European version HD.DVD 

 

Toshiba has confirmed that it will launch its first HD-DVD player in Europe on 15 November 2006.  

 

The 599 euro (£400) HD-E1 will be released two days before rival Blu-ray players, which are available within Sony's new PlayStation 3 console.  

 

A second Toshiba HD-DVD player will be released in December, the company said.  

 

Toshiba and Sony are backing rival formats, but analysts say the competition could depress the market for next-generation DVD equipment.  

 

HD-DVD and Blu-ray players are already available in the US and Japan.  

 

Price points  

 

Toshiba says it has already sold 50,000 players in the US and Japan, and aims to sell 200,000 by the end of the year.  

        The question is: who needs 50GB?  

Yoshihide Fuji 

Toshiba 

 

Speaking at the IFA electronics show in Berlin, the company's vice-president of its European DVD division said 10,000 HD-DVD players would be shipped to Europe for the November launch.  

 

Any subsequent shipments would depend on consumer interest, Masaki Kimura said.  

 

Prices for Toshiba's first wave of HD-DVD machines have been set considerably higher than in the US, where the first HD-DVD machines were released in April, and some retail for a little as $499 (£260, 390 euros).  

 

By contrast, Samsung's first Blu-ray player was priced at $999 (£524, 760 euros) in the US.  

 

Movies 'the key'  

 

Backers of the rival formats have been reluctant to concede any ground in the battle to emerge on top in the HD video market.  

 

The backers of Blu-ray hope Sony PS3 will boost its reach 

 

Both formats offer greatly increased storage capacity, compared with traditional DVD players, to cope with the huge sizes of video encoded for new high definition TVs and displays.  

 

But while HD-DVD discs can contain up to 30GB of data, backers of Blu-ray boast that their discs can store even larger files, of up to 50GB.  

 

Analysts and manufacturers say that deals with film studios may hold the key to winning the emerging contest between the two formats.  

 

While Toshiba showed off its new HD-DVD machines at IFA in Berlin, Hollywood giant Twentieth Century Fox gave Blu-ray a boost by announcing plans to release films for that format only.  

 

"We have no plans to release on HD-DVD. Consumer-wise Blu-ray is the best proposition," said Mike Dunn, global president of home entertainment for the studio.  

 

Time Warner also announced plans to release films on Blu-ray, Reuters reported.  

 

But Yoshihide Fujii, Toshiba's digital consumer chief, raised doubts that most Hollywood films would require the greater storage capacity of Blu-ray discs.  

 

"The question is: who needs this," he told Reuters, referring to Blu-ray's capacity.  

 

He said the rival formats could continue to co-exist, but conceded that the major film studios could make or break either format. 

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The Toshiba HD-E1 supports preproduction of HD DVD and DVD video discs and offers a 1080i HDMI output. Toshiba also schedules another model high-end model code-named HD-XE1, equipped with a 12bit/296MHzDAC a 5.1ch analog audio output and a 1080p HDMI output. The first player is a mainstream model priced at 599 euros. The HD-XE1 will be available in December at 899 euros. Both players offer new video processing, support for the latest video and surround-sound formats, and extensive support for advanced navigation and interactive features, along with a new, slimline design. 

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Due i modelli presentati: 

- l'entry level HD-E1, disponibile da fine ottobre al prezzo di 599 euro e dotato di HDMI v1.2 con risoluzione massima in uscita di 1080i, compatibilità con tutte le codifiche audio tradizionali e ad alta definizione ad oggi esistenti e capacità di upscalare i tradizionali dvd alla risoluzione massima in uscita. 

 

- il top di gamma HD-XE1, disponibile da fine novembre al prezzo di 899 euro e dotato di HDMI v1.3 con risoluzione massima di 1080p, piena compatibilità con Dolby Digital, Dts, Dolby Digital Plus, DtsHD, Dolby TrueHD e capacità di upscalare i tradizionali dvd fino a 1080p. 

 

Nessuno dei due modelli prevede codici regionali ma, da quanto è trapelato, non saranno comunque in grado di riprodurre titoli non destinati al mercato europeo. 

10000 saranno i lettori previsti inizialmente per l'Europa e destinati ai seguenti paesi: Spagna, Francia, Germania e Gran Bretagna. Esclusa attualmente l'Italia che non rientra per ora nei piani della cordata HD-DVD. 

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Il modello piu' caro e' quello con decoder incorporato da considerare:Dolby True HD e DTS HD:NUOVI DOLBY E DTS!! 

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La nouvelle platine HD DVD de Toshiba commence enfin à se montrer sur divers sites marchands. 

 

Pour rappel les premières platines HD DVD de Toshiba étaient uniquement vendues aux Etats-Unis et comportaient plusieurs problèmes de jeunesse. La HD XE1 est la nouvelle version améliorée destinée au marché Français. 

 

HDMI 1.3 

 

Par rapport à l’ancienne platine on notera l’arrivée d’une connectique HDMI 1.3 qui permet d’afficher plus de couleurs : jusqu’en 48 bits soit plus que les 16 bits actuels que l’oeil humain peut discerner. Ce passage à la version 1.3 permet aussi d’exploiter les formats audio Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby true HD et DTS HD. 

 

Enfin on remarquera une compatibilité avec les disques Twin Format, il s’agit de disques comportant à la fois une couche HD DVD et une DVD mais ces disques ne sont pas encore sortis sur le marché. 

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Il modello piu' caro e' quello con decoder incorporato da considerare:Dolby True HD e DTS HD 

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Principales caractéristiques 

Supports de lecture : HD DVD, Disques Twin Format, DVD, DVD-R/RW et DVD-R DL 

Formats de lecture : MPEG2, MPEG4 AVC (H.264), VC1 

Décodeurs audio embarqués : Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, DTS, DTS-HD, Mpeg audio, PCM 

Connectique : HDMI 1.3 (avec upscaling 1080p), composante, S-Vidéo, composite, 2x USB, Ethernet, audio RCA, audio numérique optique et coaxiale. 

 

Cette platine Toshiba HD XE1 est disponible en pré-commande à 927.70 €, curieusement pour ce prix vous n’avez pas la lecture DivX ni MP3, plus embêtant la sortie vidéo péritel est absente. 

 

Supports compatibles :          

HD DVD vidéo 

DVD 

CD 

CD-audio 

 

Données vidéo compatibles :         NC 

Données audio compatibles :          

MP3 

WMA 

 

Progressive scan :         Oui 

Décodeurs audio :          

Dolby Digital Plus 

Dolby True HD 

DTS HD 

 

Standards vidéo :         PAL/NTSC 

Connectique générale :          

HDMI 

2 USB 

Vidéo composite 

Sortie S-vidéo 

Ethernet 

YUV 

Sortie optique 

 

Connectique en façade / côté :         NC 

Dimensions :         NC 

Poids :         NC 

Consommation :         NC 

Télécommande :         Oui 

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DOLBY DIGITAL PLUS 

 

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HD-XE1 

950 euro con decoder incorporato 

Highlights 

 

* Stand Alone-HD DVD-Player 

* Mattschwarzes Slimline-Design 

* Umwerfende Bildqualität in High-Definition 

* Herausragende Klarheit und Natürlichkeit des Klangs 

* Interaktiver Inhalt in neuer Dimension 

 

Technische Details 

# HD DVD Video: ja 

# DVD Video: ja 

# DVD VR(1.1): ja 

# CD(CD-DA): ja 

# Dolby Digital: ja(5.1ch) 

# Dolby Digital Plus: ja (5.1ch) 

# Dolby TRUE HD: ja (5.1ch: 48kHz&96kHz / 2ch: 192kHz) 

# dts: ja (5.1ch) 

# dts-HD: ja (5.1ch) 

# MPEG Audio: ja 

# PCM: ja 

# CD (CD-DA/MP3/WMA/JPEG): CD-DA only 

# CD-R (CD-DA/MP3/WMA/JPEG): CD-DA only 

# CD-RW (CD-DA/MP3/WMA/JPEG): CD-DA only 

# Composit: 1(gold) 

# S-Video: 1(gold) 

# Component: 1(gold) 

# Analog 2ch: 1(gold) 

# Analog 5.1ch: 1(gold) 

# Digital coaxial: 1(gold) 

# Digital optical: 1 

# Deep color: ja 

# 7.1ch Bitstream: ja (HDMI only) 

# Control (RS-232C): ja ( Bi-direction) 

# EXTENSION Terminal: 2 

# 720p<->1080i direct resolution change: ja 

# 297MHz/12bit Video DAC: ja