✓ VERIFIED

HD-A1

HD-A1 · 2006 · component

Specifications

Cpu: Dedicated HD DVD decoder chipset (exact silicon not publicly documented); onboard Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD (2ch), DTS and DTS-HD decoders
Ram: max: not publicly specified, fixed and non-upgradeable · base: not publicly specified, fixed and non-upgradeable
Ports: HDMI · Component video (YPbPr) · S-Video · Composite video · Optical digital audio (Toslink) · Coaxial digital audio · 5.1-channel analog audio out · Stereo (2-channel) analog audio out · Ethernet (LAN, for firmware updates) · USB (x2, service use)
Battery: none (AC powered, no internal battery)
Storage: base: none (disc-based playback only, no internal storage) · options: Reads HD DVD, DVD-Video, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW
Release Price: $499
Storage Medium: HD DVD (also plays DVD-Video, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW)

Upgrade paths

other

Firmware updates via Ethernet or USB added features over its life (profile/decoder tweaks), no hardware format changes · Toshiba shipped several firmware revisions; updating fixed compatibility bugs with some discs but couldn't add capabilities like 1080p output.

free

EASY

display

Locked to 720p/1080i output over HDMI and component, no 1080p · The HD-A1 predates 1080p HD DVD players; Toshiba's own HD-XA1 and later HD-A2 added it. This was the format's first-round compromise against early Blu-ray players.

n/a

LOCKED

other

Fixed HD DVD format support only, no Blu-ray playback possible · The defining constraint of the format war: buying this player meant betting against Blu-ray, and HD DVD lost within two years of this unit's release.

n/a

LOCKED