Now, that's with XDE off. With its first setting – detail – engaged, DVDs are given an obvious boost.
But let's get one thing straight from the start. XD-E500-processed DVDs are no substitute for Blu-ray; no system can introduce detail that wasn't present in the first place. While Blu-ray stores video natively at a resolution of 1920 x 1080, PAL DVDs max out at 720 x 576.

Using XDE mode

What the mode does do, however, is bring out detail that you never knew was present on your DVDs. Even complex textures like woollen jackets and tree branches become a lot clearer. And this improvement in clarity isn't accompanied by an undue degree of edge-enhancement – the tell-tale sign of which is usually an obvious halo effect.

However, it would appear that XDE has some kind of selective edge enhancement. It seems to examine the picture and identify areas where there are lots of black/white transitions (areas of detail), and then apply some kind of sharpness filter to these. Whatever makes it tick, the important thing is that it works.

With well-encoded DVDs, that is; with poorly-encoded and self-recorded discs, detail may be improved but mosquito and block noise are exacerbated to the point where the picture is close to unwatchable on bigger screens. Old TV shows fare poorly, too – as do all but the best DivX files. Still, you can always turn XDE off here.

Enhancing pictures

The second XDE mode combines the detail enhancement with a slight contrast tweak. This can bring out more of the picture information that would otherwise be lost in the shadows. It proved to be effective with some scenes on the excellent Criterion version of Naked Lunch.

How could I possibly know this, given that it's a Region 1 NTSC release? Simple – I hacked the player into a multi-region one. The 24p front-panel LED was illuminated when playing this disc – although the projector reported a 1080p60 input.

Switching to a Toshiba HD-XE1 set to 1080p24, I found that the correct format was indicated, so It would appear that the XD-E500's 24p mode has indeed been disabled. NTSC playback is nevertheless of a high standard.

Finally, there's the 'colour' mode. In addition to enhancing detail, this seems to selectively increase saturation ever-so-slightly. Useful, I suppose, if you have a DVD with 'paler' colours.

Audio is good too, but what a pity that JPEG pictures cannot be displayed in all their multi-megapixel glory on a Full HD display. Instead, they're shown in upscaled SD.

DVD or Blu-ray?

The Toshiba XD-E500 is no substitute for a Blu-ray player and software. But you'll be waiting for ages for everything you have on DVD to make the transition to BD.

If you have an extensive movie collection and a good HD-Ready TV, you need this player – it's like Viagra for DVDs!