HD DVD To Launch in Australia, This December

Toshiba Corp. has announced that its line-up of HD DVD players that is currently scheduled for release in the European markets starting next month - HD-E1 and HD-XE1 - will also be available for sale in Australia starting this December. The HD-E1 (Aus$1099) is scheduled to be available at retail from mid-December while the HD-XE1 (Aus$1,599) is expected to be available from February 2007. At the bottom of this post are image previews of HD-E1 (First) and HD-XE1 (Second). Both can decode and playback Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital-Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS and DTS-HD (DTS Core stream is played back) audio tracks but ultimately what you get is a maximum of 5.1-channel audio via the analog 5.1 outputs and/or HDMI.

HD DVD discs containing high definition content at a field rate of 50Hz or a frame rate of 25Hz cannot be played on HD-XE1 without a firmware update. Firmware update is expected in the future. Should you have any questions about the frame rate of your disc, please contact the disc vendor.

Main differences between the 2 models:

• SD Upscale to HD resolution via HDMI:
  - HD-E1 (up to 1080i)
  - HD-XE1 (up to 1080p)
• HD output resolutions:
  - HD-E1 (720p, 1080i)
  - HD-XE1 (720p, 1080i, 1080p)
• 297MHz/12bit Video DAC (HD-XE1 only)
• HDMI connection supported:
  - HD-E1 (HDMI 1.2a)
  - HD-XE1 (HDMI 1.3: Deep Colour feature supported but requires compatible display compliant with this feature)
• Audio connections:
  - HD-E1 (2-ch analog, Digital Optical)
  - HD-XE1 (2-ch analog, 5.1-ch analog, Digital Coaxial, Digital Optical)

HD DVD Titles Currently Announced for HD DVD Format Australian Launch

20 November 2006

• Pat Metheny Group - The Way Up: Live

6 December 2006

• The Fugitive
• Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
• Lethal Weapon
• Lethal Weapon 2
• Superman Returns
• Unforgiven
• Under Siege
• V for Vendetta

EzyDVD is currently accepting pre-orders for these HD DVD titles...