2009 2010 Cars and Computer Reviews

For true HD output, the BD-HP 20A Blu-Ray player connects to your HDTV via a HDMI port and will stream video at true 1080p at 24 frames per second. The HDMI port also stream Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround audio if your A/V system supports it. If not, you can still use the BD-HP20A Blu-Ray player 5.1 analog RCA output which is compatible with most systems today. Should your TV not have a HDMI input, the BD-HP20A Blu-Ray player also has component outputs.

With most Blu-ray players taking an absolute eternity to load their discs, a definite highlight of the BD-HP20A's features list has to be its "Quick Start" function, which can have a Blu-ray disc loaded from standby in literally seconds. Hallelujah.
The deck's connectivity contains a couple of goodies, too. The HDMI, for instance, is built to the latest 1.3a specification, meaning it can output Deep Color (should this picture-boosting format actually ever appear on a disc) and studio-grade Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel surround sound. There's also a component-video output capable of progressive and upscaled DVD feeds, and a service port for, potentially, upgrading the HP20A's firmware.

I bought this a few months ago. Contrary to the review by CTNET Asia with regard to the poor DVD upscaling, I find that the player upscales dvds very well indeed - albeit tested at 1080i only - my 46" JVC full-HD model does not accept 1080p inputs). I was also pleasantly surprised when I find that it also plays all dvds except those with code 2 (from the UK which are not many). I have since been using this player for my dvds as well. As for Blu-ray content, I have not encountered any problem with the playing of any Blu-ray disk to date (without any firmware update). All in all, I'm fully satisfied with this player which I thought may be under-rated.

Internally, the BD player handles Blu-Ray discs, naturally. Should you be short on Blu-Rau movies, the BD-HP 20A Blu-Ray player will also play your regular DVDs and upscale them to 1080p. The resulting upscaled output will never be as good as actual HD movies, but it’s better than nothing.

Blu-Ray discs generally take forever to startup the first time. But the BD-HP20A Blu-Ray player has a Quick-Start feature that keeps the program info in memory while in standby mode, so the next time will be faster. Navigating the player and and your movies is via the remote control and easy-to-navigate on screen menus.