There are 3 days of Christmas shopping left. High on many lists will be an HD DVD player, either a standalone player or an add-on. Although the outcome of the BD/HD DVD format war is ongoing and there is no clear idea who the winner is, considering the value, an HD DVD player makes a great gift.

Toshiba, Amazon.com and other retailers like Best Buy are offering numerous rebates and free movies. We put links to the Amazon.com offers because Amazon offers the best prices. Let’s take a look at the most recent batch of payers available. The most frequently found on the market are the toshiba A2, A3, A20, A30, A35, the Xbox 360 add on and the the newly announced Venturer SHD7000.

As a result of the clear and strict standards of the HD DVD format, most of the players have similar connections and audio output. Most notable is that all HD DVD players must have onboard TrueHD support. This means all HD DVD players can send the highest quality HD uncompressed audio to your receiver. The differences between the players typically lie in resolution support (which can be upgraded witha firmware update) and what kind of A/V connections the player has. We note the important features for the typical/non-sophisticated purchaser. the rundown follows the “more” link.

1080i Players

Toshiba D3

Toshiba offers 3 HD DVD players priced at just under $300. The first is the D3,a respectable entry level HD DVD player. With an MSRP of $299.99 this 1080i player is priced similar to the A3 but is limited to 1080i HD playback. The D3 plays all types of optical media and comes bundled with an HDMI cable (always handy).

Audio/Video

Like all Toshiba HD DVD players, the D3 upconverts but is limited to a 1080i upconvert. The D3 supports all HD audio formats too:

Video Resolutions

• 720p/1080i
• SD Upconversion with HDMI: 480p/720p/1080i

Audio Output

• Dolby® TrueHD 5.1ch
• Dolby® Digital Plus 5.1ch
• Dolby® TrueHD 5.1ch
• DTS® 5.1ch
• DTS® HD

Connections

Essential to the Ilovehddvd.com editors is HDMI out and a digital optical audio out. We eagerly await the day when the HD DVD player comes equipped with a wifi connection. Until then we will have to do with a 10/100 ethernet port. Luckily our 360 has a wireless conenction! The D3 has:

• Ethernet (10/100BASE)
• Digital / Analog out simultaneously
• Component Output
• Composite Output
• Analog (2 ch)
• Digital Optical Output
• HDMI (1)

Who Should Buy: Early adopters not concerned with having to upgrade later when the price of 1080p TVs comes down a bit. If you have a sweet-ass system, look to the A20 or A35.

Pros: decent player, lots of connections, good starter

Cons: Looks just like the A3

Shop Amazon.com for the D3 player + HDMI Cable

Toshiba A3

The A3 is a popular sub $300 HD DVD player as well. Like the D3 its output is limited to 1080i and plays all types of optical media (obvioulsy excluding BD).

audio/video

1080p TVs can be expensive, so it makes sense for Toshiba to offer HD DVD players that output only 1080i. Considering that Toshiba just released a firmware update to their A2/A20 which added support for 1080p and 24p I would not be surprised to see a similar update for this player.

Video Resolutions

• 720p/1080i
• SD Upconversion with HDMI: 480p/720p/1080i

Audio Output

• Dolby® TrueHD 5.1ch
• Dolby® Digital Plus 5.1ch
• Dolby® TrueHD 5.1ch
• DTS® 5.1ch
• DTS® HD

Connections

No WiFi on this player … but there are a considerable amount of connections similar to the D3:

• Ethernet (10/100BASE)
• Digital / Analog out simultaneously
• Component and Composite video output
• Analog (2 ch) and Digital Optical audio output
• Extension Terminal

Includes ‘300′ and ‘The Bourne Identity’ in the box

Who Should Buy: Early adopters not concerned with having to upgrade later when the price of 1080p TVs comes down a bit. If you have a sweet-ass system, look to the A20 or A35.

Shop on Amazon for the HD-A3 Player

Xbox 360 add-on

One of the important weapons HD DVD has in the current format war is the price point. Sitting in the most affordable position of HD DVD players is the Xbox 360 HD DVD player addon. This is a Harry Potter novel sized plastic box that attaches to your Xbox 360 via high speed USB and is rumored to be able to connect to a Win-PC here and here.  Although this player takes up the USB port on the 360, it includes in its connections 2 USB ports. Despite the great convenience of this player for 360 gamers, the player lacks in video resolutions, supporting only up to 1080i without SD DVD upconversion. Despite this shortcoming the 360 add on player does produce stunning 1080i images using only a composite connection. The Xbox 360 elite does have an HDMI connection.

Video Resolutions

• 720p/1080p/1080i
• No SD Upconversion

Audio Output

• Dolby® Digital 5.1 surround sound

Connections

• No WiFi on this player … but there are a considerable amount of connections similar to the D3:
• 2 USB ports

Who Should Buy: Gamers who are not particular about the slight distinctions between 1080i and 1080p or the type of connection between player and TV.

Shop Amazon for the Xbox 360 HD DVD add on

Venturer SHD7000

Toshiba can;t have all the HD DVD player glory so in steps the Canadian electronics company Venturer. This box looks suspiciously like the “A” line from Toshiba and offer similar performace features at a slightly cheaper $229.99:

Video Resolutions

• 720p/1080i
• SD Upconversion with HDMI: 480p/720p/1080i

Audio Output

• Dolby® TrueHD 5.1ch
• Dolby® Digital Plus 5.1ch
• Dolby® TrueHD 5.1ch
• DTS® 5.1ch
• DTS® HD

Connections:

• Ethernet (10/100BASE)
• Digital / Analog out simultaneously
• Component Output
• Composite Output
• Analog (2 ch)
• Digital Optical Output
• HDMI (1)

Who Should Buy: Fans of things from the Great White North … Molson Golden, Hockey, McKenzie Brothers and Export A cigarettes.

Pros: an A3 with with a cheaper price

Cons: The only downside to this is that it only comes in a 1080i version. For a few buck more you could sport the A2 and ge the Firmware update.

Shop Amazon for the Venturer SHD7000

1080p Players

Toshiba A30

The HD-A30 takes the performance and convenience of HD DVD to the next level. The A3 adds 1080p output. That’s twice the resolution of a 720p signal. The HD-A30 is also equipped with HDMI-CEC connectivity. CEC stands for “Consumer Electronics Control”. Essentially, when connected by an HDMI cable, HDMI-CEC enabled electronics can be controlled via one remote without any programming or setup required.

Video Resolutions

• 720p/1080i/1080p
• SD Upconversion with HDMI: 480p/720p/1080i/1080p

Audio Output

• Dolby® TrueHD 5.1ch
• Dolby® Digital Plus 5.1ch
• Dolby® TrueHD 5.1ch
• DTS® 5.1ch
• DTS® HD

Connections:

• Ethernet (10/100BASE)
• Digital / Analog out simultaneously
• Component Output
• Composite Output
• Analog (2 ch)
• Digital Optical Output
• HDMI (1)
• CE Link

Who Should Buy: Those with 1080p tvs.

Pros: Beautiful 1080p picture and 1080p upconvert

Cons: price

Typically the A30 retails for 399, but Amazon.com has it on sale for 246.34 - thats a pretty amazing deal for the A30.

Toshiba A35

The HD-A35 is a step above the A30. With 1080p performance like the A30, the only area to upgrade was audio. The HD-A35 add offers 5.1-channel analog output and High Bit Rate Audio (up to 7.1 channel) via the HDMI connection bypassing the player’s internal audio processor and sending the signal to a 7.1 enabled receiver. The HD-A30 also adds support for Deep Color via HDMI allowing compatible display devices to deliver outstanding video quality-displaying up to a billion possible colors.

Video Resolutions

• 720p/1080i/1080p
• SD Upconversion with HDMI: 480p/720p/1080i/1080p

Audio Output

• Dolby® TrueHD 5.1ch
• Dolby® Digital Plus 5.1ch
• Dolby® TrueHD 5.1ch
• DTS® 5.1ch
• DTS® HD

Connections:

• Ethernet (10/100BASE)
• Digital / Analog out simultaneously
• Component Output
• Composite Output
• Analog (2 ch and 5.1 channel)
• Digital Optical Output
• HDMI (1)
• CE Link

Who Should Buy: Those with high-end recievers that want the ultimate in audio output.

Pros: multichannel audio connections, .1 support via HDMI

Cons: Price. The A35 normally retails for $499.99. Amazon has the A35 on sale right now for $349. shop here!

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