Toshiba HD-A1

Though only about half the price of first generation Blu-ray players, the HD-A1's high-definition support is also limited to 1080i and 720p at the very top end. That said, it also offers an Ethernet port for firmware upgrades (and can handle upgrades from optical media as well for those who may choose not to link their machines up to the Internet).

Figure 1: At first glance, the boxy HD-A1 looks more like a VCR than a DVD player, HD or not.

Other things to like about the HD-A1 include support for HDMI 1.2, plus video upconversion for 480i and 480p content to either 720p or 1080i (but only through HDMI output), as per equipment capability (or user configuration). This unit includes additional red (650 nm) and infrared (780 nm) lasers so it can also play back conventional DVDs and audio CDs. Audio decodes supported include Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, and DTS-HD (but only for 5.1 surround schemes). Another nice plus is a USB interface on the front panel to hook up to various storage devices (external hard disks, flash drives, and compatible digital music players or cameras) to play or display JPEG, WMA, and MP3 files.

On the down side, the unit is slow to start up and suffers from languid controls (playback is fine, but takes nearly a minute to get going, and it takes a noticeable while to work through menus, change controls, and so forth). Although the unit has a network link, it won't accept media streams across that link from other devices, such as your family PC (or media server, if you've got one). Audio controls are convoluted and somewhat difficult to master. The boxy look of this unit doesn't add much panache to a home entertainment center, either, and the remote control truly bites.

This unit may be a bit past its prime for many users, or may simply suffer from too many first-generation failings. Unless you can get a killer deal on the HD-A1, you may want to consider the HD-A2 instead: it's cheaper, smaller, faster, and more user-friendly.