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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."

6 of 323 comments (clear)

  1. In the words of Master Yoda by giorgiofr · · Score: 5, Funny

    Begun, the HDMI massacre has.

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    Global warming is a cube.
  2. 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!

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    I find laziness to be an excellent motivator.
  3. I don't want another spinning disc by djchester · · Score: 5, Funny

    I want to view my movies directly from my harddrive, when will the movie/media/music industry get it?

  4. 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.

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    Wenn ist das Nunstueck git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput.
  5. just wait... by pillbug22 · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...for one that plays both formats

    http://www.aviransplace.com/index.php/archives/200 6/01/05/broadcom-unveils-chip-that-plays-blu-ray-h d-dvd/

    (apologies if this is already linked)

  6. Re:I really hope... by Darth+Maul · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If both fail I can assure you it won't be because of DRM. The average Joe doesn't care about DRM. If they hook up their new-fangled HD-DVD player to some old TV that doesn't support the right HDMI copy-protection scheme, and it doesn't work, they will just scratch their heads, blame the generic "technology", and return the player perhaps.

    If both fail, it will simply be because the average Joe will only see a slight incremental improvement over current DVDs. Remember, average Joe thinks that watching a DVD on his new HDTV is "high-definition". I'm serious. There have been polls done, and most people think it's HD. Given that current DVDs are good enough, there is not a significant reason to buy the new HD-DVD. The improvement from VHS to DVD was a huge leap; form factor, no rewinding, no degrading, better detail in the image, better sound. From DVD to HD-DVD I'm afraid the improvement is just not noticeable to the "consumer". Just look at the new CD and audio DVD formats; sure, they have superior sound quality, but they are just a niche market for the few audiophiles that can appreciate that improvement.

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    --- witty signature