So after playing around with this new HD Toshiba A3 model,,, I'm finding out that the unit is actually like a computer with Ram and memory etc.., as it takes up to as Minute to come to life and open the DVD-drawer.   

Plus I find that if you stop viewing a movie part way thru,and hit stop then power shut down ( which takes quite a few seconds to shut down as well),, when you get back to the player later and power up, ( waiting........) , and then hit 'play'  it starts the movie back to the beginning again just as if I had disconnected the power from the wall.. Regular DVD players and PowerDVD6 never does this..   

I am also stumped on what exactly to do about this firmware business.     

The web site says there is a firmware update of 2.3,. My player seems to report back to me via the maintenance menu that the current firmware is 1.1/1/1  , the Rear of the player has RJ45 jacks and an Ethernet jack for uploading, but reading around on the net I'm inclined to find that most others have found that form of upgrade to be extremely slow.,
So I have in the mean time, uploaded the ISO files to  a folder with in my PC. The file I have sitting is 38.6 MB in size and is an ISO format (HD-A3-1.3.ISO  is the name of this file).,, 

Plan of action is to burn the files to CDR and then place disc in drawer to update that way..
Besides the fact that the player is working fine and I have had no errors etc when playing back mostly regular Dvds., Should I be so inclined to put in an update, and risk the chance of botching up the current software?

Plus I talked to a Canadian Toshiba Rep on the help line last week and he informed me to not install any updated firmware till maybe the Spring of '08 ....  ????

I am not at all familiar with the HD-AC3 model, nor can I find any mention of that model anywhere.  Did you mean HD-A3?

The latest firmware out for the -A3x series is 1.3 which resolves some issues with web-enabled content and certain HDMI-DVI problems.  Is it necessary to install this firmware?  No, not if your movies are playing fine.  I've installed plenty of firmware updates on my -A1 and never had a problem with botching.  And, as you've read, installing via the ethernet jack on the back is god-awful slow.  This has been the way I do my updates, but only because I'm too lazy to burn an ISO to a blank DVD-R.

Don't know why the rep would tell you to wait until Spring '08, but maybe something great is coming down the pipeline. 

Quoting widescreenforever:

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Thanks for your opinions et all,, and yes I did mean A3 and AC3  ( got ac/dc on the brain I guess).. 

One other item I forget to mention in my first post above, and that is the HD discs themselves..
Isn't it neat how when you hit menu the movie still plays along but you get the menu options either opening to the side or to the bottom...   

I especially like the overlay menus when it comes to Warner releases since Warner starts right into the movie before I get a chance to select audio features.

Quoting widescreenforever:

Quote:
Isn't it neat how when you hit menu the movie still plays along but you get the menu options either opening to the side or to the bottom...   

I guess it's a matter of opinion.  Why do I want the movie to keep playing while I'm trying to browse through the menus?  I always pause the movie first.  Seems like a neat feature that's rather pointless to me.  I do like that I'm not taken out of the movie, but I find it silly that the movie continues to play.

As for upgrades, I've burned to disc and done it over the net.  It's certainly easier to do the network option, but it does take about 30 minutes.  While burning the disc is annoying, I think I prefer that method.

Quoting widescreenforever:

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So after playing around with this new HD Toshiba A3 model,,, I'm finding out ...........

Well I have about two weeks to decide if I should be a schmuck and jump ship and take my Toshiba HD A3 player back to the big box store where it came from to use their '30 day in house' guarantee that I am happy with the model..
In this case I'm happy  but don't want to have a Betamax HD player.,..
What!!  ??  no New HD DVD  movies after May 2008 ???   
The cheapest Blu-Ray Player is going to set me back a furthur $100,,  and even though the discs can hold 25% more HiDef digital info,, the discs may be more prone to scratches as the 'pits'  are closer to the surface than HD DVD discs are.. 
Plus I'm worried that with Warner Bros.  Great December Track record I'm going to standing in line to get a mailer to ship off any defects on Blu Ray and wait for eventual replacement Discs..     

What to do what to do............         

Well that 's just it-  I only have a 30 day window from Dec 20 to Jan 20.. 

But I have made up my mind..

I will keep my Toshiba A3 HD player as an upconverting player for my 500+ non-Hi-Def movies to look great in 1080i .,,  I will then pick and choose what HD DVD's  is to be offered, and sold for cheap Now and in the future.  ( picked up four already) ...
Any Great Warner Bros/ Disney/ Fox etc.  titles that come out in the near future I'll  just pick up the regular DVD.., any regular type movies such as I Am Legend, National Treasure Book of Secrets  and others if I want to see it in High def I wait for the Cable broadcast in 1080i  six months after disc release.

and... I'll wait till Blu Ray players are under $99 , then I could pick one up and then start a Blu Ray Collection.  ( Hopefully that will be about the time that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull comes out on Blu Ray ) ..........     

Whew got that solved okay    ..  Can't kick me around...