HD-DVD Hardware Gets Real

There's also a clutch of hot digital music players out soon.

Martyn Williams, IDG News Service

Martyn Williams is Tokyo bureau chief for the IDG News Service, a consortium of IDG publications.

TOKYO-- For many months there's been talk about next-generation DVD players for high-definition movies. There's been nothing but prototypes till now--and suddenly two products have come along at once.

Both units are made by Toshiba, and both support the HD-DVD format. One is on sale in Japan; the other is to follow shortly. They'll be available to U.S. and European readers soon.

While the month has been good to HD-DVD, news from the rival Blu-ray Disc faction hasn't been quite so favorable. Samsung Electronics announced a delay for what is expected to be the first consumer Blu-ray Disc player on the market. The machine was due out May 23 but now won't be available until June 25, according to the company. Sony Pictures said it will still release movies for it in May.

Over the next few months, more HD products should begin making appearances from other companies and the format battle will begin to heat up. With two rival formats, consumers might be best advised to wait and see before betting a week's wages (or more) on an HD disc player.

If you just can't wait, there is one bonus to picking up an HD-DVD player now: Toshiba's HD-XA1 has no region coding for the HD-DVD content, meaning it can play HD-DVDs purchased anywhere in the world. A decision on region codes isn't expected to be made for several months.

Toshiba HD-XA1

The HD-XA1 has secured Toshiba the bragging rights for being the first HD disc player. The machine went on sale in Japan on March 31 and handles HD-DVD as well as almost all DVD and CD media formats. High-definition output is via an analog connector (depending on disc encoding, so you'll want to check the movie package) and HDMI. On the audio side, the machine supports Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, and DTS-HD. It costs around $845 in Japan and will be on sale later this month in the U.S. for $800.

Toshiba Qosmio G30

The first laptop computer with HD-DVD will be Toshiba's Qosmio G30, which is due on sale in May in Japan, Europe, and the U.S. The laptop is based on a 2-GHz Intel Core Duo processor and will have a 17-inch wide-screen LCD with a resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels (WUXGA). Like other Qosmio computers, the machine is multimedia focused, thus the relatively large display and features such as digital and analog TV tuners, Harman Kardon speakers, and an HDMI output. The HD-DVD drive will also read and write CDs and DVDs, including dual-layer DVD-R and DVD-RAM, Toshiba said. It will cost about $3383 in Japan with overseas prices yet to be finalized.

NTT DoCoMo Satellite Radio Phone

Japan's first cell phone with a built-in satellite radio receiver went on sale in Japan in early April. The Music Porter X handset from Mitsubishi will be available through NTT DoCoMo and is compatible with a multichannel radio service that's been available in Japan since late 2004. The phone is supposed to more faithfully duplicate music player functions than a normal handset. Users will be able to load MP3 and ATRAC format files into the phone's 1GB memory and tune in to FM radio in addition to accessing the satellite radio service. The price will vary with operator discounts; the phone will be available in Japan only.

Sony Walkman E-Series

Sony's latest Walkman players might be just the thing if you're tardy with recharging. The E-series players will run for 3 hours on a 3-minute charge, which gives you enough juice for the journey to and from work in the time it takes to make a cup of coffee. After a full charge, you'll get up to 27 hours with MP3 files and up to 28 hours with ATRAC3 encoded music, according to Sony.

The players, which are available in six colors, have a small screen that shows details of the current track. They look like USB memory sticks--think of a slightly rounder, shorter, more colorful version of the Apple iPod Shuffle, and you're halfway there. They are come in 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB capacities with or without an FM radio. They'll be available soon in Japan and the U.S., and from late April in Europe. The 2GB model costs about $173.

Toshiba Gigabeat S-Series

Toshiba's newest Gigabeat digital media players are based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile software for Portable Media Center and faithfully support several Microsoft formats: Windows Media Video, Windows Media Audio, and WMA 9 Lossless in addition to MP3 and.wav audio formats. They can also display JPEG images. The players have either 30GB or 60GB hard drives. On the front of player is a 2.4-inch LCD. Toshiba claims 12 hours of audio playback and 2.5 hours of video playback from the devices. In terms of design, they look similar to the previous Gigabeat hard-disk players. They'll be available in Japan starting in late April and will cost around $300 for the lower capacity model and about $388 for the higher capacity player. There is no word on international sales plans.

Sharp Zaurus SL-C3200

PDAs live! More than a year after Sony put an end to its Clie line, Sharp has released a new Linux-based Zaurus. The SL-C3200 comes with a built-in 6GB hard drive and, like previous models, has a small QWERTY keyboard and a VGA display (640 by 480 pixels). A major feature of the new PDA, although likely of little interest to anyone outside of Japan, is English-study software. The device also has a text-to-speech reader that will read out e-mail and Web messages written in English. Sharp put it on sale in Japan on March 17 for a little more than $640. The company didn't announce plans for international sales.

Sony Digital Video Recorders

If you've got a Sony PlayStation Portable and enjoy watching video on it, then you're probably familiar with the hassle that comes from encoding TV shows or DVD movies so they are suitable for the portable media device. Sony's latest hard-drive digital video recorders can record to a format suitable for viewing on the PSP, so you can record your favorite drama and watch it on the way to work with no hassle. The 400GB RDZ-D97A and 250GB RDZ-D77A will be available in Japan from May 19 and will cost around $1430 and $1180 respectively. Sony didn't announce overseas sales plans.

R&D Corner: LocationFree TV on Phones

In the development corner this month is an announcement from Japan's Access. The software maker has licensed Sony's LocationFree TV platform technology with a view to making players for portable devices such as cell phones and PDAs. LocationFree TV streams a live video signal from a base station to a hardware or software client. Users often employ the device to watch satellite or cable television broadcasts away from home. At present the streams can be watched on a Windows laptop, on a dedicated player from Sony, or on the PlayStation Portable. Look for the new software later this year.