While the battle between Blu-Ray and HD DVD has yet to be concluded, we can still see that HD DVD still has that edge in terms of affordability. Right now, companies like Toshiba have ventured to the high definition arena by creating HD DVD players that provides users with HD images in a snap. One of its current products is the HD-XE1, a $1599 HD DVD player that may perhaps be one of Toshiba's masterpieces.
The HD-XE1 sports a brushed aluminium surface with an HD DVD logo etched up front. Like the HD-E1, this HD DVD player only has the on/standby and open/close button visible on the unit. Other control buttons like Skip, Pause, Stop, and Play buttons can be accessed via an access panel hidden on the player's façade. Toshiba also added two USB ‘extension' ports that may be used for additional control options in the future. A Mode switch can also be found on the player that must be toggled to 1 or 2 depending on the TV input that one will use. For example, should a user want to view his/her HD DVD on a TV set that uses an S-Video or Video input, a user must place the Mode on "1" to down convert the video.
