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Toshiba Introduces U.S. First HD DVD Players

Posted by samzenpus on from the more-real-than-real dept.

Roy R writes "Toshiba America Consumer Products unveiled today the market launch details for its line-up of the first High Definition DVD players for the U.S. market. The new HD DVD players, models HD-XA1 and HD-A1, will take advantage of the superior capabilities of the HD DVD format. The players will output copy-protected HD content through the HDMI interface in the native format of the HD DVD disc content of either 720p or 1080i."

7 of 323 comments (clear)

  1. SUPER! by iolaus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Thanks Toshiba, glad to hear it will only work with HDMI seeing as how my Toshiba HD-Ready TV only has component connections!

    --
    I find laziness to be an excellent motivator.
    1. Re:SUPER! by montyzooooma · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Early adopters of "HD" televisions are screwed because the film studios have insisted on the HDMI interface to preserve their copy protection mechanisms. And because of the digital millenium act a HDMI to component convertor would be illegal in the US.

  2. A big clunker by digitaldc · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Does anyone else think that picture looks like it is from 1985? Compare it with the first Sony CD player in 1985 - http://history.acusd.edu/gen/recording/images/PDRM 1542a.jpg

    It is huge and expensive...I'll wait for it to come down in price and when it can record.

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
    1. Re:A big clunker by CaseyB · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Good god. What possible excuse could they have for making it so huge? This isn't like a VCR where they haven't had a chance to engineer the most compact layout of some complex machinery. It's a plain old disk transport and a bit of decoding electronics -- just like every DVD player already on the shelves.

      They could even have dropped all the DAC hardware, if HDMI is the only output format.

  3. Re:I really hope... by leomekenkamp · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I hope neither will become dominant; I hope both will turn out to be big flops that the general public will avoid for all the DRM shit and the possibility of owning yet another betamax or V2000 system.

    People do not want too bloody restrictive DRM, they do not want to make choices like "Shall I buy a player that plays movies from A, B and C or one that plays movies from X, Y and Z?". I hope a big, big flop for both Blue and HD camps will make that pretty clear for both hardware and content producers.

    --
    Wenn ist das Nunstueck git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput.
  4. 1080p by osho_gg · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What I am really looking forward is 1080p output capable HD-DVD players. 2006 year is going to be the year of 1080p HD Displays. Unfortunately, HDMI (as I understand) as a format does not have 1080p output well-defined (or defined at all for that matter). However, 1080p HD displays offer significantly better picture quality than 1080i/720p displays. Costco is offering a 37" flat screen 1080p for $1600. Other ~60 inches 1080p displays are pulling in under 5k at this time - which means they will "soon" come to under $2.5k budget. Once it reaches at that point, many of early HDTV adopters (about 1 million in US) will be itching to upgrade their gear to 1080p capable display. It would be a shame if HD-DVD players (without any valid technical reason) will limit its output to 1080i.

  5. But Xbox 360 only has a component connection?!? by elrous0 · · Score: 3, Interesting
    So Peter Moore essentially announcing a component output HD-DVD player?

    -Eric

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.