Toshiba has officially launched the UK's first high definition DVD player, the HD-E1 HD DVD player to the UK. At £449, it is under half the price of Samsung's DMPBDP1000, which sells for £999 (US$1,967). This makes it a bargain when compared with Blu-ray disc players. However, other manufacturers are expected to introduce further competing HD players throughout 2007.
Unfortunately for UK shoppers, HD-ready TVs cost significantly more in the UK and in the US, which means that once one does manage to fork out on a set, the price of even the Toshiba HD-E1 may put some consumers off. On the other hand, while Toshiba's price may be significantly cheaper than that of the UK's typical Blu-ray player pricing, some consumers may also hold off for the upcoming PlayStation 3, which is due to launch in March 2007 in the UK. Sony advertises this as an entertainment centre for the entire family, which doubles up as a budget Blu-ray disc player and even an online HD movie download player once the service becomes available.
For the movie industry, the launch of High Definition players will potentially allow the movie industry to gain extra sales by re-releasing most of their existing movies on Blu-ray and HD DVD. Like how consumers bought most of their VHS classics on DVD to get a better quality recording, the movie industry expects consumers to do the same with their DVD movies by by buying them again on a high definition format to experience another significant step in quality, assuming they have a suitable HD display to view them on.
According to Engadget HD, the HD-E1 is pretty much identical to Toshiba's 2nd generation HD-A2. Toshiba's higher end HD-XE1 is set to ship in January, which will feature 1080p and HDMI 1.3.
