First Look: Toshiba’s European HD-DVD players
Published by Admin on 2.9.06 at 9/02/2006 04:50:00 PM.
When we first saw Toshiba’s HD-XA1 HD-DVD offering, we had mixed feelings. Here, certainly, was a powerful machine – much more than just a DVD player with better picture quality – but crikey, it was chunky. Thankfully, first glances at Europe’s HD-XE1 suggest it has all the power in a svelte, black aluminium-clad form.
Admittedly, our demo was performed on one of the US machines, but Toshiba assured us that the HD-XE1 would perform at least as well as its American cousin. With a 1080i signal (1080p is also available) the picture and sound were spectacular; as good as any other HD sources we’ve seen so far, with superb detail and contrast levels. A comparison between a lowly Tosh SD-240E DVD player and a DVD played on the XA1 demonstrated that its internal scaling does an impressive job, too.
But saying HD-DVD picture is good is like saying the president of the USA is a bit of a cretin. The really interesting stuff – the details that could ensure HD-DVD survives in an increasingly download-friendly climate – is the interface and the extra features. Link
Admittedly, our demo was performed on one of the US machines, but Toshiba assured us that the HD-XE1 would perform at least as well as its American cousin. With a 1080i signal (1080p is also available) the picture and sound were spectacular; as good as any other HD sources we’ve seen so far, with superb detail and contrast levels. A comparison between a lowly Tosh SD-240E DVD player and a DVD played on the XA1 demonstrated that its internal scaling does an impressive job, too.
But saying HD-DVD picture is good is like saying the president of the USA is a bit of a cretin. The really interesting stuff – the details that could ensure HD-DVD survives in an increasingly download-friendly climate – is the interface and the extra features. Link