Original URL: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/09/15/toshiba_hd_dvd_player_revision/
Toshiba is to update its North American HD DVD player line-up, the company said yesterday, bringing the US-oriented products launch in March this year into line with the European models announced earlier this month.
Separately, it emerged this week that Samsung will update its BD-P1000 Blu-ray Disc player's firmware next month.
The US versions of Toshiba's HD-E1 and HD-XE1 will be called the HD-A2 and HD-XA2, respectively. Both machines will play not only HD DVD. DVD, DVD-R/RW, CD and CD-R/RW media but also combo DVD/HD DVD products. They're also slimmer than the previously released A1 and XA1 players.
The high-end XA2 will ship with an HDMI 1.3 interface (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/06/22/hdmi_1-3_spec_posted/) and is able to support the 1080p HD resolution. The more mainstream-oriented A2 only runs to 1080i and HDMI 1.2a.
The A2 will ship next month for $500, while the XA2 will arrive in December, priced at $1,000. That compares with European pricing of €599 ($763) and €899 ($1,145), so it's clear North Americans are getting a much better deal that folk over here.
Samsung, meanwhile, will next month roll out new BD-P1000 software that improves the player's picture quality - thanks to a tweak to the machine's noise-reduction system - and adds Java compatibility - the latter a key component of the Blu-ray Disc specification's interactivity features, VideoBusiness.com reports (http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6372143.html?www.reghardware.co.uk). ®
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http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/11/15/tosh_delays_uk_hd_dvd_rollout/
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http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/24/brits_spend_more_on_hddvd/
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http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/03/hd_external_hd_dvd/
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http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/02/toshiba_hddvd_laptop_drive/
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http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/09/04/toshiba_unveils_euro_hd-dvd_players/
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