The Toshiba HD-A1 and XA1 players are the first in a new wave of next-generation DVD machines capable of reproducing high-definition signals of 1080 horizontal scan lines. That’s quite a step up from the 480 lines produced from standard-definition DVDs, and it means a whole lot more pixels reaching your screen, over four times as many overall. Which means a far better, more detailed picture, no matter what size screen you’re watching. Sure, putting more than four times the total pixels on screen makes a huge difference when using a big-screen TV, but even on my 34†Sony XBR960 high-definition widescreen television, the differences are more than eye-opening.
Having chosen your format, you’ll next have to be sure you have an HD compatible TV. Sorry, your old, standard-definition television is not going to work. This isn’t like the old days when you could plug in your Beta, VHS, or DVD player right to your standard-definition TV. For high definition, you will need a high-definition set. Ideally, the set should be able to reproduce the full 1080 horizontal lines, but that means a unit capable of 1080x1920 lines, and a lot of high-definition LCD and plasma sets will not reproduce more than 720 lines.
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