Toshiba Introduces Industry's First NUONÆ-Enhanced DVD Player

1-Sep-00

Toshiba has announced that it will ship its SD2300 DVD-Video player, the company's first DVD player to include NUONÆ-enhanced functionality, in September 2000. The heart of the NUON system is an advanced media processor that permits new feature sets, as well as performance and playback capabilities never before available in a DVD-Video player.""The SD2300 is unlike any DVD-Video player ever produced,"" noted Craig Eggers, Toshiba's Director of Product Management for DVD. ""By combining NUON capabilities with Toshiba's unsurpassed engineering enhancements, the SD2300 delivers advanced performance and interactivity never before available. The SD2300 represents the first of a line of innovative Toshiba DVD players that will greatly enhance and expand the possibilities of home entertainment.""A Complete Interactive Home Entertainment SystemDeveloped by VM Labs Inc. of Mountain View, California, the 128-bit NUON Media Processor enables the SD2300 to function as a complete interactive home entertainment system. The player's user interface is enhanced with advanced graphic capabilities that provide a new look and feel to on-screen menus, with 16 million colors, multiple overlay capability and picture-in-graphics displays. With NUON technology, the SD2300 also boasts dramatic advancements in special effects, such as seamless slow-motion and reverse playback images. The unit also includes a unique 16-power pixel zoom feature that allows viewers to enjoy extreme close-ups with virtually no image-degrading artifacts, a result of advanced digital filtering. Other playback features include a Strobe Picture Viewer, which allows users to view high-speed images in successive order by selecting the number of picture ""samples"" desired and varying the time between each successive display. The SD2300 also includes a special Angle Viewer function that displays thumbnail views of each available camera angle as a series of still pictures across the bottom of the screen.The SD2300 also offers complete compatibility with NUON-enhanced DVD movie titles created and distributed by major Hollywood studios. Consumers will soon have access to expanded movie viewing features including interactive menus and extra content not before available from a set-top player. Movie studios can provide value-added content such as director's commentaries and producer's notes, as well as HTML files, movie-based games and more, utilizing developer tools from NUON.The SD2300 also provides playback of NUON-encoded game software. In addition, NUON paves the way for a new generation of interactive educational, edutainment and reference-based multimedia DVD software.The NUON platform also enables new interactive audio capabilities. For playback of CDs, the SD2300 features a Virtual Light Machineô mode that provides users with a variety of distinct visuals and graphics that pulse and beat in sync with the music.A newly engineered advanced remote control features a unique eight-way compass cursor design. NUON expansion ports located on the front panel allow convenient connection of NUON peripherals such as a game console, or other device. Performance, Convenience And ConnectivityThe SD2300 features a 10-bit, 27MHz video DAC, as well as 24-bit/96kHz audio compatibility. The SD2300 also includes ColorStreamÆ component video outputs, as well as S-Video and composite video outputs, and all video outputs operate in parallel.The Toshiba SD2300 features Video Black Level Expansion circuitry. With this function, the viewer can choose to set the reference black threshold cutoff to Normal (7.5 IRE) or Enhanced (0 IRE). SD2300 Doubles As CD Player With HDCDThe SD2300 features HDCD precision filtering and decoding, a process that provides true 20-bit audio resolution from the growing number of HDCD-encoded discs. The patented HDCD precision filtering process also enhances the playback sound of conventional CDs.Improved Ergonomics For Ease Of OperationThe SD2300 includes a unique ""FIRST SETUP"" menu that presents a series of simple on-screen questions to consumers and then automatically customizes the DVD player. The ""FIRST SETUP"" menu quickly configures the DVD player for 90 percent of all home theatre applications.When the ""QUICK"" key on the remote is pressed, an icon-based, on-screen ""QUICK MENU"" appears, displaying only those commands specific to the particular playback mode in which the player is engaged. The SD2300's advanced remote control features an eight-way compass cursor and Virtual Remote key. When the Virtual Remote key is pressed, an on-screen remote control display appears over the video display. This function allows users to access key DVD playback functions on-screen, directing their commands solely from the compass cursor of the handheld remote - providing ideal access to primary player operations in low-light home theatre environments. In addition, a remote confirmation feature provides an audio confirmation ""beep"" whenever a remote command has been received.The Toshiba SD2300 DVD-Video Player carries a suggested retail price of $399.99 and is available as of the third quarter of 2000.

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