The HD-A20 didn't fare much better on the two high-def test discs that I spun: Silicon Optix HD HQV and the new Digital Video Essentials HD DVD. In both cases, test patterns indicated that less-than-perfect 1080i-to-1080p deinterlacing was going on inside the A20. Deinterlacing? Hmm ... I thought that movies were encoded on HD DVD in 1080p format! As it turns out, HD DVD player manufacturers get the option to pull video from the disc in 1080i (interlaced) format and let the player then perform deinterlacing to get back to 1080p. As the tests indicate, Toshiba opted to employ this roundabout technique in the HD-A20.
Watching Mission: Impossible III on HD DVD, two key scenes revealed the limitations of the player's deinterlacer. The first was a shot outside the Vatican City perimeter where Tom Cruise, dressed as a DHL deliveryman, scales a stone wall to gain entry. As the camera panned across the wall, moiré patterns caused its finely textured surface to vibrate. The second scene was a shot of a grand staircase inside the Vatican. As the camera tilted and pulled back over the scene, interference patterns similar to those in the exterior shots were visible. For comparison, I switched the player's output to 1080i and watched these scenes again on a 1080p HDTV with built-in Silicon Optix HQV processing. In both cases, the image looked solid and clear, with no visible moiré.
Despite these issues, which cropped up only infrequently, the HD-A20's 1080p picture was mostly solid and crisp. Ornate architectural details in the Vatican building's exterior from M:I III came through clear and sharp, and close-ups of faces displayed plenty of fine lines, pores, and creases. Watching the same sequences via the Toshiba's component-video output, the picture looked a bit softer — a subjective impression that I confirmed by checking resolution test patterns on the DVE HD DVD.
BOTTOM LINE Compared with Toshiba's top-of-the-line HD-XA2 — which received our Certified and Recommended stamp in the May issue — the company's midline HD-A20 offers, well, middling performance. If you have a 1080p display and demand no-compromise picture quality, you'll be better off splurging for the HD-XA2. But if you plan to watch movies on an older 720p or 1080i- display, or you have a 1080p TV that offers high-quality video upconversion, Toshiba's less expensive HD-A2 might be a better option than the HD-A20. With the money you save, you could head out and buy yourself a few new HD DVDs.
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