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Much has been written about the belated DVD-Audio format - the high-resolution storage medium for music that could replace CD - but only now are players beginning to trickle into the marketplace.`
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`Last year, when hackers cracked the code designed to prevent pirating, the record companies pulled the plug on a december launch and most manufacturers have been sitting on DVD-A players until sufficient software is available. The delay is frustrating - not least for the consumer - but the interest that has been generated by the hardware in the music industry indicates that DVD-A is going to be big - maybe even DVD-Video size.
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`Unsurprisingly, two of the biggest advocates of the DVD format are among the first manufacturers to offer DVD-A compatible players. We have already had an exclusive look at Technics' ?900 DVD-A10, now HCC is pleased to bring you the first review of the Toshiba SD-500E.
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`Like the Technics and the other first generation DVD-A players, the SD-500E is a hybrid machine capable of playing DVD-Video too - just as well considering the dearth of DVD-A discs on offer. In fact, it is basically a modified version of the excellent SD-200E, reviewed favourably in the december issue of HCC. Like the '200, it has a double-disc loading mechanism, allowing you to load a second disc while the first is playing - useful if you want to listen to music between movies perhaps. The smart styling is the same too, except that this time the brushed aluminium fascia is champagne gold and a few buttons have been added to the front panel so that the SD-500E can take pride of place alongside your hi-fi. What Toshiba didn't consider though, is that some people might want to buy the 500 as a replacement for a CD player; you still have to connect the thing to a TV in order to access the onscreen menu for a DVD-A playback.
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