Updated 26 May, 2012, 4:18 pm IST

Toshiba Unveils Second-gen HD DVD Players

16 Sep, 2006, 12:30 pm IST | by Sharon Khare |

Toshiba America Consumer Products has announced its second generation HD DVD players for the U.S. market - the HD-A2 entry-level model and the top of the line HD-XA2 model.

The new high end Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD player is designed to output 1920 x 1080p, the highest HD signal currently available, via High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) 1.3. HDMI version 1.3 is the most current, major enhancement of the HDMI specification, which adds support for Deep Color technology. The HD-XA2 also incorporates a 297MHz / 12 bit Video DAC with high-quality, 4x oversampling for increased bandwidth for true playback of an HD picture to a video source. The HD-XA2 comes with a picture setting function allowing customers to optimize picture quality with user adjustable settings for color, contrast, brightness, edge enhancement and block noise, among others. The new HD-XA2 HD DVD player's 1080p output capability complements Toshiba's new Cinema Series Pro LCD TVs, which provide true HD 1080p input capability via HDMI.

The HD-XA2 will be one of the first next generation players to support the video portion of HDMI version 1.3. HDMI 1.3 supports the demands of future high definition display devices, such as Deep Color enabling 36-bit (RGB or YCbCr) color depths, up from the 24-bit depths in previous versions of the HDMI specification. This allows Deep Color compatible display devices to deliver outstanding video quality.

HD DVD players support video compression standards including MPEG-4 AVC and VC-1, as well as MPEG2. To meet the latest advancements in Audio/Video interfaces, both models connect to HDTV sets via HDMI - the multi-industry-supported, all digital A/V connection capable of providing the transmission of uncompressed digital video and multi-channel audio on a single cable.

HD DVD players output HD DVD content through the HDMI interface in 720p or 1080i for the HD-A2 and 720p, 1080i or 1080p for the HD-XA2. Through the HDMI interface, standard definition DVDs can also be upconverted to match the resolution of HD displays. As the conversion takes place in the player, the signal remains free from digital-to-analog conversion artifacts. Like the current HD DVD players, the HD-XA2 and HD-A2 are backward compatible, so users can continue to enjoy their libraries of current DVD and CD software.

Toshiba's HD DVD players support a variety of HD audio options to complement its HD video offerings. The mandatory audio formats for HD DVD include both lossy and lossless formats from Dolby Labs and DTS - including the Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD.

The lossless mandatory formats include Linear PCM and Dolby TrueHD. The Dolby TrueHD format supports audio tracks that are bit-for-bit identical to the high resolution studio masters and in the new models can support up to 5.1 channels of 24-bit/96kHz audio. Both new models feature built-in multi-channel decoders for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD (5.1 channel), DTS and DTS-HD (core only).

The HD-A2 will be available in October for $499.99 and the HD-XA2 will be available in December for $999.99.

Tags: HD DVD , Dolby TrueHD , HDMI , Dolby Digital Plus