Are all those free movies worth buying this HD DVD player?

Let me state up front that I'm not going to discuss in detail how good or bad the picture quality of this HD DVD player is because in my experience high definition is high definition, be it from Bluray, HDTV or HD DVD, and it can depend a lot on the specific disc being watched. I will touch on it a little later though. As far as sound, my receiver doesn't handle the new DTS lossless master audio or Dolby Digital Plus signals, but the Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES sound just like my standard DVD player, which is to say that I haven't noticed an improvement.

As a side note, I do have an SACD/DVD Audio player which plays the high resolution audio discs and I did notice a slight improvement in sound quality while listening to those, but not much. Other more experienced listeners may be able to discern a difference.

Why HD DVD?

I purchased a PS3 (Bluray) player a few months back and loved the high definition picture quality of the bluray discs. Unfortunately, there were some great movies only available in the HD DVD format, like "The Matrix." Curses! I decided to bite the bullit and buy this HD DVD player due to the special advertised at Best Buy. The HD-A30 displayed 1080p (the cheaper HD DVD players only displayed 1080i, which is rarely mentioned in the articles touting the positives of the cheaper HD DVD players over Bluray), included the movies "300" and "The Bourne Identity" in the box and three free in-store movies of my choice ($34.99 or less) and I could select another five HD DVD movies online for free; all for $399.99. Plus, who can resist having both Bluray and HD DVD (if you've got the money to burn or are crazy like me)?

That seems like a pretty good deal, no?

Yes and no. Be warned the 5 free movies I must order online are from a small, crappy preselected group, and personally, I don't plan on watching any of them if I ever bother to even order them. In other words, they aren't the biggest blockbusters around. If I can remember, some of the choices were Italian Job (good, but I got this free with my PS3), Aeon Flux, Black Rain, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Full Metal Jacket...and I honestly can't remember. Most of them were old 80's flicks. I was still pleased with the other five movies I got for free though. I honestly knew the online choices would suck, so the two in-box and three in-store movies is what drew me in.

So what do you think of this HD-A30?

The player itself looks a little cheap compared to my Denon DVD 2200 (standard DVD player). The design looks a little too 80's for my taste, especially compared to the sleek PS3. The buttons on the front of the HD-A30 remind me of an old 80's VCR; they're skinny, long, shiney and kind of nudge loosely when you push them. The disc tray also looks and feels really cheap compared to other players I've seen. The disc loading is no where near as impressive as the PS3's, which is just a slot in the player into which you can slide the disc. The HD-A30's tray is just really flimsy looking. The PS3's power button and disc eject are also touch pads, or sensors, so no buttons, which is very futuristic.

The worst aspect of the HD-A30 is the loading time. It takes so long for the system to boot up and display the Toshiba HD DVD logo that I initially thought I had connected the player incorrectly. I understand it's a new technology, but my PS3 doesn't take that long. The disc loading time, while not seemingly as bad as the system loading time, is also noticeably long.

I connected the HD-A30 to my television via the HDMI connection, which you have to do if you want to view 1080p. The manual states that component cables will not pass the 1080p signal, which I didn't realize. I discovered this because the HD-A30 will display on the LED screen what resolution is currently being transferred. I initially connected it via component cables and switched to HDMI when I saw I wasn't getting 1080p. Could I notice? No. But since I paid for it I wanted it.

I was also disappointed that the HD-A30 will not accept wireless broadband signals. To enjoy an interent connection (for firmware updates) you must use an ethernet connection. Unless your computer is near your home theater, this isn't feasible. My PS3 allows for wireless, so the HD-A30 fails in this area in my opinion.

My inability to connect the HD-A30 to my wireless router also meant I had to wait for customer service to mail me a firmware update disc because the player would suddenly stop displaying an image after about 10 minutes of playing a movie. A call to customer service indicated the player's HDMI connection had several problems which required a firmware update. Basically, if you buy this player, expect to wait for a firware update before you can enjoy it. Unfortunately, I tried to download the firmware update onto a CD-R/W disc but the HD-A30 doesn't recognize CD-R/W. What? That seemed odd; however, I have no idea if any other types of players do accept CD R/W, so I can't bash this player too much for it. The customer service rep told me the firmware update should fix it, but if not, I'd have to forgo 1080p for 1080i through component cables. Sigh.

The most significant and irritating realization for me was that the HD-A30 cannot pass any audio via HDMI in bitstream. This means the HD-A30 will always do the decoding and send the audio signal in PCM, which will prevent my new receiver from displaying what audio format it is receiving since the receiver isn't doing the decoding. This is very annoying. I have a very good receiver and I'd prefer to let it do the decoding. I've read the HD-A35 can pass bitsream, but I think only the lossless audio. None of the Best Buy stores in my area stock the HD-A35 though.

Overall I don't know what the big fuss about HD DVD is. People rave about how much cheaper it is and that's why it'll win the hearts and minds of the public, but it seems to me you get an inferior product as a result. They aren't comparing apples to apples. The Bluray players are all 1080p, and the 1080p HD DVD players are not that much cheaper. Is $400 really so much cheaper than $500 when you're talking about home theater equipment?

The HD-A30 is inferior in just about every way to my PS3. The HD-A30 was $100 less than my PS3 and came with 10 free HD DVD discs, which is the only area where this player beats the PS3. I believe 1080p Bluray players run $499 and come with five Bluray discs (also preselected movies which aren't that great). Based on my experience, if movies were released in both formats, I would choose a PS3 over the HD-A30 any day of the week. The PS3 just looks so much nicer, works so much nicer, and has so many more features, including a more detailed menu system.

The menu system of the HD-A30 is surprisingly devoid of many options. It's bare bones.

Maybe other HD DVD players are better, but if you're looking to stay around $500, I'd really have to recommend the PS3. It does everything the HD-A30 does and more.

--update-- 12/4/07

the firmware update did not fix the picture issue. As such I returned the player to Best Buy. The new player does not exhibit this issue, which leads me to believe I just happened to pick up a bad player. Since the issue is not a firmware problem, I've updated my recommendation and star rating.

--update-- 12/18/07

Since I exchanged my player I've had a chance to watch several movies now and overall the picture quality and sound of the player is phenominal, just like my Bluray player. I have noticed however, that every HD DVD movie I've watched has had the screen go blank for about 2 or 3 seconds a few hours into each movie. Presumably the disc is switching sides? I'm not sure, but my Bluray player doesn't do this.

While I'd still recommend this player if you're in the market for an HD DVD player, I think Bluray will win the format war. Anyone who has both players will agree, at least if the Bluray player is the PS3.

--update 10/7/08--

Oh burn! HD DVD is dead!