Review: Toshiba XDE Upscaling 1080p DVD Player

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When Toshiba announced that they would put some energy into upscaling technology, I was very pleased. Not because I thought, Hey, now I don't have to buy my movies over again on Blu-ray, because I will; I'm an HD addict. No, it was because I knew that some movies will be years away from release in HD, and if a new technology can enhance and prolong my enjoyment of my old library, why not?

So I was looking forward to reviewing their first effort and hoped for the best when the Toshiba XD-E500 Upconverting 1080p Extended Detail DVD player arrived.

What it is not...
Sometimes, it´s good to determine what something isn't. In the case of the XD-E500 player, I feel it is more important than ever. Toshiba has never claimed that this upscaling player would rival the picture quality of Blu-ray, nor can it in any way, shape, or form. It will not make your SD DVDs look like the perfect HD images found on Blu-ray. It also does NOT feature a cell processor to achieve its upscaling capabilities, Toshiba is reserving it for later products from the company. So, with all that out of the way, let´s continue.

Out of the box...
The first thing you notice when you get the player in your hands is how small this thing is. It only measures (WHD) 16.93" x 1.97" x 7.80" and weighs no more than 3.5 lbs. Another thing that surprised me was its power consumption (or lack thereof). It uses a measly 12W when it operates. I guess environmental correctness is starting to arrive in consumer electronics. In the box you will also find a remote, a very thin owner´s manual, and very cheap audio-video cables, but no HDMI cable.

Click image to zoom.

Getting ready...
To be sure I witnessed the performance of the player and not the screens, I tested the player using three different displays: A 42" 1080 24p Panasonic Plasma, a 42" 1080i Toshiba LCD, and a Sanyo 1080 24p projector on a 150" high-quality, wall-mounted movie canvas.

During the tests, I compared the results to the upscaling capabilities of the Toshiba XA2 HD DVD player and the Playstation 3, both with the latest firmware. I connected all of them using high-quality HDMI cables from Supra Sweden, with an Onkyo 805 AV receiver as the hub.

Click image to zoom.

I used standard-definition footage from "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back," "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith," "The Postman," "Contact," "War Games," "Superman, The Movie," and many others.

How does it play?
The player has three "User Selectable XDE Modes," which according to Toshiba will help make SD DVDs look more like HD. Toshiba labels these modes as follows:

- Sharp, for added edge detail
- Color, for richer blues and greens
- Contrast, for enhancement of details in darker scenes

It is possible to switch among them, although "Sharp" is always on unless you switch them all off.

Since George Lucas is known for playing the waiting game when it comes to releasing his "Star Wars" movies in new formats, I took my favorite, "The Empire Strikes Back," for a spin first, since I knew it would take a while before I could enjoy it on disc in real high definition.

It was clear from the start that the player did, indeed, make the picture sharper and less fuzzy. This was very clear on the 150" projected image that makes it hard to hide any change to an image. Switching among the three players, it was obvious that the XDE was sharper and more detailed than the other players, but it was not a night-and-day improvement by any means. Another problem also started to emerge as I tested various discs. Depending on how good the transfer was, the result of the "Sharp" feature varied. This feature can't quite see the difference between compression artifacts and details in an image. This sometimes resulted in a worse image than if you simply switched it off. In some images it also created a "halo effect" around the edges--a kind of unnatural line around sharp edges that can be visible when you sharpen an image too much.

However, if a movie is in good quality from the start and uses very little compression to begin with, the XD-E500 improves the image quality and makes it clearer and more detailed looking. It also does a great job in panning shots, where the feel is smooth and easy, only rivaled by Blu-ray.

In movies that were intended to be colorful, I found the "Color" option to enhance the image well. Standard-def content tends to become more grey than their HD counterparts, and this feature really helps provide a deeper, richer image.

The "Contrast" feature did what it promised, but when I used it, I missed the richness from the "Color" feature. So I found myself mostly using "Sharp" and "Color," leaving "Contrast" out in the dark so to speak.

As a normal DVD player, the XD-E500 works well, with nice features like DIVX, mp3, and wma playback, zoom functions, and more.

Click image to zoom.

Conclusion
In the end, at $149.99 the Toshiba XD-E500 upconverting player is hard to place and hard to recommend. While it does a good job upscaling SD DVDs, some people will find the "Sharp" feature "too much" and too unnatural and will prefer the job done by the Playstation 3, Toshiba XA2, or their like, which also deliver a very good and natural image. Additionally, a person should take into consideration that quality Blu-ray players are starting to enter the $250-$300 price range, and they often give you decent scaling along with Blu-ray playback.

Therefore, while some people will find the "Sharp" feature an improvement, the question is whether it is a clear enough advantage to justify paying $149.99. My answer is no, but your opinion could be different if you can't get things sharp enough already. It really is one of those products you have to see before buying.

The XC-E500 is not a miracle for standard-definition content, but it´s not a complete waste, either. It is somewhat in between, which keeps us interested in the upcoming upscaling products that will feature a powerful cell processor but also make this generation fall short of a true recommendation.

Links
Official Toshiba XDE Site »
Shop the Toshiba XDE on Amazon »

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