Integra unveils first HD DVD player: the $1099 DHS-8.8
By Darren Murph 
posted Sep 6th 2007 9:40AM
posted Sep 6th 2007 9:40AM
Just before the wheels of CEDIA really get rolling here in Denver, it looks as though we'll have one more contestant in the standalone HD DVD player market: Integra. The firm has announced its first HD DVD player, dubbed the DHS-8.8, and judging by the specs, it's no slacker. This unit touts HDMI 1.3a compatibility, obligatory support for all the lossless audio formats, 1080p24 playback, onboard Reon VX HQV video processing, DVD upscaling to 720p / 1080i / 1080p, and component outputs to boot. Furthermore, you'll find "Wolfson and Burr-Brown 192 kHz/24-bit audio DACs for conversion of audio sources for analog output," and the built-in Ethernet port allows buyers to take advantage of any web-based extras that they may encounter. Notably, this bad boy rings up a full Benjamin higher than the couple of hybrid players we heard about yesterday, and is slated to hit the market in Q4 for $1,099.[Thanks, Ryan]
Whoa! HD-DVD news! Thanks, guys!
I would like to point out that the Ethernet port is actually required for all HD-DVD hardware. It always has been.
Why would anyone want this when it isn't any better than the current 199 Toshiba player and will be almost the same as the $99 Christmas player at Walmart?
It is better. For one thing, it outputs 1080p. It can also do 24p. It's got better specs. It's intended for high-end users.
I think this is relevant news because (unless I'm forgetting any) this is the first "non-Toshiba" stand-alone HD DVD player on the market... isn't it?
So HD DVD stand-alone player manufacturers = Toshiba and now Integra (so, eventually, presumably Onkyo as well)
BD Stand-alone player manufacturers = Sony, Samsung, LG/Philips, Panasonic, Pioneer, Sharp, & Denon (did I miss any?)
Dual-format = LG (and Samsung? or not yet?)
I do think it's interesting that the first non-Tosh HD DVD player lists for 1100 bucks... I've read for some time that Toshiba heavily discounts their players, trying to gain market share for high-def disc player penetration - this would seem to support that.
To be fair, the same is said for the PS3 - but game system consoles are always loss-leaders, with the real profits made on software sales (from what I've heard, anyway).
Overall, interesting news... it'll be fun to see what happens during the holidays this year; I'm starting to get that "SACD/DVD-Audio" feeling about the HD DVD/BD format war...