Toshiba announced they will be releasing two new models of HD DVD players in late December. The basic HD-XF2 (720p/1080i) will sell for $425 and the high-end HD-XA2 (1080p and True Color) will sell for $950. While it's nice to see Toshiba lowering the cost on their base player from the HD-A1's original $499 retail, A1 prices have dropped since their release, sitting at a comparable price point to the $425 XF2. In other words, HD-DVD isn't getting cheaper as of yet.

Apparently Toshiba is attempting to counteract the release of some major console release this week. More details on that completely unsubstantiated rumor as we get them. – Mark Wilson

UPDATE: The prices I quoted may be inaccurate yen to dollar conversion (as pricing may be different country to country). Look for the players to retail $500 and $1000.

Toshiba Debuts... [EETimes]
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