At CEDIA in Denver today, Toshiba announced their next generation HD-DVD players, the HD-A2 ($499, available in October) and HD-XA2 ($999, available in December). The most exciting news is that the high-end HD-XA2 player will support the latest HDMI protocol (version 1.3) as well as native 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixel progressive) output.
The HD-A2 replaces the HD-A1 in the current line at the same price point, with improved aesthetics, a redesigned remote control, and improved load times on HD-DVD discs (approximately half the time of the current generation players, according to Toshiba's estimates). It supports HDMI version 1.2a and includes support for lossless Dolby TrueHD format in 5.1-channel mode right out of the box.
The HD-XA2 replaces the HD-XA1 which will continue to ship until November, being replaced by the XA2 in December. The XA2 offers multiple upgrades over the entry-level A2 model, including HDMI 1.3 support, full HD 1080p output (1920X1080 pixels progressive) and 12-bit video processing. It also offers the same improvements to the remote and disc loading times as enjoyed by the HD-A2.
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