PROS Bargain Price, cheapest High Definition player available. Superb picture quality, Ethernet connection, Second generation machine, DVD upscaling via HDMI. Rave reviews from US and UK buyers on Amazon.

CONS Only 1080i, (however this will not be an issue for many) and slightly sluggish disc load times.

PRICE £250-£300

http://www.toshiba.co.uk

Spec sheet N/A

Available now

OVERALL RATING including value for money, based on Internet user reports, forum comments and press reviews.

1080p output then go for the HD XE1. The E1 also incorporates a 297MHz / 12 bit Video DAC with high-quality, 4x oversampling. There's a picture setting function to optimise picture quality with user adjustable settings including colour, contrast, brightness, edge enhancement and block noise. There's an Ethernet connection for downloading special movie related interactive features when they eventually become available.

Check here for New and Used HD E1s .

Credit has to be given to Toshiba for making High Definition DVD affordable for all. The HD-DVD format HD-E1 is now selling for under £300 and has to be the current HD best buy. The price is remarkable in light of the prices Blu-ray early adopters are paying for their machines. The Panasonic BD10 is well over £1000 and discounters have the Samsung BDP1000 for around £550. But is the Toshiba any good? Well looking at the reviews from Amazon buyers in the UK and the US, most definitely.

The HD-E1 is a second generation machine, with many of the earlier faults of its predecessor ironed out. The forerunner of this player, the HD A1, was never released in Europe and received mixed reviews from US buyers. Previous issues with the first generation deck included slow load times for the HD-DVD discs, a bulky and somewhat dated design as well as a temperamental HDMI connector.

The Picture quality was however stunning. The HD-E1 has been slimmed down and features a high-gloss face plate. Outputting a 1080i signal (if you want

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