The ongoing year has so far turned out to be a really frustrating one for Toshiba’s HD DVD format, as it was first plagued by a number of setbacks and losses, and then utter defeat. It all started with Warner turning its back on HD DVD and forcing Toshiba on the back foot. The impact this development had on Toshiba can be easily gauged when you discover Toshiba has now given up producing HD DVDs altogether, even though the company had been aggressively marketing the format for the last three years. Instead, it seems that Toshiba has returned to DVDs. Quite ironically, Toshiba feels that the HD DVD breach can be filled with its new range of DVDs. The Toshiba XD-E500, notwithstanding all the surrounding controversies, is beyond doubt the best DVD player to have come out of the company’s ranks. What really stand out are its superb upscaling capabilities which have helped the company uphold its claims of extending the viewing experience to the HD level. Of course, one could argue what is the point, since Blu-ray has already replaced DVD as the future standard.

The gadget is designed in a somewhat inconspicuous manner and reveals a slim, shallow outlook. It is also quite light on the hand, making it easy to set up and manipulate. The front side of the gadget bears most of the control buttons in addition to the power button on the right. You can also find the disc tray on its left, with an open/close button to the right of it. The unit’s connectivity is quite reasonable and you can play most of the popular disc formats that are available in the market. It has already been stressed that it is the most comprehensive and best DVD player from Toshiba and as such you need not worry about its audio and video quality. The audio-visual output is commendable to say the least with very little distortions.