Robert Zohn (a major dealer insider in the U.S.) has confirmed the XA2 (XE1 equivalent) will remain the Toshiba flagship.
DTV TiVo Dealer said:One thing to remember is the XA2 stays in the line as the flagship HD DVD player, with Bi-directional RS232 and other new upgraded features coming in the next firmware upgrade in the next few weeks. Like 1080p 24 Hz output and the passing of bit stream un-encoded audio. High Bit Rate Audio capabilities and unmatched interactivity functionality will be added to enhance our HD DVD experience.