Toshiba’s XD-E500 DVD player, priced at $149.99, boasts of up-converting standard-definition DVDs to a format matching the resolution of today’s best HDTVs. It is a pretty common practice to come across DVD players that up-convert, but this player offers picture-enhancement modes. It also offers a rare feature that outputs a video format that best demonstrates the cinema viewing experience. The XD-E500 is entirely black with a white gradient that run along the lower edge of its faceplate. The device features a reduced cabinet depth of 7.8 inches. The device weighs around 3.5 pounds. The player is shipped with a baton-style remote control that lacks a backlight or buttons that glow in the dark. But the remote offers an excellent finger grip on its decently curved back.
As far as the connections on the player are concerned, the port panel on its back features the standard video connections. The connections include HDMI and component video. Digital audio outputs comprise optical and coaxial outputs. These are useful in cases when you want to connect amplifiers that might have only one of these digital connectors. The player is extremely easy to set up. Just connect the player to an HDTV using an HDMI cable and to an A/V receiver through the optical audio output on the player and you are ready to go. You might find the set up menu of the player to be of low resolution. The multimedia playback feature of the player supports MP3, WMA, JPEG, and DivX files that are stored on recordable CDs or DVDs.
The XD-E500 supports the more common 1080p60 video format. It offers HDMI output of 1080p resolution. Its Extended Detail Enhancement (XDE) feature gives you three picture enhancement modes. These modes are the sharp mode, the colour mode, and the contrast mode. The XD-E500 is an excellent and a speedy disc handler. It just takes 7 seconds from start-up to tray eject and a mere 15 seconds to load a disc. The XD-E500 offers an estimated operating cost of $0.28 per month at an average of 10W. Overall, it is an excellent up-converting player that offers excellent performance and desired results.
