Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player

Not even a year after the HD-A1 entered our lives, Toshiba has released the A2. Somewhat confusing to me is releasing a second generation player without 1080p support, I think if nothing else this should have been a key inclusion. However, according to Ultimate A/V they did make changes in boot time, which was a big problem in the first generation players.

From the article:

There is a trade off for better looks though. Gone are some of the
connection options that the A1 sported. Starting with the audio, both
the coaxial digital audio output and the 5.1-channel analog output have
been removed. What the omission of the latter means in real terms is
that the only way you can tap the full sonic benefits of Dolby Digital
Plus and Dolby TrueHD is through an HDMI AV connection. At present, HD
DVD players will convert these higher resolution audio formats to
multichannel PCM and transmit it on an HDMI connection along with the
video. For you to hear this, your AVR or pre-pro must be capable of
playing multichannel PCM audio received via HDMI. Some AV receivers
(and many current pre-pros) with HDMI connections are merely HDMI
switchers and ignore HDMI audio altogether.