 40" LCD in the bedroom. I recommended him both formats! That was last year btw.

I voiced my disgust with netflix over their decision and have pretty much told them that I will be canceling my account with them. I am hesitant to go with Blockbuster but they do have a pretty good stock of HD-DVDs. I will need to look into it more.

How bout this crap,Toshiba is going to give up on the HD format also. I just read that on Toms Hardware page. They said they would announce in a couple of weeks. Walmart canceled out on HD DVD and Bestbuy has to. Well I am going to glue my upc back on and tape over it and take it back tonite! I have til the 19th of this month.I hope they don't give me any crap. I'll take the 200 and put it towards a new GatewayPC with the 9500 AMD Phenom processor with a ATI HD 2400xt graphics card. For now I got the xbox 360 and it looks just fine for up converting my dvd's.Some of my backup dvd's didn't always play well in th HD-A30 and I would have to switch to the xbox in the middle of the show. Oh wellI had hoped to keep it and that things got better. I wonder what the usb port in front is for.I wonder if they might come up with a plug in Blu-Ray drive for everybody that bought these players or are they going to just say,"the hell with everybody" that bought these players.