{"id":1455,"date":"2009-05-27T23:27:55","date_gmt":"2009-05-28T04:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.soundadviceblog.com\/?p=1455"},"modified":"2009-06-07T22:56:43","modified_gmt":"2009-06-08T03:56:43","slug":"product-of-the-day-day-27-toshiba-xde-500-dvd-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.soundadviceblog.com\/?p=1455","title":{"rendered":"Product of the Day, Day 27: Toshiba XDE-500 DVD Player"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"toshiba_xde_500.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Toshiba XDE-500 Upconverting DVD Player<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Tell<\/a><\/p>\n

The Toshiba XDE-500 upconverting DVD player<\/a> was introduced on the heels of\u00a0 the defeat of Toshiba’s HD DVD format to Blu-ray Disc. \u00a0 Toshiba went on record saying thy will never make a Blu-ray player (though we will see how long that holds out) and would instead concentrate on improving DVD upconversion.\u00a0 The XDE-500 was the result.\u00a0 While it definitely doesn’t produce a true high definition image with high definition sound like Blu-ray does, it deserves to be on your shopping list if you need a new DVD player for your HDTV.<\/p>\n

XDE stands for “eXtended Detail Enhancement.” XDE analyzes the picture and adds sharpness where specifically needed, rather than sharpening the whole picture.\u00a0 There are also contrast and color modes.<\/p>\n

At the time of its introduction the XDE-500 was quite controversial.\u00a0 Many reviewers decried the results, calling them artificial and overblown, and called the XDE-500 the result of sour grapes more than anything else. Others said they liked what they did to their DVDs.\u00a0 I reviewed a unit last year and liked it, as did everyone who I demonstrated it to.\u00a0 It really did make my DVDs look better, and I especially liked the color mode, not finding it overblown in most cases, though certain DVDs benefiited more than others.\u00a0 When I wrote my newspaper column and mentioned the XDE-500 I commented that at $149 the price was too close to that of a Blu-ray player.\u00a0 Now the XDE-500 can be had for a small fraction of that price and rates a very easy recommend.<\/p>\n

Right now the XDE-500 is an incredible bargain at $79 retail, and as low as $69 from amazon.com.\u00a0 At that price you can’t go wrong as it will handily outperform any $50 upconverting DVD player, and you may like the results from the enhancement modes. Blu-ray players can be had from Wal-Mart for as little as $168 <\/a>now so if you want the best image and sound quality and will be buying Blu-ray Discs, spend the extra $99 and get the Blu-ray player.\u00a0 If you want to bring out the best from your existing DVD collection, get the XDE-500.<\/p>\n

On that note I should mention that most inexpensive Blu-ray players aren’t stellar upconverters. \u00a0If excellent DVD picture quality is important to you, a strong case can be made for having BOTH a Blu-ray player and an XDE-500\u00a0 given the $69 price, as the XDE-500 will make your DVDs look better than almost any Blu-ray player will. \u00a0If you are not as critical, the Blu-ray player may suffice.<\/p>\n

Only 69 bucks?\u00a0 Sounds like an impulse buy to me \ud83d\ude42 though it does not take much arm twisting to get me to buy electronics!<\/p>\n

Save money and support this site by ordering from Amazon.com:<\/p>\n