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Tuesday, June 06, 2006 2:35 PM PT Posted by Melissa Perenson
Toshiba Issues Firmware Update for HD DVD Players
Well, that didn't take long: Just a month and a half after the official launch, Toshiba has posted its first firmware update for its HD-A1 and HD-XA1 HD DVD players. Users with broadband connections can download the update via ethernet (the alert warns it will take in the vicinity of 30 minutes to download and install the update. If you don't have broadband, you'll need to wait for Toshiba to send you and update disc by mail.This sanctioned firmware release follows after an unofficial update surfaced this past weekend on AV Science Forum . The offical update is now up on Toshiba's site.
The update reportedly improves the unit's startup time, as well as corrects some pixellation and HDMI/DVI connectivity issues. We experienced no issues with our HDMI connection, and didn't spy any pixellation in our first round of tests, but we only looked at a couple of HD DVD discs--the first Warner Brothers titles to hit store shelves. However, we did note the unit was interminably slow, from the time you insert a disc to the time you gain control over the disc--an annoyance that I didn't expect in sophisticated consumer electronics product.
Which begs the question, did Toshiba take a page from the software industry's playbook, where, in the competitive rush to beat rival format Blu-ray Disc to market, it released a product before it was ready for prime-time? While the first buyers of an HD DVD player are, presumably, relatively tech-savvy, I have to wonder how many users will learn about the update, let alone bother to implement it. And I'm also concerned that this may mark the start of an alarming trend for consumer electronics products.
After all, it's bad enough we consumers have to worry about updating our anti-virus and antispyware definitions on our PCs. How many of us really want to worry about updating our entertainment center components the same way? What do you think?
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Inexcusable that someone paying a new product's top dollar cost should have to do ANYTHING to make the product work better.
It should not have been released 6 weeks back if the programmers needed an additional 6 weeks to finish the operating system for the players.
Toshiba should be aware that it's that first review of the product that gets the ball rolling for them...shipping a product with less than adequate firmware just to one-up the competition isn't going to create customer satisfaction that will drive sales...i haven't yet forgotten that first review i read on the HD-A1..i was appalled by the time it took to load a disc...it made me question just how such a drive would work in a computer..will i have to wait a minute before i can see my data on a hd-dvd data disc? there was no such problem with the Blu-ray PC drive so it does beg the question...just how much did they compromise on to get this thing out there first?...i hope we won't be hearing about drive failures next...
How many first generation products have come to market without issues? Not many, I really like the fact that Toshiba took this into account with online firmware updates to resolve current or future issues. Thank you Toshiba.
Firmware can't fix all the problems created when you rush a product to market...if the sofware wasn't ready then the hardware will likely be compromised at some level...they obviously knew of the defects but didn't care just as long as they got it to the consumer first...they're using firmware updates to cover their butts...but those who would chose to buy a first generation product should know better...then again, not everyone's smart...
I don't get where all the people with the bad reviews are coming from. The HD DVD player is a computer. It runs on an operating system. Computer software has bugs. You have to apply patches to fix the bugs. GET USED TO IT AND QUIT COMPLAINING! At least Toshiba is working quickly to fix the bugs. And just because there are bugs in the software doesn't mean the hardware is going to go bad. I have the HD-XA1 and have had no problems and it doesn't bother me the speed it takes to start playing a disc. What else do you have to do for a minute or two. YOU'RE GOING TO SPEND TWO PLUS HOURS WATCHING A MOVIE. So quit complaining about stupid stuff and enjoy the HD quality. Afterall, that's why you bought it.
Yes it's a computer but that doesn't mean that you have to rush it to production with obvious bugs...YOU DON'T SELL BETA PRODUCTS...the fact is that they rushed the software...and the reason why did is that they knew they could always correct it..so they got sloppy...and we should never tolerate sloppiness...the bad reviews are coming from people with a functional brain..you wouldn't complain because you don't "look before you leap"...enjoy it while you can...pretty soon someone will crack the device keys for your drive and it will no longer be able to play newer HD-DVDs...i'm guessing that you didn't know that ...if you had taken the time to read up on these things you would have known about this..and for the record, my issue with the startup time for the drive has to do with it's proposed application on computers..nobody's going to want to wait a whole minute for a HD-DVD data disc to become accessible on a computer...don't get all caught up on video..it's not all about video...