BERLIN (Reuters) - Toshiba said on Friday it would introduce its first two High Definition DVD players (HD DVD) in Europe by November, priced between 599 and 999 euros ($768-1,280), well above prices in the United States.

While Sony Corp., one of the world’s largest producers of consumer electronics, said it would reveal its Blu-ray products in June, 2006; the players are available for pre-order now, weeks before actual availability. While Blu-ray players from Sony are more expensive than HD DVD devices by Toshiba, their cost is not as high as expected initially.

Even though there are no Blu-ray disc players in the U.S. market, Sony Pictures and allies have let at least one web-store to pre-order movies on Blu-ray discs (BDs). As a result, those, who are clear in their decision to adopt the Blu-ray format driven by Sony and Panasonic, will be able to get numerous titles before the hardware is available.

Pioneer Electronics said late Wednesday that it has begun shipping its first Blu-Ray computer drive, which e-tailers have listed for just under $1,000.

Next, I put the HD DVD of Phantom of the Opera into the player. I was chagrined to see that it took exactly 47 seconds between the time I put the HD DVD into the player and the time the picture appeared on the screen. With the disk finally began its playback, my frustration and gnashing of teeth quickly abated, because I saw a magnificent high-definition picture on my screen the likes of which I hadn't seen before. There were very few compression artifacts, the sound was crisp and clear, and the colors were extremely saturated. Here was the nearly-saving grace of the Toshiba HD-A1. The HD DVD format is capable of magnificent playback quality. That factor alone may make this player worth its $500 purchase price.