Onkyo to bow high-tech HD DVD player

$899 player will feature high-quality audio

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 8/9/2007

AUG. 9 | Onkyo USA is rolling out its first HD DVD player, the DV-HD805, at a relatively high $899 price point for the format.

Slated to debut this fall, the DV-HD805 will represent one of the first HD DVD players to feature premium quality audio streaming via HDMI version 1.3a, according to the company. It supports the advanced sound formats Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio.

On the visual side, the DV-HD805 can playback highest-definition 1080p video through HDMI 1.3a. It also features Web-enabled connectivity, which is required of all HD DVD-certified players.

Onkyo, whose global headquarters are in Japan, is launching its HD DVD player at around the same time that Toshiba will bow three third-generation models all priced at less than $500. Toshiba’s currently available entry-level model is the $299 HD-A2.

Although several Blu-ray Disc set-tops launched at $1,000 or more last year, certain second-generation models are listed at less than $600, including Panasonic’s $599 and Sony’s $499 players.