7. Toshiba HD-XA1

Just as the HD-A1 represents the first generation entry-level HD-DVD player from Toshiba, the HD-XA1 represents that company's first generation top-flight HD DVD player. Thus it offers more or less the same capabilities as that unit, except that it also features a motorized flip-down front panel that covers the disc tray, includes a more capable (and slightly friendlier) backlit remote control, and includes an RS-232 port to enable customized setups during installation. Otherwise, everything that's klunky and unlikable about the HD-A1 is equally present in the HD-XA1, including slow startup, languid command and function transitions, big, boxy enclosure, and so forth (one reviewer reports that the unit starts up nearly 40 seconds faster when the DVD is inserted into the tray prior to powering up, rather than reversing that sequence).

Figure 4: Still big, slow, and klunky: the HD-XA1.

Interestingly, the HD-XA1 must be connected to an audio receiver using HDMI or analog outputs for Dolby Digital Plus encoding to be maintained. If the optical or coaxial S/PDIF is used instead, the HD-XA1 automatically converts the DD+ into LPCM then transcodes it into DTS through that output. Because both DD+ and DTS are lossy encoders, this can't improve the audio (though no audible differences were noted in this case). It's also reported that one should set the player to 1080i output and let the display convert the signal to its native resolution, so as to get the best viewing experience from this unit.

With an older, boxier enclosure and limitations on performance and interface navigation, the same caveat that apply to the HD-A1 also apply to its HD-XA1 counterpart.