Home entertainment re-defined: Toshiba launches HD-DVD in Australia

Sydney, 22 June 2006: The next step in high-definition viewing - high definition DVD (HD-DVD) technology – was launched by Toshiba Information Systems Division (ISD) in Australia overnight and is available in stores today. Toshiba’s high-end Qosmio AV-notebook is the first product to incorporate the new standard in storage and viewing, now upgraded with an integrated HD-DVD drive.

With greater storage capacity on the one disk, HD-DVD is an advancement upon the standard DVD technology. It thereby allows people to experience more intense, clear and crisp imagery and audio than possible on today’s DVDs, for a more cinema-quality experience of movies at home.

Beyond the ‘viewing’ element of high definition television (HD-TV), HD-DVD also enables people to download, record, store and playback the latest movies in high definition format. For those with a home network, HD-DVD will also make it easy to copy movies to the computer hard drive and send it to other rooms in the house to be viewed.

To ensure that users can continue to use the standard DVD format, HD-DVD has a hybrid disk technology that provides users with the option of burning HD versions to one side of the disc and standard DVD versions on the other. With a storage capacity of 30GB, HD-DVD discs can also store more movies and content than any other format available including 25GB more than standard DVDs.

HD-DVD is backed by major content and hardware providers including Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Paramount Home Cinema and Warner Home Video, Hitachi and Canon.

More than 200 HD-DVD movie titles are expected to be released in the United States over the course of the year, which will filter into Australia, enabling enthusiasts to build their HD-DVD library.

Toshiba Qosmio G30

Toshiba’s first HD-DVD offering is the Qosmio G30, a four-in-one mobile entertainment unit with integrated HD-DVD drive.

The Qosmio G30 can play and record movies and television shows in both high definition and standard format – in addition to being a television, virtual surround system and portable Microsoft XP Media Center PC.

The G30 comes with a 17-inch widescreen display screen with a brightness and colour saturation that can be compared to that of LCD television. The display also has anti-glare technology to deflect outside light for better daytime and outdoor viewing. It also has an integrated analogue and digital TV Tuner, which supports worldwide TV broadcasting formats.

Availability

The Qosmio G30 with integrated HD-DVD drive is available from Dick Smith Powerhouse, selected Harvey Norman, David Jones, MYER, Domayne & Clive Peeters stores.

Product specifications
Model

Qosmio G30

Processor
Intel Core Duo Processor T2600 with Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology

Display
17.1-inch TruBrite Widescreen UXGA

Memory
1024MB (512+512MB)

Hard disk drive
200GB (100GB+100GB)

Optical Drive
HD DVD ROM SuperMulti Double/Dual Layer Drive (HD DVD ROM DVD±R±RW, DVD±R DL, DVD-RAM)

Video Card
nVidia GeForce 7600 with 256MB GDDR3

Audio
Intel High Definition (HD) Audio with Dolby Home Theatre Technology

Modem / LAN
International V.92 data modem and fax
Intel 10/100/1000 Base TX Ethernet

Connectivity
Toshiba Bluetooth V2.0 with EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)

Integrated Intel Pro 3945 802.11abg wireless LAN

Operating System
Win XP Media Center 2005 (OEM)

RRP Inc GST

$5,499

Capacity

DVD ROM

Single-sided : 8.5GB (dual-layer); 4.7GB(single-layer)

HD DVD ROM

Single-sided : 30GB (dual-layer); 15GB(single-layer)
Single-sided : 45GB (triple-layer,under development)
Double-sided : 60GB (dual-layer); 30GB(single-layer)

HD DVD –R (recordable)

Single-sided:15GB (single-layer)
Double-sided :30GB (single-layer)

HD DVD –R/RW (rewritable)

Single-sided : 20GB (single-layer)

Single-sided : 32GB (dual-layer,under development)
Double-sided :40GB (single-layer)

Blu-Ray ROM
Single-sided : 25GB (single-layer)
Single-sided : 50GB (single-layer)

Blu-Ray –RW
Single-sided : 25GB (single-layer)
Single-sided : 50GB (double-layer)