Other Source Component Reviews

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Voice-assisted search and channel changes
Skip button for vaulting commercials
QuickView feature
Minus
Voice control adds little to program navigation
New Experience interface is sometimes cluttered and confusing

THE VERDICT
Finding cable, streamed, and recorded content through the voice remote is much faster and more fun than using an onscreen keyboard. But the joined-at-the-hip New Experience interface may frustrate TiVo veterans until they get the hang of it.

With folks chatting up their smart speakers and smart TVs, TiVo owners may have felt like they were living in the silent era of cinema. Being behind the tech ball was especially galling for the TiVo community, which, not unlike the Apple fanbase, is willing to pay more for superior technology. In late 2017, TiVo, a name synonymous with the DVR, finally responded with a new remote and interface that recognize the value of voice recognition—especially when a viewer is searching for something to watch from among innumerable over-the-air, cable, streaming, and recorded-program options.

The first car I owned was a VW Bug that cost a whopping $500 in 1986. It wasn't the prettiest car on the block, but it got me from Point A to Point B. When Toshiba's first generation HD-A1 HD DVD player arrived on the scene it reminded me an awful lot of that trusty old bug: slow, ugly and clunky, but once the movie started to play, the picture was so outstanding that I could forget it's little quirks. Oh yeah, and it cost a cool $500 as well!

Although 1080p video has been encoded on every HD DVD disc released so far, the first generation HD DVD players have been "limited" to mere 1080i output. With the second generation this changed, first with the upscale $799 HD-XA2 and now with the HD-A20. At $499 the Toshiba HD-A20 is a mere $100 more than Toshiba's entry-level HD-A2, which maxes out at 1080i. So, the question we're here to answer, is this 1080p player worth that extra hundred bucks?

• $599
• Digital Video Output: HDMI
• Video Upconversion: 720p, 1080i
• Audio Decoding: DD, DD+, Dolby TrueHD, DTS
• Ins and Outs: HDMI, others TBD
• Feature Highlights: 2nd gen HD DVD player with 1080p output, full Dolby TrueHD decoding, upconverting HDMI and component outputs for standard-def DVDs

Hardly a week goes by that a big sale on HD DVD players from some mega-retailer or another doesn't make some screaming headlines. But it's been Toshiba's entry level, 1080i players that have lead that charge, with the HD-A2 getting famous overnight thanks to Wal-Mart's $99 sale, and the HD-A3 frequently seen at retail for around $199. But for my money, the real bargain in Toshiba's line could very well be the HD-A30.