Toshiba has revealed that Europe's first commercially available standalone HD-DVD players will be available from mid-November.

The HD-E1 will be the first model to offer HD-DVD to European consumers, while the step-up HD-XE1, which will follow early in December, will deliver enhanced images and sound.

Both players are backwards compatible with existing DVD and CD formats, and the HD-XE1 can 'upscale' and output existing DVD content at 1080p for display on HD-ready LCD, plasma panels and other HD TVs or monitors via HDMI terminals.

More information at vnunet.com.