Just got the announcement - HD-EP30 will have list price of 'below £150' and EP35 of 'below £250'. Full news story to follow shortly....
Toshiba HD DVD price-cuts - official
- Thread starter Clare Newsome
- Start date
nads
Well-known member
Indeed.... If you're after a good upscaling DVD player, you're sorted! (With 7 free HD DVDs to boot...)
Click here for the news story....
Click here for the news story....
Thats not too bad, I paid £258 for my EP35 at the end of november so was dreading the price going too low!
Amazing - a £200 price point for the 5* EP35 - upscaling DVD + HD-DVD player. I am going to get one now!
then I can wait for a good BR player to be released at below £300.
Can anyone confirm whether there are still the 2 disks - 300 & Bourne in the box???
Gorge.
Can anyone confirm whether there are still the 2 disks - 300 & Bourne in the box???
Gorge.
That's something only individual retailers will be able to confirm, depending on age of their stock....
But the voucher-based, 7-free-disc deal seems to be ongoing.
But the voucher-based, 7-free-disc deal seems to be ongoing.
roger06
Well-known member
Have I missed something? but what does it matter how cheap an HD DVD player is if (when) Blu Ray wins and there's no media for it ?
I really cannot see how what hi fi could possibly recommend these when they will only have 30% HDM content and probably 0% by the end of 2008.
Sure they can be employed as an upscaler but why bother with upscaling when you can have the real thing HDM.
Sure they can be employed as an upscaler but why bother with upscaling when you can have the real thing HDM.
[quote user="roger06"]
Have I missed something? but what does it matter how cheap an HD DVD player is if (when) Blu Ray wins and there's no media for it ?
[/quote]
Thats what I was thinking!
Of course we don't know who is going to win, but it seems BluRay have recently got some more backing according to a report I was reading on the web.(I'm presuming ity was accurate here).
Have I missed something? but what does it matter how cheap an HD DVD player is if (when) Blu Ray wins and there's no media for it ?
[/quote]
Thats what I was thinking!
Of course we don't know who is going to win, but it seems BluRay have recently got some more backing according to a report I was reading on the web.(I'm presuming ity was accurate here).
[quote user="Bullseye"]
I really cannot see how what hi fi could possibly recommend these when they will only have 30% HDM content and probably 0% by the end of 2008.
Sure they can be employed as an upscaler but why bother with upscaling when you can have the real thing HDM.
[/quote]
Because there's still not an affordable Blu-ray player with a finalised specification or full format functionality?
Yes, I think - barring a miracle - that Blu-ray's won the format war, but that's no reason for people to go buying today's Blu-ray players without understanding the issues.
My point earlier in this thread was that if you're just after a really good DVD upscaler to see you through the next while, these discounted Toshibas would do a better job than DVD players at the same price (plus HD DVD functionality if you want to buy/rent HD discs).
Then you could add a next-gen Blu-ray player as/when you were ready to - most likely at a fraction of the price of today's players (and with a better spec).
Not everybody wants to rush to adopt HD - especially those with a big DVD library they still want to get more out of.
I really cannot see how what hi fi could possibly recommend these when they will only have 30% HDM content and probably 0% by the end of 2008.
Sure they can be employed as an upscaler but why bother with upscaling when you can have the real thing HDM.
[/quote]
Because there's still not an affordable Blu-ray player with a finalised specification or full format functionality?
Yes, I think - barring a miracle - that Blu-ray's won the format war, but that's no reason for people to go buying today's Blu-ray players without understanding the issues.
My point earlier in this thread was that if you're just after a really good DVD upscaler to see you through the next while, these discounted Toshibas would do a better job than DVD players at the same price (plus HD DVD functionality if you want to buy/rent HD discs).
Then you could add a next-gen Blu-ray player as/when you were ready to - most likely at a fraction of the price of today's players (and with a better spec).
Not everybody wants to rush to adopt HD - especially those with a big DVD library they still want to get more out of.
With the 7 free HD-DVDs I think you're still getting a good deal even if does win the war. I bought a HD EP30 a couple of months ago and am definitely going to hang on to it. I'm looking forward to eBay being littered with HD-DVD bargains over the next few months and intend to have a cheap and decent HD-DVD library to keep me going with High-Def content until Blu-Ray sorts itself out properly.
The XE1 is the flagship model with the best upscaler but it's also the most expensive. The HD EP30 and EP35 both have very good upscalers and are great value with the price cut. Buy the EP35 if you need analog outputs or if you have an Amp capable of decoding HD audio and want to send bitstream audio to it via HDMI.
The problem i see with recommending the Toshiba at this stage is that it gives Toshiba false hope. If they were advertising these as upscaling players then fair enough but why include free HD-DVD's.
I fully understand the problem with the price range of the current crop of BD players. It appears that the BDA wants to concentrate on the US market which is nothing new with CE companies. And as usual we in Europe will be the last to get these new models. Thats why with the dollar so weak at the moment i am importing the BD-30K from Panasonic which is Profile 1.1. Owning two PS3s i am also covered on Profile 2.0 and one of the Sony insiders has said there should be a fix for DTS HD MA this year on the PS3.
I fully understand the problem with the price range of the current crop of BD players. It appears that the BDA wants to concentrate on the US market which is nothing new with CE companies. And as usual we in Europe will be the last to get these new models. Thats why with the dollar so weak at the moment i am importing the BD-30K from Panasonic which is Profile 1.1. Owning two PS3s i am also covered on Profile 2.0 and one of the Sony insiders has said there should be a fix for DTS HD MA this year on the PS3.
It's a fair point. But there're a lot of people who want to enjoy high-def content right now and for as little as possible. I don't think there's that much harm in recommending something like the EP30. For less than £150 you get a decent HD-DVD player, a good upscaler and 7 free discs. That's good value and there are still some great discs around. I got Batman Begins and Transformers over Xmas and they're great discs and show what high-definition can do. I would not recommend a player to someone without warning them that Blu Ray is probably going to win the war. As long they're aware of that, I'll leave the choice up to them.
[quote user="Bullseye"]
Also BD players also upscale SD_DVDs.
[/quote]
But not as well as HD DVD players of the same price... (especially now).
It's like Fuzzy says, if you're well aware what you're buying into, one of these bargain players would be a great stopgap solution as a DVD upscaler and to enjoy bargain HD DVD discs.
Of course the minute a budget Blu-ray player with a full spec that also upscales DVDs incredibly well comes along, it'd be a totally different story. But that's March at the earliest - if your DVD player blows up tomorrow and you want to spend £200 max on a new one....
Also BD players also upscale SD_DVDs.
[/quote]
But not as well as HD DVD players of the same price... (especially now).
It's like Fuzzy says, if you're well aware what you're buying into, one of these bargain players would be a great stopgap solution as a DVD upscaler and to enjoy bargain HD DVD discs.
Of course the minute a budget Blu-ray player with a full spec that also upscales DVDs incredibly well comes along, it'd be a totally different story. But that's March at the earliest - if your DVD player blows up tomorrow and you want to spend £200 max on a new one....
£150 for the ep30 and £220 for the ep35 are fantastic prices for what you get.
I got my ep35 before Christmas and love it's performance - lucky sods getting it for £50 less with the 7 films
Yes, BD looks more "studio-healthy" at the moment, but I'm guessing there are lots of people out there like me who primarily wanted a great upscaler and the opportunity to dabble in high-def. Even if Paramount/Universal went BD this year, I suspect I'll leave it another twelve months before I'm happy that BD is going to be a success and that there are players worth buying.
If the PS3 had the XBox's games I might have been slightly tempted but prob not - I've seen SD upscaling from my brother's PS3 on my plasma over Xmas and it's just not as good as the Tosh.
I got my ep35 before Christmas and love it's performance - lucky sods getting it for £50 less with the 7 films
Yes, BD looks more "studio-healthy" at the moment, but I'm guessing there are lots of people out there like me who primarily wanted a great upscaler and the opportunity to dabble in high-def. Even if Paramount/Universal went BD this year, I suspect I'll leave it another twelve months before I'm happy that BD is going to be a success and that there are players worth buying.
If the PS3 had the XBox's games I might have been slightly tempted but prob not - I've seen SD upscaling from my brother's PS3 on my plasma over Xmas and it's just not as good as the Tosh.
I dont understand why folk suddenly complain what palyers are recommended in WHSV. The studio market is obviously quite fickle and hard to predict. All the mag can do is look at the hardware. I looked through nearly 850 HD-DVD titles on amazon today and I saw more I liked than I can afford to buy over the next 2 years. I would not bet on either format winning at this stage. I just think at below £200 for an excellent upscaler with 5* HD-DVD support (EP35) and 7 free titles you cannot get it wrong. My current DVD player is knackered and needs replaced. I have 40-50 DVDs. Will contributors here grow up and learn to make up their own mind about what they want or don't want! I use the mag to get excited about technology and to read about tests that I cannot do in a shop or at home. I'll buy a BD player when they are as good and as cheap. Gorge.
[quote user="rbrierle"]
£150 for the ep30 and £220 for the ep35 are fantastic prices for what you get.
.
[/quote]Can anyone enlighten me as to where these prices relate to please
£150 for the ep30 and £220 for the ep35 are fantastic prices for what you get.
.
[/quote]Can anyone enlighten me as to where these prices relate to please
nads
Well-known member
Try Amazon. Currently £119.99 for the HD-EP30 with 7 free HD-DVDs!!!! That is an absolutely amazing price - an absolute no-brainer if you ask me. I paid £180 for mine just a couple of months ago. Oh well............
Amazon and Play now both have the EP30 at £120, and Amazon has the EP35 at £220 (with a slight wait).
Toshiba's online shop also has the XE1 at £399.
Toshiba's online shop also has the XE1 at £399.
[quote user="Clare Newsome"]
Amazon and Play now both have the EP30 at £120, and Amazon has the EP35 at £220 (with a slight wait).
Toshiba's online shop also has the XE1 at £399.
[/quote]
EP35 now at £190!
Amazon and Play now both have the EP30 at £120, and Amazon has the EP35 at £220 (with a slight wait).
Toshiba's online shop also has the XE1 at £399.
[/quote]
EP35 now at £190!
Similar threads
TRENDING THREADS
-
-
-
-
-
Setting up my replacement for my Pioneer turntable/
- Started by helijohn
- Replies: 19
-
-
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram