January's coolest gadgets

January 17, 2006, 9:08 AM — We've been writing about prototype high-definition video disc players for a long time, so it's great to finally be able to report that they're coming. Three companies have announced their first players along with prices. Two have even been specific about the month they'll be released, although we still don't know precise dates.



All three companies are Asian, but unlike most consumer electronics products from this region it looks like the players will be going on sale first in the U.S. Several high-definition movies were also announced at the same time, so there's more than just price on which to base a decision whether to go with the HD-DVD or Blu-ray Disc formats. That's if you're going to rush out and buy one at all. It's expected that many consumers will sit out the format battle and wait until one emerges victorious.



Toshiba HD-DVD Player



Toshiba Corp. has announced its first HD-DVD players. There will be two models, a low-end player called the HD-A1 priced at US$500, and a second player, the HD-XA1, priced at $800. Both will output a 720p and 1080i (720 line progressive scanning and 1080 lines interlaced scanning) high-definition signal via HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) to a compatible high-definition TV. Both products can also play current DVDs and will up-convert a standard-definition picture from DVD to high definition, which is said to make it clearer. The machines also support a number of audio formats that are part of HD-DVD, including Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS and DTS HD. The more expensive HD-XA1 player has four digital signal processors, said Toshiba. Look for them in the U.S. from March this year. Launch details for other markets have not been announced.



Samsung Blu-ray Disc Player



Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is planning to launch it's first Blu-ray Disc player in April this year at a price of about US$1,000. The BD-P1000 can output high-definition video on an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) at 720p and 1080i resolutions. That's the same as the Toshiba players and means that both first-generation high-definition optical disc players won't be able to output a signal at 1080p, which is considered the best of several high-definition picture standards. Samsung didn't implement 1080p in the interest of speeding up development. The player will be available first in the U.S.



Pioneer Blu-ray Disc Player



Leave it to high-end video and audio products maker Pioneer Corp. to announce the first high-definition video disc player to support 1080p output. The standard will be available from its Blu-ray Disc player. The BDP-HD1 will be marketed under the Pioneer Elite brand in the U.S. in June this year, at a price of US$1,800. The unit is complaint with the DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) guidelines so it will plug into a home network and interact with other DLNA-compatible products, and has Microsoft Corp.'s Plays For Sure certification to ensure compatibility with Microsoft-protected content.



Sony E-Book Reader



Sony Corp. is launching a new version of its electronic book reader shortly and the company has high hopes for it. Called the Sony Reader, the handheld device is about the size of a paperback book and uses an electronic paper display that simulates the look of real paper better than most displays to date. Books can be stored in the device's internal memory or on MemoryStick or Secure Digital memory cards and the battery will power the Reader for about 7,500 page turns. It will read Sony e-book files and also supports PDFs, JPEG photos, MP3 files and some Web content, and be available in the U.S. in the first half of the year. There are no details of price. Sony will sell electronic books via its Sony Connect online store.



Panasonic DVD Video Camera



Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.'s (Panasonic) latest DVD-camcorders are the first to combine a 3CCD sensor set-up with DVD, according to the company. This means they use three image sensors -- one each for red, green and blue -- and should thus deliver a better picture than competing cameras with just one sensor. There will be two models, the VDR-D300 and VDR-D250. The higher-spec model uses more of the CCD sensor for capturing video images to make for a sharper picture and can also capture higher resolution still images. Both have a 10X optical zoom lens and are compatible with 8cm DVD-RAM/R/RW discs. The D300 will be launched in Japan on Feb. 1 and the D250 will be available from March 1. They will cost around