Toshiba stakes its HD DVD claim on the high street

 

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By Alun Williams

Posted on 31 Mar 2006 at 12:44

Toshiba is taking the next-gen optical disc battle to Japanese shops with the launch of the first HD DVD player, the HD-XA1.

Initially, the player will be bundled with two complementary HD DVD movie discs, 'Resident Evil' and a Japanese film, 'Moonlight Jellyfish'.

Toshiba also highlights the navigation and interactive features that are supported by the HD-XA1. The player's 'pop-up menu' displays movie chapters with thumbnails while the movie plays, and allows users to navigate menu features without pausing playback.

There is also picture in picture (PIP) support, including the ability to play supplementary video over the main program. Possibilities cover viewing bonus content, such as a director's commentary or a documentary about the making of the movie, while the movie plays.

Supporting playback of pre-recorded HD DVD, the high-definition picture quality can be accompanied by three surround-sound formats: Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. With HD DVD being backward compatible, current DVDs can be played, with the output resolution scaled for HD displays.

Specifically, it supports playback of DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM discs and is compatible with music CDs and the playback of CDs in WMA or MP3 file format.

No retail price has been set for the player, which is the first to support the HD DVD format approved by the DVD Forum. This is the association that defines and promotes DVD standards.

Earlier this week Toshiba USA announced it would be delaying its launch of the drive until April, in order to synchronise the debut of the HD-A1 and HD-XA1 players with the release of a number of movie titles.

As a historical note, Toshiba claims it was the first to bring DVD players to market - again, in Japan - back in in November 1996 (with models appearing in the US four months later). Today, it estimates, global cumulative sales for DVD players amount to 370 million units. In Japan, the penetration ratio of DVD players and recorders apparently reached 49 per cent of households by the end of March 2005.