HD-DVD questions.

I am thinking of jumping on the HD-DVD bandwagon. For 2nd generation players, I basically have 2 choices, both from Toshiba, HD-A2 and HD-XA2.

HD-A2:
max 1080i resolution (although there are rumors of 1080p with a firmware update to come in the near future).
Will only pass HD audio via HDMI. (will send 5.1 via standard optical or coax (one of those anyway)
If recieve audio via HDMI, your AVR or Pre\Pro must be able to decode Dolby plus or true-HD (or the DTS variants of that)

HD-XA2:
1080p resolution out of the box.
Street price is about double the HD-A2.
Can decode all the sound formats in the player and pass them via analog outs to your AVR.

Even though the above looks like statements of fact, if I am incorrect on any of them, please let me know. The 1080p or i does not matter to me since my display is only 720p anyway.

Is it worth getting the HD-A2 even though I will not be getting the best sound from it (if it means waiting another year to get the HD-XA2)?

Is the sound improved with the HD-A2 over a standard DVD player if they are both using the non-HDMI audio option?

If I hook one of these up to my TV via hdmi, do I have to mute (or turn all the way down) the TV every time I watch a movie so sound does not come out of the TV?

Any other obvious things I should be aware of prior to jumping in??

Thanks for all your help.

Michael

Edit - for the record, I am still toying with the Idea of spending alot less and just getting a Sony DVP-NS75H. It is getting very good reviews and is about $200 less - but the 5 free HD-DVD movies you can get with the HD players right now is very tempting. (and taken into account, would make the prices of the HD-A2 over the sony pretty close)