Toshiba drops 10 new DVD players

Toshiba has announced its new range of DVD players for the coming year – 10 models in total, ranging from DVD recorders to DVD/VCR combos, as well as portable and standalone DVD player sectors.

Toshiba has included 1080p upscaling as standard on all high-end players, and all DVD recorders equipped with integrated hard disk drive (HDD) storage are now Freeview playback compliant.

Two non-HDD recorders also include digital tuners, while extensive connectivity, DivX video codec support, JPEG picture viewer, MP3/WMA playback and DV input are also available on various different models across the range.

All new DVD players feature support for DVD+R/+RW playback too.

DVD player range – key highlights

Among the DVD recorder range, three new models have been added: the Toshiba DR18DT, RD-88DT and RD-98DT.

The trio provide high resolution PAL playback, and DVD, DVD-R/-RW, DVD+R/+RW, CD/ CD-R/-RW and CD-DA support. All three also offer DVD-R/-RW, DVD+R/+RW (XP/SP/LP/EP/SLP) recording compatibility, and support for Toshiba’s REGZA-Link technology (HDMI CEC).

1080p DVD upscaling is provided via HDMI, while the other connections available include DV input, component video and composite video outputs, 2x SCART, coaxial output and two channel audio outputs.

DVD recorders

The new DVD recorders all offer Freeview playback and twin tuners (1x analogue, 1x digital). The DR-18DT records all content direct to disk, while the RD-88DT provides 160GB of integrated storage alongside two-way dubbing. The range is headed-up by the RD-98DT HDD recorder, which offers the same complete feature-set as the RD-88DT, but adds a bigger 250GB hard drive to provide additional recording space.

The high-end DVD player family has been extended with the Toshiba SD-480E and Toshiba SD-580E. Both boast support for high resolution PAL progressive scan playback, and DVD, DVD-R/-RW, DVD+R/+RW, CD/ CD-R/-RW, Video-CD, SVCD and CD-DA compatibility. HDMI connectivity has been added to offer 1080p high-definition upscaling.

Each model is compatible with Toshiba’s REGZA-Link technology (HDMI CEC). Also included are component video and composite video outputs, 1x SCART, coaxial output and two channel audio outputs. Both players also have JPEG, DivX and MP3 support, with the SD-580E also housing a USB connection.

DVD players

Toshiba's entry-level DVD player range has been strengthened by the SD-180E, SD-185E and SD-280E. The trio sport component video and composite video outputs, 1x SCART connection, coaxial output and two channel audio outputs. JPEG compatibility is catered for by all the players as well, with the SD-185E additionally offering DivX video codec support. The SD-280E also offers MP3 playback.

Finally, if you still have video tapes sitting in your cupboard, Toshiba has added two DVD/VCR combo players. The Toshiba D-VR18DT offers high resolution PAL progressive scan playback, 1080p high-definition upscaling via HDMI and an integrated digital tuner for Freeview access. It features composite video, 2x SCART, coaxial and 2x channel audio outputs. An analogue tuner is also present to compliment the digital offering to allow two-way dubbing.

We're awaiting confirmation as to UK pricing and availability dates.