Definitely providing a look at what the follow ups to the HD-A1/XA1HD DVD players here will look like, Toshiba is prepping their HD-E1 and HD-XE1 players for Europe at IFA 2006. Other than sporting what appears to be a more compact design, the low end HD-E1 player due in November includes 720p/1080i output, HDMI 1.2, and support for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio for 599 euros. The top of the line HD-XE1 player adds 1080p and HDMI 1.3 to the list of features when it releases in December. The lower end model will only output 2 channel audio via analog, while the more expensive player includes a 12bit/296MHzDAC and 5.1 analog audio output. HDTV UK has noted that the XE1 will include DVD upconversion to 1080p via HDMI, but neither player will include support for
managed copy. Hopefully we'll learn more about these players and Toshiba's plans for the future after they are announced Saturday.
[Thanks, WiFiSpy]
Read -
Toshiba HD-E1 and HD-XE1 players announced - AVS ForumRead -
Toshiba Announces HD-E1,HD-XE1 HD DVD Players for Europe - Home Theater BlogRead -
IFA 2006 Commences - ImpressRead -
IFA 2006: Toshiba names its two HD DVD players for the UK - HDTV UK
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Subodh Kolla @ Sep 1st 2006 11:35AM
could it be possible to see a US version of this dvd player at this years cedia...i guess we just have to wait 2 weeks and see.
Bill @ Sep 1st 2006 11:54AM
This seems like a step backwards as compared to the -A1 series of players. Two channel analog audio on the lower priced player that costs more money? Plus no upconversion on that one, you have to spring for the more expensive one?
Scratching my head on this one...
Steve J @ Sep 1st 2006 12:11PM
Wow, I was expecting the European price to be a bit higher than the American price, but not this much...
599 Euros is roughly $770, or for us Brits, just over £400...
Even if I weren't in favour of Blu-ray, there is no way I would pay this much for a 1st gen player.
I think I'd rather pay £25 more and go for the 60Gb PS3 model.
B.Greenway @ Sep 1st 2006 12:25PM
Bill the E-A1 upconverts.
B.Greenway @ Sep 1st 2006 12:41PM
Doh, make that HD-E1. Too early I guess.
Jason @ Sep 1st 2006 1:33PM
giving away its massive price advantage over blu-ray is asking for trouble. the public wants to see prices coming down. pioneer-like behavior is upsetting. these are supposed to be for mass-market consumption, not the elitist (pun intended) crowd.
electronics @ Sep 1st 2006 2:00PM
That's only a 720p-ish panel though, right? Isn't the source downscaling first?
no, PC with Powerstrip does not downscale. :)
Xyzzy @ Sep 1st 2006 2:40PM
#3 - technically, this is a second gen player; the first gen was released in the US and since this is a different box, it can't be considered first gen.
That said, I AM surprised that it costs more. It's very possible that the article doesn't have 100% correct information though. We'll have to wait and see.
Steve J @ Sep 1st 2006 3:49PM
Xyzzy, I was under the impression that this is pretty much the same player bar the obvious cosmetic differences...surely not different enough to justify the price.
Personally, I can't see this selling well in the UK. The same would probably apply to upcoming Blu-ray players though. Considering that we're only just beginning to enjoy the benefits of HDTV over here, and that most people don't yet have HD Ready TVs, I would think it unlikely that people would flock to either format.
Xyzzy @ Sep 1st 2006 5:21PM
#8 - They're similar, but something's obviously changed since it's much more compact (as the article) states. In addition, it says that one of the models does 1080p and has HDMI 1.3, something the US versions don't support. I think the US ones only upconvert DVDs to 720p as well (not 1080p), but I could be wrong on that one...
Enough to justify the price difference? Probably not. Then again, everything in the UK seems to be more expensive. When I visited, it appeared everything cost the same as the US, only it was in pounds instead of dollars (ie: instead of a DVD costing $20, it would cost 20 pounds, or nearly $30 when I was there...) Using that model, the 400 pounds is "cheaper." Maybe that pricing structure has changed in the UK since I havn't been there in 5 years...
Leon_Ville @ Sep 1st 2006 7:16PM
Xyzzy, the pricing structure hasn't changed. As a british teenager, I am only able to afford few CDs, Dvds and less things on the whole. In comparison to my american cousin, he has lots of cds, dvds and everything.
Talking about HDTV in england, HDTV is being advertised a lot more now, but transmissions are still so rare. Blu-ray and HD-DVD is unheard of unless you're a geek. While a lot of you complain of your hd-dvd players and blu-ray players being expensive, spare a thought for us who are using old-fashioned dvds!
Joseph R @ Sep 1st 2006 8:28PM
Xyzzy said: "I think the US ones only upconvert DVDs to 720p as well (not 1080p), but I could be wrong on that one..."
That's WRONG. Both Toshiba models (+ the RCA clone) will upconvert standard DVDs to "1080i" resolution [thru HDMI input only].
The signal then is re-scaled by the display itself, to it's native resoution, either in 1080p (fewer models), or in 720p (most models). But the standard DVD content DOES receive upconversion processing to 1080i.
And it's done so very well with the Toshiba players! I watched the "extreme edition" of T2 recently [great DVD master], upscaled to 1080i, and it looked "high-def" (just not as super-clean as a higher bit HD DVD image, with it's superior digital processing).
Steve J @ Sep 2nd 2006 4:07AM
Xyzzy:
Yeah, that was certainly the case back when DVDs first came out. You were looking at 20-30 pounds for a DVD to go in your nice 450 pound player.
It's not so bad now though. You can generally pick up a DVD (new release) for around 10 - 15 pounds. I would however expect Blu-ray and HD-DVD titles to initially retail somewhere in that higher price band like the original DVDs.
Just out of interest, how much do you guys pay for petrol (gas)? I hear people commenting on how much it costs in American TV shows. We pay around £0.96/ltr...and I think you guys buy it by the gallon...which would work out around $6.54/US Gallon.
GhostDoggy @ Sep 2nd 2006 4:51AM
I'm confused. What does it cost to get a a Toshiba player to output a 1080P24-mastered HD DVD movie title at 1080P?
Xyzzy @ Sep 2nd 2006 10:29AM
Steve J: We have it pretty good here, compared to most of the world, when it comes to gas costs. It was just recently as high as $3.09/gallon (in my area) but as of yesterday was down to $2.72/gallon.
When I was in England, I saw the prices posted at 99p and said, "$1/gallon, that's cheap!" Then I thought about it and went, oh that's in pounds.... "1 pound/gallon! That's cheap!" Then I remembered it was in liters and did the conversion and went, "Nevermind, that's expensive!"
Kinda interesting though how our gas rises way up, but yours is staying pretty much the same over the last 5 years...
Joseph: Thanks for the clarification. I Knew it outputted HD-DVDs at 1080i, but couldn't remember on regular DVDs (I've only watched a couple of non-HD DVDs on my player :) ).
Kris @ Sep 2nd 2006 12:25PM
it's very nice DvD players. Where I can buy them?
Joseph R @ Sep 4th 2006 9:45PM
Once they are released (November and December), you can probably buy from Amazon's UK website - http://www.amazon.co.uk - or any of the UK-area specialized audio/video retail stores. Also, eBay's UK websites.