Toshiba slashes HD DVD player retail prices in the UK

Down to £250 for entry-level HD-E1

21 August 2007 13:22 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Toshiba is dropping the recommended retail prices of its HD DVD players even further in the UK.

Toshiba's entry level HD-E1 that's backwards compatible with DVD and offers image resolutions of 720p or 1080i is now just £249.99 - including an HDMI cable if you buy it from Tosh's online shop.

To give you an idea of how much the pricing has come down, the HD-E1 was £450 when launched. Toshiba's third HD DVD player to be launched in the UK, the next-step up HD-EP10 will now set you back £349.99 and offers full HD 1080p resolutions.

One major bonus of the HD DVD format has been the relatively low price of the hardware, compared with the more expensive offerings from rival the Blu-ray format.

In yesterday's announcement from Paramount and DreamWorks, it was stated that one of the reasons they were going HD DVD-only was down to the affordability:

"We believe the combination of this year's low-priced HD DVD players and the commitment to release a significant number of hit titles in the fall makes HD DVD the best way to view movies at home", said DreamWork's CEO.

There are some next-gen HD DVD players coming soon from Toshiba which has no doubt helped this bargain basement price push, but with firmware updates, the HD DVD lot claim their players are future proof, so one might be tempted...

Full tags

Home Cinema, HD DVD, Toshiba