Which are the best 1080p HD DVD players to buy?

What are the BEST 1080p HD DVD players out there (current or discontinued)? What are the differences (pros vs. cons)? Please include info such as: Brand/Model/Price and whether the players are current (as far as that term will carry it) or discontinued... or list them in order of when they were released.

Veteran-Viewer... you must have missed THIS THREAD from last week (see my comments on the linked pg 2).

Also, the Toshiba XA2 is excellent too. I just received my Toshiba A35 a few days ago and it has oustanding image quality (for both HD and SD), faster load times, and all the needed audio outputs (analog 5.1 too). Very satisfied, and the $169 price was a steal. Probably higher now, but keep looking. It now will be my main HD-DVD player (for my 60+ discs), and my other, Toshiba A1 (legacy) player from 2006 is on reserve status (back-up).

-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)

Yes, the Toshiba XA2.

Nothing but good can be said about it. Also, with HD DVD gone you have one of the best DVD upscalers in the world.

Having both the XA2 and the A35, they both are Great. If you're looking to save money get the A35. If you want the best player on the planet shell out the extra dough for the XA2. From what I have seen though not to many dealers are discounting the XA2 due to it's superior playback ability. The costing on the unit alone is $550 brand new. There is a lot of refurbs hanging out on EBay for $399. Really not a bad price to pay for such a great machine.

[Post edited by ReaggieP on Feb 29, 2008]

Thanks for the info, guys!

How does the upconversion of the XBOX HD DVD drive for SD DVD's compare to these other HD DVD players - or does it even upconvert at all? Is there a standard DVD upconverting player that's as good as the Toshiba A35 at upconverting (or better at it)? I have an upconverting SD DVD player, but I am not overly impressed with the results (it's probably a pretty crappy one - despite the brand name, so don't ask what brand and model - I won't tell)!

The xbox drive relies on the xbox to do its scaling. Therefore it will only produce 1080i, or if you use it through your computer your video card would be the scaler...

My XBOX 360 outputs 1080p. All of the 360's with an HDMI port output 1080p!

I thought many upconverting DVD players (older ones?) only output 1080i. Is there a significant difference between an upconverted DVD output of 1080i vs. 1080p?!

[Post edited by Veteran-Viewer on Mar 1, 2008]

Oh, I forgot about the premium, has HDMI. I'm so used to the old one. Ignore me then.

It depends on your TV set really. 1080p in theory is sharper and clearer, but it you TV cannot display it properly then it doesn't make a difference. For example, my projo is a 1080p, but I have the HD DVD player set to 1080i becasue the projo does a better job scaling the 1080i signal vs passing through a 1080p/24 signal. Weird, but true? Try the settings out, and see what suits you best. Unlitmately it you that has to watch it.

[Post edited by ReaggieP on Mar 1, 2008]