In March Toshiba will bring their new HD-AX1 and HD-A1 HD DVD players to the American market. They will play HD DVD discs as well as DVD discs, upconverting the latter to 720p or 1080i (over HDMI) if you so wish. Using HD DVD discs, the player can play back native HD in 720p or 1080i, also over the HDMI output.
The new HD DVD players will output copy-protected HD content through the HDMI interface in the native format of the HD DVD disc content of either 720p or 1080i. Through the HDMI interface, standard definition DVDs can be upconverted to output resolution of 720p or 1080i to complement the performance of a HDTV. As the conversion takes place in the player, the signal remains free from excessive digital-to-analog conversion artifacts.
SACD and DVD-Audio seem to be getting nowhere, and now HD DVD offers another hi-res audio option, with the inclusion of DD+ and DTS-HD.
The lossless mandatory formats include Linear PCM and Dolby TrueHD (only 2 Channel support is mandatory). The TrueHD format is bit-for-bit identical to the high resolution studio masters and can support up to eight discrete full range channels of 24-bit/96k Hz audio. Another lossless format (specified as an optional format) is DTS-HD. This employs high sampling rates of up to192k Hz.
Both models feature built-in multi-channel decoders for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD (2 channel), DTS and DTS-HD. The HD-XA1 employs the use of four high performance DSP engines to decode the multi-channel streams of the wide array of audio formats. These high performance processors will perform the required conversion process, as well as the extensive on-board Multi-Channel Signal Management including: User Selectable Crossovers, Delay Management and Channel Level Management.
The new HD DVD players can pass digital information to a Surround Sound Processor/Receiver via S/PDIF or HDMI. For Dolby Digital and DTS, the bitstream will be passed through both connections just as in a standard DVD player with the same interfaces. Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD content will be converted to a standard bitstream format that is compatible with any processor equipped with decoders of the respective formats and output through S/PDIF and HDMI. Additionally, all the audio formats for either DVD or HD DVD will be decoded to PCM and output via HDMI in either stereo or multi-channel.
The HD-AX1 will retail for an MSRP of $799.99, while the HD-A1 will go for $499.99. Let the HD war begin!
HiddenWires - Toshiba Introduces Line-Up of First HD DVD Players for the U.S. Market
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(Via HDBlog.net.)
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Good Article
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