Toshiba's Next HD DVD Player Ships This Week

With CES2007 fast descending on Las Vegas, Toshiba's second-gen HD DVD player was expected to begin shipping to some North American retailers this week, according to published reports.

One retailer, Value Electronics, said it was expecting its first large shipment of the Toshiba HD-XA2 model today (Jan. 3), according to High-Def Digest.

In comparison to Toshiba's first model (HD-XA1), the new HD DVD player is said to be smaller and "offers improved speed in loading and response times (around 30 seconds from power on to movie play, according to user reports)," the publication said. The new HD-XA2 also reportedly supports "Deep Color" technology--an optional HDMI standard that produces finer color tones and gradation.

The high-end HD-XA2 1080p player will retail for about $1,000. A bit more modest unit (model HD-A2), released a few weeks ago, goes for about $500.