HD-DVD coming to Australia in December

Toshiba Corp. plans to launch its HD-DVD player in Australia in December this year, it said Monday.

The HD-E1 will go on sale in the middle of the month and cost A$1,099 (US$845) and be followed in February by the HD-XE1, a higher-spec player that will cost A$1,599.

Toshiba first launched players for the HD-DVD high-definition video disc format in the U.S. earlier this year and they are due on sale in Europe before the end of this year. In Japan the company has both a stand-alone player and HD-DVD recorder on sale.

HD-DVD is backed by Toshiba, the DVD Forum and companies including Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp., and is vying for supremacy with Blu-ray Disc, which is backed by Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (Panasonic), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and others, in the race to replace DVD for high-definition content.

The HD-DVD players will be available in Australia through Toshiba's authorized distributor, Castel Electronics Pty. Ltd.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.