Toshiba Begins Shipments Of Two Advanced-Technology DVD-Video/Audio Players

Company Aims To Bring Today's Most Advanced Digital Music Format To Broad Consumer Audience

26-Nov-01

Toshiba has announced that has begun shipping its new SD4700 and Cinema Series SD5700 DVD-Video/Audio players to retailers. These two high performance DVD-Video/Audio players are equipped with Toshiba Super ColorStream PROÆ progressive scan technology. Both models feature decoding and playback of two-channel and multichannel-encoded DVD-Audio, the highest fidelity medium available today for delivery of prerecorded music to the consumer. The SD4700 and the SD5700 join Toshiba's flagship model, the SD9200 DVD-Video/Audio player, which is currently available and carries a suggested retail price of $1,499.99. Models SD4700 and the silver-finish Cinema Series SD5700 carry suggested retail prices of $299.99 and $399.99, respectively.DVD-Audio benefits from the massive data storage capabilities of the optical DVD disc to produce the richest, warmest, most natural two-channel or multichannel music reproduction available, along with value-added features including text, video slides and more. A vast majority of hardware manufacturers and software studios have expressed support for the DVD-Audio format as the next-generation standard for delivering high resolution audio content on optical disc.""As a prime developer of the DVD format, Toshiba's goal has always been to exploit the medium's full potential, including both video and audio benefits,"" noted Craig Eggers, Director of Product Management for Toshiba DVD. ""We strongly believe that DVD-Audio is the clear future choice for the highest quality pre-recorded music format, appealing to the most demanding audiophiles and casual listeners alike. With our no-compromise DVD players that offer both DVD-Video and DVD-Audio capability, Toshiba is committed to bringing these exciting new technologies to an ever-expanding base of DVD enthusiasts.""DVD's inherent advantages in high-density media storage makes possible a higher level of digital audio performance than any previously available home entertainment format. All three Toshiba DVD-Video/Audio players are equipped with 24-bit/192 kHz digital-to-analog converters from Analog DevicesÆ, designed to deliver the full sonic benefits of two-channel as well as multichannel DVD-Audio. With its 144 dB dynamic range and a frequency response from approximately 2 Hz to 100 kHz for two-channel stereo audio, DVD-Audio marks a significant milestone in the quest for audio perfection.DVD-Audio can also deliver up to six channels of full-bandwidth content. In this mode, the DVD-Audio format utilizes MLP? (Meridian Lossless Packing?) decoding for advanced resolution (24-bit/96 kHz) multichannel DVD-Audio programs. During playback, the MLP function ""unpacks"" the data and outputs it in its original bit-for-bit, high resolution form. The result is sonic purity and fidelity that is absolutely faithful to the original multichannel digital master, and the audible effect is one of total immersion in the music. Listeners have compared the experience of multichannel DVD-Audio to being present in a concert hall where they can actually ""hear"" the air in the room, with every nuance of the musical performance, including subtle harmonics and hall reflections recreated in vivid detail.For added flexibility, all Toshiba DVD-Audio players also include built-in DolbyÆ Digital decoders. In addition, the SD5700 and SD9200 feature HDCDÆ precision filtering and decoding, for the highest possible sound quality from compact discs. HDCD is a patented process that provides true 20-bit audio resolution from the growing number of HDCD-enhanced discs, and the precision filtering employed in the HDCD process the audio quality of conventional CDs as well. With HDCD built-in, a Toshiba DVD player is capable of providing the full sonic benefits of the 5,000-plus HDCD-encoded CD titles presently available.Toshiba's ongoing commitment to enhanced picture quality is evident in the new SD4700 and Cinema Series SD5700 DVD-Video/Audio players, which both feature the company's acclaimed Super ColorStream PRO progressive scan technology. This technology yields progressive scan images that are flicker-free, with demonstrably improved edge definition and enhanced color detail. Every nuance of the video signal is reproduced, yielding 540 horizontal lines of resolution for the pure, natural and film-like video images. Toshiba Super ColorStream PRO, first introduced in the flagship SD9200, achieves its image-enhancing capability by utilizing advanced analog and digital filtering to process the entire video signal and significantly reduce associated video noise in the progressive scan image. Key to this process is an advanced digital frame detection circuitry that identifies and displays native 24-frame film-based content as 60 complete frames of video, utilizing advanced 2:3 conversion techniques. The resulting images are precise, detailed, and free of the motion artifacts that occur in conventional progressive scan players.All Toshiba progressive scan DVD players feature 8:8:8 oversampling of interlaced color signals, and therefore should be the ideal source component for interlaced display on a conventional analog color television set.For more information, visit www.toshiba.com/tacp. 

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