Even though Toshiba’s HD-DVD format lost the competition in the high definition DVD wars, it is still in the game with the VD-E500 upconverting DVD player, which should ship to merchants before the end of August.

For those who are not familiar with upconverting DVD players (also called upscaling players), these devices are the next best thing to full blown Blu-ray players. An upconverting player enhances the standard DVD 480p output and improves the visual resolution to the point where is comes close to high definition, although none of the players actually achieves true high definition quality. But for most movies, who cares?

We have been big fans of upconverting players. All Blu-ray players have this ability built-in. But a good Blu-ray player is still pretty expensive. Upconverting DVD players are kind of the happy medium in between the standard DVD market and the high definition market. We still buy standard DVDs for most movies and only pay the premium price that the Hollywood crooks extract for Blu-ray disks for the best action movies.

This new Toshiba XD-E500 upconversion player looks like it hits the mark for upconverting players. It will upconvert to 720p, 1080i or 1080p, depending upon the capability of your high definition television. In order to achieve high definition quality, the unit requires an HDMI or DVI connection. The retail price will be about $150, so expect to find it on sale for about $120 to $130.

When you are looking for an upconverting or upscaling DVD player, it is important to find one that upscales to the native resolution of your television. That way, you will maximize the benefit. Not all upscaling players are designed to produce 1080p output resolution.

It is important to note that these types of players will not play Blu-ray disks. They are designed to play standard DVDs and will produce near-HD quality when used with a high definition television.

Also, do not expect to be able to count the hairs on the actors and cartoon characters like you can with a Blu-ray disk. While the output is dramatically improved and the results impressive, nothing can create that level of detail if it doesn’t exist on a standard DVD disk.

If you have an HDTV, but do not have the budget for a Blu-ray player, check out upconverting models, such as the new XD-E500 from Toshiba.