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Tested: Toshiba’s HD DVD Firmware Version 2.7
Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 01:00 PM ETTags: Firmware Upgrades, Toshiba (all tags)
Is Toshiba’s latest firmware update for its second-gen HD DVD players ready for prime time? We asked Joshua Zyber to take it for a test drive on his HD-XA2 player.
Released early last week, the documentation for firmware version 2.7 promises that it "improves network connectivity supporting the download of web-enabled network content associated with certain HD DVD discs, and also addresses certain disc playback and HDMI/DVI related issues identified by Toshiba" (the standard boilerplate language that accompanies most of their firmware updates) for the HD-XA2, HD-A20, HD-A2, HD-A2W, and HD-D2 player models.
In addition, and likely of most interest to owners, the Firmware V2.7 adds a new function called Direct Digital Output Mode to the XA2 model. This feature (previously available only in the recently-released HD-A35 player) allows the raw digital bitstreams for the Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD advanced audio formats to be transmitted over HDMI 1.3 to a compatible receiver for decoding. While the XA2 will still not decode DTS-HD High Resolution or Master Audio internally as it can for Dolby Digital Plus or TrueHD, this bitstream function provides the first opportunity for owners to listen to these formats in full quality.
In a new update to his XA2 review, High-Def Digest reviewer Josh Zyber installed the firmware on his machine and also discovered that it corrected a couple of lingering issues with the player. He found that the audio sync problems that plagued 1080p24 video output after the last V2.5 firmware have been eliminated, and the video stutter affecting discs like 'World Trade Center' is completely fixed at all resolution outputs.
Unfortunately, playback of glitchy DVD/HD DVD Combo format discs such as '300' (as reported in Josh's Combo Discs – What Went Wrong? column) remains problematic.
For Josh’s complete thoughts on Toshiba’s XA2 HD DVD player and the series of firmware updates issued for the deck thus far, click here to read his ever-evolving review.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Firmware Update Information for Owners of Toshiba HD DVD Players: Models HD-XA2, HD-A20, HD-A2, HD-A2W, and HD-D2 [Toshiba]
- Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
- World Trade Center (HD DVD)
- 300 (HD DVD)
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Commentary: Combo Discs - What Went Wrong? (Sep 14, 2007)
Toshiba Adds 1080p24 to XA2, A20 HD DVD Players; Initial Results Buggy
Wed Sep 19, 2007 at 12:57 PM ETTags: Firmware Upgrades, Toshiba, Hardware (all tags)
Toshiba issued a new firmware upgrade to enable 1080p24 output for its HD-XA2 and HD-A20 players late last week, but our testing of the new software has revealed some bugs.
The latest in a series of upgrades offered by Toshiba for its complete line of HD DVD players, the documentation for firmware version 2.5 promises several enhancements, including improved network connectivity for downloading web-enabled content on certain HD DVD discs and a fix for "certain disc playback and HDMI/DVI related issues identified by Toshiba."
Likely of most interest to early adopters, the new firmware also enables the output of raw 1080p24 video over HDMI from the HD-XA2 and HD-A20 player models. Several Blu-ray players already offer 1080p24 output, but until this point the feature has never been available from an HD DVD player.
We asked our own Joshua Zyber to take the new upgrade for a test drive on his Toshiba HD-XA2, and as he reports in a just-posted update to his XA2 review, he had mixed results.
According to Josh, the fix for "disc playback issues" as referenced by Toshiba greatly improved his machine's playback of 'The Matrix Reloaded' disc from the 'Ultimate Matrix Collection' box set, which previously had trouble loading in his HD-XA2 player.
Unfortunately, Josh's initial testing of the 1080p24 output setting proved less successful. Although he says that 1080p24 output reduced the slight picture judder associated with the 3:2 pulldown process as normally seen on North American televisions (as well as a previously reported video stutter issue), in his testing the setting also had a negative side effect of throwing audio sync off on most of the discs played. He goes on to say that the problem was so distracting that he found himself forced to return the player to 1080i output.
Some members of AVSForum have also reported playback anomalies involving dropped video frames on some discs.
There's no word yet on how widespread these issues may (or may not) be, but we'll certainly let you know of any developments as they emerge.
Meanwhile, other early adopters have been discussing their own experiences with the version 2.5 upgrade in our forums area. To read their feedback (and to post your own), click here.
- Related links:
- HD DVD's Second Generation: Toshiba HD-XA2 Review [High-Def Digest]
Toshiba to Add 24p Output to 2nd-Gen HD DVD Players
Thu Jul 05, 2007 at 07:55 AM ETTags: Firmware Upgrades, Hardware, Toshiba (all tags)
Toshiba is planning to bring true 24p output capability to two of its its second-generation HD DVD players with a new firmware upgrade due this September.
Adding enhanced functionality to its HD-XA2 and HD-A20 second-gen HD DVD players, Toshiba says the planned firmware upgrade will introduce playback of film-based content at 1080p/24 frames per second (or 24p).
Motion pictures are traditionally captured at 24p for theatrical exhibition, but usually transferred at a frame rate of 30 frames-per-second for home video formats. Though the HD DVD and Blu-ray both allow for the encoding of video at 24p on a disc, no consumer HD DVD players have so far facilitated playback at anything but 30p.
Toshiba has not yet specified an exact version number nor an exact release date for the firmware upgrade, but we'll certainly keep you posted.
Stay tuned!
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Toshiba's Latest HD DVD Firmware Upgrade Unlocks Web-Enabled Features
Mon Jul 02, 2007 at 12:30 AM ETTags: Firmware Upgrades, Exclusive HD Content, Hardware, Toshiba (all tags)
Coinciding with Warner's Tuesday bow of the web-enabled HD DVD version of 'Blood Diamond,' Toshiba of America is offering a new firmware upgrade for its second-generation players.
Hitting stores on July 3, 'Blood Diamond' will be the first major studio high-def release to boast exclusive web-enabled content, including dynamic text and graphic content as well as additional interactive web features. (It follows another web-enabled HD DVD release, 'Freedom Vol. 1,' which hit stores on June 26 from indie distributor Bandai Visual.)
Toshiba is making the update available for its second-gen player models HD-XA2, HD-A20, HD-A2W and HD-D2.
According to the documentation provided by the manufacturer, the upgrade will improve network connectivity in anticipation of the web-enabled content on 'Blood Diamond' and any future such enhanced titles:
Certain HD DVD discs may contain or have the capability of downloading studio-provided, Web-enabled network content. To minimize any potential capability and/or connectivity issues, before viewing such content, it is recommended that you perform the firmware update process.
The firmware can be accessed for direct download via the player's Ethernet ports. The upgrade can also be obtained for download at the company website's customer support section, or users can request a copy of the firmware free on CD (sent via traditional mail).
For more on 'Blood Diamond's pioneering web-enabled content, check out Peter Bracke's just-posted comprehensive review.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Toshiba HD DVD Player Firmware Upgrade V2.0 [Official Site]
- Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
- Blood Diamond (HD DVD)
- Freedom: 1 (HD DVD)
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Warner Brings 'Blood Diamond' to Blu-ray, HD DVD (Apr 19, 2007)
- 'Freedom 1' Offers First Look at HD DVD Twin-Format Disc (Jun 19, 2007)
Workaround Found for Toshiba HD-XA2 Low Bass Issues
Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 07:04 PM ETTags: Toshiba, Hardware, Firmware Upgrades (all tags)
Thanks to the dilligent efforts of several AVSForum members, a workaround has been discovered for previously-reported low bass issues on Toshiba's HD-XA2 HD DVD Player.
Back in March, Joshua Zyber noted in his High-Def Digest review of the Toshiba HD-XA2 that the HD DVD player had very low bass output when using the 5.1 analog audio connections. Since that time, Toshiba has released a couple of firmware upgrades to the player, primarily to resolve specific disc compatibility problems. While these updates have not completely fixed the audio issues mentioned in our earlier review, a temporary workaround for the low bass has been discovered in the most recent Firmware V1.6.
It turns out that the low bass is a symptom of defective speaker and bass management controls inside the player's audio decoder. For viewers with small main speakers who rely on the decoder to redirect bass from other channels to the subwoofer, the player wasn't making any adjustments no matter what settings were entered. Likewise, if an owner had no center channel and needed the dialogue redirected to the left and right front channels, that wasn't working either. As a result, only viewers with a complete set of full-range large speakers were hearing movie soundtracks properly.
Thanks to the thorough testing of AVSForum members MauneyM and others, it has been discovered that changing the "Digital Out SPDIF" setting in the player from Bitstream to PCM re-enables bass and speaker management over the analog audio connections. No, this doesn't make logical sense, as that setting should have no effect on the analog output. Nevertheless, users with small main speakers will find bass restored to the subwoofer channel as desired, with the caveat that ideally a 15 dB bass boost should be applied at the receiver, rather than the expected 10 dB.
The downside to this workaround is that, if you were actually expecting to use the SPDIF output to transmit a digital bitstream for some applications, you'll need to manually adjust that setting each time. There's no clear explanation for why the SPDIF setting would affect the speaker management controls for the analog output, and hopefully Toshiba will continue to work on this problem in future firmware updates. In the meantime, Josh has updated his High-Def Digest review of the HD-XA2 to reflect this new information.
Discuss our HD-XA2 review in our forums, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- HD DVD's Second Generation: Toshiba HD-XA2 Review [High-Def Digest]
- XA2 Bass Management Fix confirmed!! [AVSForum]
- HD DVD Firmware Update Information [Toshiba]
Xbox 360 Software Update Solves HD DVD Playback Issues, Improves Audio Output
Tue May 15, 2007 at 01:05 PM ETTags: Xbox 360, Firmware Upgrades (all tags)
A software update released early today by Microsoft solves several disc-specific playback issues and provides a series of new audio playback options to the console's HD DVD add-on.
Owners of the Xbox 360 HD DVD player got a big present this morning from Bill Gates. The software update (which follows last week's release of the Xbox Spring Dashboard) addresses a series of frequently-requested feature upgrades -- perhaps most notably fixing incompatibility issues with 'Digital Video Essentials' and other select HD DVD releases, as well as resolving reported lip sync problems on titles like 'Batman Begins.'
Gone as well are previously reported issues with the player being stuck in "night mode," which dynamically compressed the range of the soundtrack. Amir Majidimehr, corporate VP at Microsoft’s Consumer Media Technology Group has promised that this improvement alone will provide owners of the add-one with a noticeable boost in performance.
The update also notably includes several upgrades to the add-on's ability to decode audio streams via TOSLINK or HDMI. While the player is still unable to output true lossless Dolby TrueHD streams, it now offers users the option to output all HD DVD audio (including down-sampled TrueHD) in Digital Stereo (2 channel PCM), 640 kbps Dolby Digital 5.1, and 1.5 Mbps DTS 5.1 or WMA Pro.
Finally, in a slight tweak of the player's on-screen UI, three new options have been added: subtitle, camera angle and audio, allowing users to toggle those settings directly from the Xbox 360 media remote's display button rather than having to navigate through the disc's software menu.
In order to begin taking advantage of these new features, you'll need to have access to (and be signed in to) Xbox Live. Simply load an HD DVD movie, and you should be prompted for an auto update. If you don’t have access to Xbox Live, Microsoft says the update will be available for download from Xbox.com later this week.
Thanks to Chris S. and Tim P. for the tip!
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
- Digital Video Essentials (HD DVD)
- Batman Begins (HD DVD)
Toshiba Second-Gen HD DVD Firmware Upgrade V1.5 Now Available
Thu Apr 12, 2007 at 04:40 PM ETTags: Hardware, Firmware Upgrades, Toshiba (all tags)
Toshiba has released a new firmware upgrade for its second-generation HD DVD disc players, dubbed Version 1.5.
The upgrade follows on the heels of Version 1.3, which the company issued only just issued this past February. This new download first appeared this week on Toshiba's official support site, and according to the documentation from Toshiba, does not offer any new features or enhancements. However, it does fix certain connectivity and playback issues, according to this statement:
"As part of our commitment to provide world-class service to our customers, Toshiba is supplying this firmware update for use by purchasers of Toshiba HD DVD Player models HD-XA2, HD-A20, HD-A2, HD-A2W and HD-D2. This firmware update addresses certain disc playback and HDMI/DVI related problems identified by Toshiba."
Note that if you cannot (or choose not) to download the upgrade directly via your player's Ethernet port (refer to your deck's manual for instructions), you can contact Toshiba directly for a firmware CD, which the company will ship to all registered HD-XA2, HD-A20, HD-A2, HD-A2W and HD-D2 owners, free of charge.
We'll keep you posted on any further updates from Toshiba as soon as they are announced.
Editor's note: For an in-depth look at Toshiba's top-of-the-line second-gen HD DVD player, check out our review of Toshiba's XA2 HD DVD Player.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Toshiba HD DVD Player Update Firmware Version 1.5 [Official Toshiba Support Site]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Toshiba HD DVD Firmware Upgrade V1.3 Now Available (Feb 28, 2007)
Toshiba Preps for Online Interactivity with First-Gen HD DVD Player Firmware Update
Wed Apr 04, 2007 at 02:51 PM ETTags: Hardware, Firmware Upgrades, Toshiba (all tags)
Toshiba has launched the latest firmware upgrade for its two first-gen HD DVD disc players, adding support for network-delivered content in HD DVD discs, expected to be released this fall.
Toshiba posted intructions for downloading the firmware, dubbed Version 2.1, to its official site earlier this week. The upgrade supports its two first-gen HD DVD players only, the models HD-A1 and HD-XA1.
The official statement from Toshiba on what is contained in the download is as follows:
"This firmware update adds support for certain anticipated network delivered content in future HD DVD discs, improves certain video and audio processing capabilities, as well as addresses certain disc playback and HDMI/DVI related problems identified by Toshiba."
Though no HD DVD titles with network-connected features have yet been announced, it's good to see Toshiba continuing to support their first-gen hardware devices, as well as preparing for next-gen connectivity well ahead of time. (Here's hoping they'll soon provide an update for the rash of recently-reported incompatibility issues with their second-gen players and select HD DVD discs.)
For those unable or opting not to download the upgrade directly (which requires using the Ethernet port on the back of your HD DVD Player), Toshiba is also offering a firmware CD to registered consumers via postal mail. For more information on the CD version of the upgrade, visit the Toshiba Version 2.1 firmware download webpage.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Firmware Update Information for Owners of Toshiba HD DVD Players: Models HD-XA1, HD-A1, and HD-D1 [Toshiba of America Official Site]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Toshiba HD DVD Firmware Upgrade V2.0 Now Available (Aug 25, 2006)
Toshiba HD DVD Firmware Upgrade V1.3 Now Available
Wed Feb 28, 2007 at 05:36 PM ETTags: Hardware, Firmware Upgrades, Toshiba (all tags)
Toshiba has released a new firmware upgrade for its second-generation HD DVD disc players, including fixes for HDMI-to-DVI connection and disc playback glitches.
Dubbed Version 1.3, a download for the upgrade first appeared earlier this week on Toshiba's official support site. According to the documentation from Toshiba, though Version 1.3 does not offer any new features or enhancements, it does solve a number of "disc playback issues" that have plagued the second-gen units since they first hit the market late last year.
Unfortunately, exactly which "issues" are addressed by the upgrade are not specified. However, according to recent online user reports and emails we've received, Version 1.3 does appear to offer the following improvements:
• Colorspace issues via HDMI-to-DVI connections corrected
• Video/audio sync playback and disc "stutter" improved
• Low audio volume/garbled center channel audio through HDMI fixed
• Sporadic "audio screeching" during playback of Dolby TrueHD
soundtracks fixed
• Reading of audio CDs also improved, with less dropouts and "disc
skips"
• Disc tray opening and closing speed times now faster
But perhaps the most welcome correction is a compatibility fix on select HD DVD titles, including Universal's recent release of 'Hollywoodland,' which many HD-A2 and HD-XA2 owners had been reporting was unplayable in their decks. According to reports, the disc now boots up without error after Version 1.3 has been installed.
We'll certainly keep you posted as any news on additional improvements and fixes come in.
Note that if you cannot download the upgrade and burn it onto your own CD, it is also available by direct download via your player's Ethernet port (refer to your deck's manual for instructions). Or contact Toshiba directly for a firmware CD, which the company will ship to all registered HD-A2 and HD-XA2 owners free of charge.
Editor's note: For an in-depth look at Toshiba's top-of-the-line second-gen HD DVD player (updated with this latest firmware upgrade), check out our review of Toshiba's XA2 HD DVD Player.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Toshiba Firmware Upgrade Version 1.3 for HD-A2 and HD-XA2 HD DVD Players [Official Support Site]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- UPDATE: Full Details, Press Release for Toshiba Second-Gen HD DVD Players (Sep 15, 2006)
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