First off, read all the reviews for the HD-A1. They all apply to the HD-XA1. It is simply a great DVD Player.

Is it worth $300.00 more than the HD-A1? From a performance standpoint probably not. While the dual layer chasis and vibration isolation feet are supposed to improve performance,I don't see any improvement in performance over the HD-A1. If you want to integrate with the rest of your theater with RS232 then you need the HD-XA1, the HD-A1 does not have the RS232 port. The remote that comes with the HD-XA1 is back lit, the remote with the HD-A1 is not, so if you need to see the remote in the dark, the HD-XA1 remote is what you need. Also, the HD-XA1 has a motorized door on the front that covers the DVD tray and control buttons.

If you need the back lit remote, or RS232, or just want the best, then get the HD-XA1, otherwise get the HD-A1

I had the opportunity to extensively test both the Toshiba XA1 and the new Samsung Blu-Ray and the Toshiba machine has better image, better sound, more movies available and lower price. Blu-ray may be dead before being born. I know is too early to call but the first round goes to HD-DVD. The Samsung player is killing Blu-ray with its buggy machine, neither is helping the very inconsistent quality of the few titles available.

Other that a dorky remote, the Toshiba machine is near perfect (after the firmware update). If you are tired to wait for HD recorded material, wait no more.

I just got this HD DVD player. The image it produces is very crisp. I tried the Last Samurai, Phantom of the Opera, and Good Fellas HD DVD on the Samsung 32 inch 1366 x 768 LCD HDTV. The image is amazing.

Comparing the quality of other upconverting DVD players and HD DVD player. The upconverting players are "not bad". The HD DVD picture is fantastic. Even with a 1366 x 768 LCD HDTV, the picture is already so amazing. I wonder what it would be like when it is on a 40 or 50 inch 1920 x 1080 plasma HDTV in the future.

As compared to HD Cable or Directv, HD DVD is a little better. I checked the Warner Brothers HD DVD using the Toshiba notebook that has a HD DVD drive. And it shows that the HD DVD disc is a dual layer disc, and the content is 27GB. So the Last Samurai movie is probably at about 25Mbps. I heard that cable or directv HD channels are usually at 15Mbps. With HD DVD, i feel that it is superb, while HD channels are "excellent".

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