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Toshiba works hard at shows like IFA — not only does it promote its own gear, it’s also charged with the responsibility of promoting HD DVD, to beat the Blu-ray disc association’s efforts.
At its press conference in Berlin it announced two new HD DVD players and two swanky new picture-frame LCD TVs with hordes of gleaming HDMI inputs. Which obviously set our collective hearts a-flutter.
We were also treated to a look at Terminator 2 on HD DVD and some German megastar who has decided to release his concerts on HD DVD. Wunderbar!
Plus there were new non-Toshiba HD DVD players announced from both Onkyo and a Chinese company called Venturer, which will be producing budget players. Click through for more pics…
Meet the HD EP30, the first of two new HD DVD players. It supports 1080p and 24p playback — which is essential these days if you want to be one of the cool kids.
The EP30 is expected to cost around £250 when it launches in October, which is a mightily attractive price for a next-generation disc player. Roughly speaking, this player is a replacement for the HD-E1.
The HD EP35 is similarly in features to the EP30, but adds support for ‘Deep Colour’ the improved colour system made possible by HDMI 1.3. You’ll also find analogue 5.1 audio out, something well worth having if you have an older surround-sound system that doesn’t have Dolby TrueHD support.
This player doesn’t officially replace the HD-XE1, but offers many of the same features for around £300. A significant price point for such a well-specified machine.
There weren’t major TV announcements from Toshiba at IFA, but what we can look forward to a ‘picture frame’ TV which is similar to the X-series 1080p screens. Obviously, the main difference is the diminutive bezel that surrounds the screen. Toshiba has managed to reduce this by 50 per cent over its standard TVs.
The XF is available in two colours, piano black and some sort of red, which is a nice change. It comes in two sizes, 40 and 46 inches, and boasts an Onkyo speaker system for improved sound quality. There are three HDMI inputs, and a 10,000:1 contrast ratio.
The long awaited Z series also got its launch here, as did the picture-frame version, known as the ZF series (pictured). Toshiba claims this is the pinnacle of LCD television technology, offering the very best features.
The Z and ZF both have three HDMI inputs, and Toshiba’s Active Vision M100HD, which is its 100Hz picture technology, designed to produce smooth motion on fast-moving objects. The screens can display 24p using 5:5 pulldown, which should reduce judder on film material.
