Returned XA2 after four days!

[bferr1]

I dabbled with an XA2 over the weekend because I was curious about the PQ from the Reon chip. It did look gorgeous, but...

1. When the player is set to 1080p over HDMI, player stops playing when switching to a different input, and restarts when you go back to that input. But I don't get the issue at all when I have the player set to 1080i.

2. Glitchy and inconsistent compatability with U-Control discs like Miami Vice. Watched Vice Sunday night. Overlay menus were sluggish and there was a slight glitching of video very much like early Samsung BD players with DTS BDs. Rebooting the player resulted in smooth, normal playback.

3. A high-pitched distorted squeal sometimes over all output options, including analogs, that can be corrected by rebooting the player or reloading the disc.

4. When I press eject on the remote towards the end of the movie, maybe over end credits, without hitting stop first, the disc stops playing, the display says STOP, but the disc never ejects. Hitting eject again doesn't help. Player is unresponsive. Hard reboot of the player is the only remedy. This has happened a few times.

5. Monday morning, player locked up with King Kong disc when trying to go from Universal screensaver back to main menu. Had to reboot the player.

Came back Monday afternoon, turned the player on and got that high-pitched squeal, like an air raid siren. That was the final straw. So back it goes to Value Electronics, and I'm taking a 5% restocking fee hit.

This is exactly why I'm a B&M guy and will probably never again order electronics online. Nothing against VE-- they were great-- but I always get the lemon!