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Toshiba HD-A20 High-Definition DVD Player

The HD-A20 is one of Toshiba's second-generation high-definition DVD players, and was announced to the market in January 2007 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), with shipments due from Spring 2007.

According to the official announcement:

At CES, Toshiba is introducing the new HD-A20, which is expected to retail at $599.99. With the 1080p capabilities of the HD-A20, Toshiba has taken high definition to the next level at an attractive price point. The HD-A20 joins the existing Toshiba HD DVD line-up which includes the entry level HD-A2 and the top of the line model, HD-XA2.

...To match the resolution of your display, Toshiba's HD DVD players output HD DVD content through the HDMI interface in 720p or 1080i for the HD-A2, and 720p, 1080i or 1080p for the HD-A20 and the HD-XA2. Through the HDMI interface, standard definition DVDs can also be up-converted to match the resolution of HD displays. The HD-A2, HD-A20, and HD-XA2 are all backward compatible, so users can continue to enjoy their libraries of current DVD and CD software.

Both the HD-A20 and the high end HD-XA2 HD DVD player are designed to output 1920 x 1080p, the highest HD signal currently available, via HDMI.

Note that all Toshiba's players are HD DVD format, which competes with (and is incompatible with) the Blu-ray format.

Daily Tech noted:

Toshiba is now looking to ruffle a few feathers with a new $599 HD DVD player which slots in between the low-end HD-A2 and the high-end HD-XA2. The new HD-A20 supports full 1080p resolution, but features the more limiting HDMI 1.2 interface.

Compared to HDMI 1.2, version 1.3 of the spec adds 10.2Gbps single-link bandwidth, support for the xvYCC color standard, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support and automatic audio syncing.

While the new HD-A20 will become the lowest-priced stand-alone 1080p player on the market, the move is sure to disappoint more than a few people -- specifically those who just paid $500 for the 1080i HD-A2 just a few weeks ago.

A 1.5-minute CNET video, introducing the HD-A20 at the Consumer Electronics Show is here.

* Get the Latest Price on the Toshiba HD-A20 High-Definition DVD Player.

January 12th, 2007