Toshiba HD

The Toshiba HD-EP35 is an anomaly: it’s a high-end HD DVD player, but it doesn’t actually replace the old top-of the-range Toshiba machine, the HD-XE1. Instead, it sits between the XE1 and the EP30, with some features of both.

Toshiba’s HD DVD player line-up can be confusing, so to clear the situation up, here’s a run-through of where the players sit, and how much they cost:

HD-E1, £180: Bottom of the range, up to 1080i output
HD-EP30, £200: Mid-range player, does 1080p and 24fps HD-EP35, £270: Upper-mid-range, does 1080p/24 and has analogue 5.1 audio outputs
HD-XE1, £450: Top of the range, has better upscaling hardware for DVDs, gold-plated analogue 5.1 audio outputs, weighs as much as a tank

There was a player called the EP10, which was basically an E1 with 1080p output — don’t ask us what happened to it, we’ve got no idea. It had limited availability for a while, but has since been superseded by the EP30.

Now we’ve cleared that up, let’s discuss the EP35. It’s a decent looking machine — the styling is identical to the EP30, but it has the added bonus of an HD DVD logo that glows blue when you turn it on.

Round the back, you’ll find the usual HDMI socket, digital optical audio out and stereo RCA audio outputs. The main advantage of the EP35 over the EP30 is that it has analogue audio outputs, which enable it to pass uncompressed 5.1 surround sound to a surround-sound amplifier. This is handy if your surround-sound system doesn’t support HDMI or can’t decode Dolby TrueHD or DTS MA.

You’ll also find the usual Ethernet port round the back, for updating the player via the Internet, and accessing HD DVDs’ online functionality. We’re very keen on this, because it’s something movie studios are starting to make use of.

If you buy the EP35 now, you’ll also find yourself able to claim five free HD DVDs, and there’s a very real chance you’ll get two free movies in the box as well. All-in-all, a pretty sweet deal if you’re looking to get into HD DVD before Christmas. -Ian Morris

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Toshiba HD

When the Toshiba HD-EP30 HD DVD player landed on our doormat yesterday, we were keen to put
it next to our long-term loan sample HD-E1 and see how the two players
differ. This is especially important because if you’re an American (the
EP30 is called the A30 in the US and the E1 is known as the A2), or you shop around, the E1 can be bought for a massive discount.

So, what joy does the EP30 (pictured top) offer that the E1 (bottom) didn’t? Well, for
a start it can chuck video out at 1080p, which is a very welcome
addition indeed. It also supports the 24p movie-enhancing format out of the box. There are also
some minor cosmetic alterations and a significantly less cool power
button.

The EP30 can be bought online for as little as £210, and that includes seven free HD DVDs, which is an awesome offer.

At first glance, the two players look very similar. Until you realise that Toshiba has, for some reason, reversed the layout almost totally. The display on the E1 is to the right, while on the EP30 it’s been moved to the left.

Apart from this reversal, the players do look fairly similar. The EP30 is more rounded though, which is pleasant and makes the players look a little less retro and 80s. Although to be honest, the fact that the E1 and XE1 looked like VHS decks was something that appealed to our nostalgic side.

You may also notice that the basic playback controls are no longer hidden under a flap on the EP10, the only thing concealed is the single USB socket. Click through for more photos.

Update: A full review of the EP30 is now available on the site.


To the rear, we see the same crazy reversal. The E30’s (top) power socket is now on the opposite side, and the HDMI is now at the far right, instead of in the middle. Other than that, the two are pretty similar.

You might also notice that Toshiba has removed the S-Video socket. We’d be tempted to moan about this, but S-Video doesn’t exactly support 1080p anyway, so we’ll let it slide. The composite video out does get to stay though.


The EP30’s remote control (right) is quite different too. Toshiba has dropped the TV controls from the top section, and has changed the glossy black plastic for a more muted matte black.

We rather like the new, smaller remote control, and those TV controls weren’t that useful anyway.


During our photoshoot, the covers fell off both of the HD DVD players. We have no idea how it happened — honest, guv — but while they were naked, we took advantage of the situation and fired off a few photos.

As you can see, the internals are broadly the same, but there does seem to be a slight simplification of the mainboard in the EP30 (right). Presumably the reduction in chips with heatsinks means less heat and reduced production costs.


And finally, just a brief note on the power buttons. We much prefer the older E1’s power button (left) — it’s much classier than it’s new upstart younger brother.

We’ll have a full in-depth review of the Toshiba HD-E30 for you soon, in which we’ll give its picture performance a right good going over, and no mistake. -Ian Morris

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Toshiba HD

Crave hopes you haven’t just rushed out and bought Toshiba’s top-end HD DVD player — there’s a new one that’s basically the same, but cheaper.

The HD-EP10, unveiled at CeBIT, has a similar look to its bigger brother but is made of standard DVD player plastic rather than the HD-XE1’s bullet-proof, shiny metal. Crucially, it can output video at 1080p for the very best HD DVD picture quality.

Its release follows recent price drops for rival Blu-ray players.

The HD-EP10 has a network point so that, in the future, the player will be able to download extra content related to the disc, such as up-to-date movie trailers.

It supports the latest Dolby True HD and DTS HD audio formats for the highest quality surround sound, and has all the connections you’d expect, from HDMI to optical digital out. Unlike the top-end HD-XE1, there are no analogue 5.1 audio-out connections, but you can’t have everything.

Arriving in May, the HD-EP10 will cost about £480. – JJ

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Toshiba HD

It’s no secret: we’ve been on the edges of our seats, waiting for the 1080p HD DVD player from Toshiba, for a while now. Finally, Crave is pleased to announce, the HD-XE1 is in the office.

Until now, only having a 1080i player — the Toshiba HD-E1 — hasn’t really been a huge problem because most of the televisions we’ve been looking at have only been 720p. This is changing though — we’re seeing an increasing number of 1080p screens so we need more top-notch, ‘full HD’ viewing material.

Aside from being a 1080p player, the HD-XE1 also supports Dolby True HD, which should offer the highest quality, uncompressed digital audio. There’s also the Ethernet socket for getting extra content and player updates over the Internet — a nice feature and one that we hope to see exploited in the future.

In terms of styling, the HD-XE1 is similar to the HD-E1 — it has the same retro look, which reminds us of an 80s VHS player. It also has a ridiculously simple display, which harks back to a time when LCDs didn’t do colour. None of this puts us off, though — it looks smart and feels like it would survive a fairly large explosion. There’s also a solid-feeling flap at the bottom of the player that conceals some basic playback controls, and a large blue light, which seems to have no purpose at all.

The remote control is fantastic — it feels like you could beat King Kong to death with it. It’s sturdy, heavy and well-built, and what’s more, when you press a button it lights up like a Christmas tree.

A quick test with some of our favourite HD DVDs proved that this player was well worth the wait. Superman Returns looks awesome and watching it on a 40-inch screen was a cinematic experience. Happy Gilmore also blew our socks off — the picture was bright and colourful with amazing sharpness.

You should be able to find the HD-XE1 online for about £550. The bad news for Crave is that Toshiba want this one back sometime soon… -IM

Update: We now have a full review of the Toshiba HD-XE1 live in our Reviews channel.

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