DV-HD805
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Onkyo giving pause to continued HD DVD support?
Sure, we're filing this squarely in the rumor folder for now, but we still felt it prudent to bring to light a number of interesting comments made recently by an Onkyo representative. Reportedly, said rep was quoted by Home Cinema Choice as saying that "given the current, multiple uncertainties surrounding the Blu-ray versus HD DVD issue, Onkyo has decided against bringing any further DV-HD805s to the UK." Additionally, he / she continued on by saying that "if a category becomes commoditized -- as this sector shows signs of becoming -- there's less reason to commit huge resources to it when they may be better employed elsewhere." Granted, we've no idea if a decision made on the other side of the pond will have anything to do with the US, but regardless, another HD DVD supporter falling by the wayside isn't good for the red camp no matter how you slice it.[Via TiVo Lovers]
Onkyo DV-HD805 dissected, Toshiba HD-XA2 found inside
The crew at AreaDVD.de took the screwdriver to the Onkyo DV-HD805 and were none too surprised to find a Toshiba HD-XA2 laying inside the Onkyo-badged packaging. There has been quite a bit of speculation around the "heritage" of this player, so the results of the teardown aren't too surprising. Still, we would like to know what specific tweaks were made to the HD-XA2 to justify the $899 MSRP. At least Onkyo didn't do anything harmful to the player design; our rusty German leads us to believe the AreaDVD gang liked what they saw and heard from the unit despite the finish of the cabinet being "not quite as opulent as" as the HD-XA2. All this makes the HD-XA2 look like a relative bargain among the high-spec HD DVD players.[Via FormatWarCentral]
Onkyo's DV-HD805 HD DVD player: coming this fall for $899
Recall that DV-HD805 we caught wind of a few months back? Turns out the whispers were somewhat accurate, as Onkyo's "first HD DVD player" is indeed slated to hit the US market this fall. The unit will feature HDMI 1.3a connections, support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio, 24p capability, the HQV Reon VX video processing chipset (which handles upscaling), and an Ethernet port to download firmware updates and utilize any internet-enabled content from flicks. Look for it to take holiday shoppers by storm sometime this fall, but do be mindful of the relatively steep $899 pricetag.[Thanks, Michael]
Onkyo's new DV-HD805 HD DVD player
While Onkyo has been a part of the HD DVD promotions group as long as we can remember, Onkyo really hasn't done much. We have heard rumors about a HD DVD player from Onkyo for some time, and there was even a mention of it at CES this year. Our friends over at FormatWarCentral have discovered a few details in an otherwise obscure Onkyo post on a UK site that we find very interesting. Apparently Onkyo expects to launch the DV-HD805 this autumn, and it will be based on the Toshiba HD-XA2 player -- with a few yet to be mentioned tweaks. We are excited to see another HD DVD player on the market, but we hope it's not just a re-badge of the HD-AX2. Before any format fanboys get too rabid; the Onkyo rep also mentioned that officially Onkyo supports both formats.
