In early 2006, with the introduction of their first generation HD-DVD players, Toshiba fired their initial volley in the high definition DVD format fray. In this battle royal with Blu-ray, Toshiba continues to be the standard bearer in the HD-DVD camp. Indeed, they have produced more HD-DVD models than any other company.

Of their three second generation units, the HD-A20 is the middle sibling. Not as fully featured, or priced, as the HD-XA2, the HD-A20's 1080p HD output positions it above the least expensive, HD-A2.

In addition to playing back HD-DVDs, all three will upconvert SD DVDs to a high definition signal. Again, both the HD-XA2 and the HD-A20 output 1080p while the HD-A2 only provides 720p and 1080i. Though for all but the most demanding, that slight step down may not prove a significant enough picture quality difference to make you ante up for the costlier models.

The main difference between the HD-XA2 and the HD-A20 is the video processing engine. The HD-XA2 contains the Silicon Optix REON chip, which supplies more picture quality muscle both in upconverting and, if necessary, downconverting video. (You can read more about the XA2 in Bill Livolsi‘s article.)

For me, I enjoyed the HD-A20's more economical middle ground solution. The image quality of HD-DVDs like Phantom of the Opera is still stunning. And the upconversion of SD-DVDs like Lord of the Rings was completely satisfying.

Out of the Box
No doubt about it, with its glossy black finish and neon blue power light, the sleek HD-A20 is a looker, not especially something that you want to hide away in a cabinet.

As is all too common with HD devices, the box did not contain an HDMI cable. I guess I understand why companies refuse to package even a three foot HDMI cable, but why bother including a composite cable?

If you haven't shifted your connections from Component to HDMI, then the HD-A20 might be the impetus to make the change. The well written manual warns you a number of times that to transmit 1080p from the player requires an HDMI connection. The best you can expect through Component is 1080i or 720p. But, in fact, some HD-DVDs may not playback in HD at any resolution through Component cables. They would be down converted to standard definition.

Toshiba has adopted what I call the "just the essentials" approach to the design of the HD-A20. I actually appreciate this fundamental features idea because it often simplifies setup and use. But for those of you who prefer a whole range of options, then you may want to look at the HD-XA2.

Toshiba HD-A20 Connectors

If you study the connection panel on the back, you will see the usual assortment of video and audio outputs, including an S/PDIF optical digital audio output. For most home theater systems, these connectors are all you will ever need, especially if you have an A/V receiver that handles HDMI. But if you still use a system that takes separate 5.1 analog audio feeds, you're out of luck.

The one port that you normally don't find on SD-DVD players is the LAN network connection. The HD-A20 is really a quasi-computer in HD-DVD clothing. When you turn it on, it literally boots up. So it's not surprising that it has this Internet connection. The machine is not designed to surf the web, but you can download system upgrades. Also, some DVDs contain supplementary materials that will allow you to connect to the web and view online content.

I am not a big fan of dual purpose remotes - you can program this one to control a TV - because the added buttons tend to clutter the landscape. DVD remotes are already full of buttons for features that most people never understand, let alone use. Tell me, without reaching for the manual, what the Angle feature is. And truthfully, have you ever punched it intentionally? Luckily, the keys are laid out in a familiar pattern, so basic navigation doesn't require a GPS.

Toshiba has made a couple of efforts to future proof this player. On the remote is a Cursor button, which has no function now, but it may be activated later to facilitate interacting with DVD content. Also, in the front under the swing down door, two extension ports lay dormant waiting to be reanimated for future control options.

Setup
One of the first items I saw when I opened the box was a sheet of paper that suggested that you check if you need to update the firmware on the HD-A20. If you are a computer geek, this update process is all too familiar. If you just want to watch high definition movies, connecting your DVD player to the Internet may be the last thing you want to do, especially once you start reading the instructions about setting DHCP and Proxy. (If you don't wish to go through the whole downloading rigmarole, you can order a firmware update CD directly from Toshiba.)

In Toshiba's defense, the high definition DVD industry is still in its infancy and the technology continues to experience growing pains. I give Toshiba credit for trying to keep their customers ahead of the curve by providing firmware updates. According to Toshiba, the current version 2.2 improves network connectivity and solves some disc playback and HDMI/DVI issues.

So, hi ho, hi ho, it's off to updating I go. I plugged in our network cable to the player's Ethernet port and checked to see if I needed to update. I did and the download began. As the display on the HD-A20 presaged - 1/36 - this would take awhile. Over twenty minutes later - and I have a fairly standard DSL connection - my pleasure to see 36/36 was short-lived as the display now changed to 1/5. The download was finished, but the updating continued giving me an opportunity to read the manual from cover to cover. As a caution, steps 1 - 4 go quickly, which makes you think you are frozen on step 5. But with a little patience, the process was completed, 45 minutes from beginning to end.

Once the update odyssey was berthed, setup was a breeze. As I mentioned, the HD-A20 doesn't offer a lot of options, so integrating it into our system was straightforward. As it should be. For all its high definition performance, this is still a DVD player, which should be plug and play. And, especially if you have an HDMI pipeline, basically all you have to do is connect the HDMI cable to your HDTV or A/V receiver, load a DVD and enjoy the experience.

Since this player arrived at our doorstep, we have tested it on a range of displays and its performance has been consistently remarkable, particularly with HD-DVDs.

We did encounter a couple of monitors where we could not adjust their Brightness or Contrast to acceptable parameters when displaying test DVDs on them. To be clear, this was a monitor problem and not a player issue. But some units like the OPPO DV-981HD have Brightness and Contrast controls in their Setup menus and you can make adjustments on the player side. The HD-A20 does not offer these controls. If you desire more tweakability in an HD-DVD player, then cast your wistful eyes on the HD-XA2.

Performance
We ran the HD-A20 through its paces with the Silicon Optix HD HQV Benchmark HD-DVD, which provides a series of picture quality tests. It performed solidly on the film detail test and noise reduction was good. We‘ve seen better results on the jaggies test with other players. And of course, we would imagine the HD-XA2 would ace most of these benchmark tests since it has a Silicon Optix video processing engine.

Though unless you watch test patterns for entertainment, the real measure of a DVD player is how well it displays DVDs. And as I have said, the HD-A20 does a bang-up job. The image reproduction of HD-DVDs was marvelous.

Yes, loading a disc still takes too long. And yes, I did receive the dreaded error code 408bc504 when my King Kong HD-DVD froze up. I put it in our Xbox HD-DVD player with similar results, so I assume I finally wore out the disc from endlessly replaying Scene 35, (one of our reference video clips).

And yes, if you stop an HD-DVD, it won't resume playing from where you stopped it. You have to start from the beginning, which is annoying since you have to stop playback to enter the HD-A20's Setup menu. Also, we'll know when this format has matured when it quits tagging the HD-DVD promo on the front of every disc. Thankfully, zipping past these bothersome bits is easy and I really like the Chapter menus on HD-DVDs.