Toshiba announced the release of its first DVD player packed with Detail Enhancement (XDE) technology. The device is called XD-E500 and will provide a "near-HD" picture quality for the users’ standard-definition DVDs.

The official release date is scheduled for today, August 18 and the suggested retail price has been set at $149. Its added layer of enhancement is expected to become extremely popular, as there are many movie enthusiasts with significantly large DVD collections, who will surely rush at the chance of viewing their favorite movies on a better image. Toshiba’s product presents three enhancement modes: sharp, color and contrast, which can be easily modified by users.

Sharp mode is used for improving edge detail, enhancing it only where the image demands it; color mode makes green and blue adjustments when needed and contrast mode makes dark areas visible without ruining the lighted places, providing more detail for certain scenes.

Toshiba explains that "while XDE, like many DVD players, up-converts DVDs up to 1080p to match the resolution of your HDTV, it goes a step further — thanks to XDE’s special picture-enhancement capabilities. XDE delivers a crisper, more vivid picture quality from your DVDs."

The company will back up its release with a carefully planned sales strategy, which will include a print and online ad campaign scheduled for September, ads in consumer magazines and local newspapers and also a Web site, www.Toshibaxde.com, which will offer customers all the needed information about the product.

Among XD-E500’s features users will find HDMI CEC, DivX video playback, playback of MP3- and WMA-encoded CDs, and JPEG playback.