Toshiba to Drop HD DVD (rumor?)

[NaitoSan]

Toshiba is widely expected to pull the plug on its HD DVD format sometime in the coming weeks, reliable industry sources say, after a rash of retail defections that followed Warner Home Video's announcement in early January that it would support only the rival Blu-ray Disc format after May.

Officially, no decision has been made, insists Jodi Sally, vp of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products. "Based on its technological advancements, we continue to believe HD DVD is the best format for consumers, given the value and consistent quality inherent in our player offerings," she said.

But she hinted that something's in the air. "Given the market developments in the past month," she said, "Toshiba will continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of our recent price reductions on all HD DVD players."

...
More from info from the link:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ib77125d96b22e86027d0bfb0c25aa58d

After reading 2 pages article... wow, that's coming from pretty credible website. We'll see what's going to happen in upcoming weeks.

[Butter Bandit]

Can't say I blame them. When they slashed the prices of the HD-DVD players a few weeks ago, I took that as a "clearance" sale move.

[nekrosoft13]

i will grab quite a few movies when this happens.

my PC can play both formats, and if in future i can't find a combo stand alone player, converting from HD-DVD to BD is not hard.

[six_storm]

Wow, never thought I'd see the day.

[ntsck]

Toshiba is done. They have a BD player designed already, which will be announced at CEDIA.

[Mr. Hunt]

Welcome aboard Toshiba.

[muaddib]

Finally. I hate format wars.

[nekrosoft13]

welcome to higher prices

[Mr. Hunt]

Welcome to higher quality.

Welcome to good movies.

Welcome to good audio on almost every release.

[|MaguS|]

welcome to higher prices

The Player will be higher priced (for now) but the movies on average are actually cheaper... unless you only shop at Best Buy.

[nekrosoft13]

Welcome to higher quality.

Welcome to good movies.

Welcome to good audio on almost every release.

:lol2:

[Butter Bandit]

The Player will be higher priced (for now) but the movies on average are actually cheaper... unless you only shop at Best Buy.

I was always under the impression that on average, Blu-Ray titles were cheaper than HD-DVD (as long as you don't take into account the BOGO stuff)

[Mr. Hunt]

I was always under the impression that on average, Blu-Ray titles were cheaper than HD-DVD (as long as you don't take into account the BOGO stuff)

It varies... Fox has a ridiculous MSRP... usually get those for 28 bucks on amazon... Sony has some for 27, but they are the 2 disc editions of movies (Superbad is one, and I think Walk Hard is going to be another). The difference is HD-DVD would be more expensive generally when it was a combo disc.

[six_storm]

Looks like I won't be upgrading to Blu-Ray for quite some time. I have other important purchases to make. ;)

[Butter Bandit]

Looks like I won't be upgrading to Blu-Ray for quite some time. I have other important purchases to make. ;)

caek and staek?

[Lyme]

The Player will be higher priced (for now) but the movies on average are actually cheaper... unless you only shop at Best Buy.

The players are still significantly overpriced. Mass adoption will not happen till you can get a blu-ray player for less than the price of a Wii.

[ViN86]

Welcome to higher quality.

Welcome to good movies.

Welcome to good audio on almost every release.
you only say this to get people all worked up.

unless you really are as big of a sony fanboy as you appear to be. in which case, youre just pathetic.


well, if BD is the way to go then ill probably pick up a PS3 this summer. then i can have a linux box and a BD player. ill stick with games on 360, unless theres a PS3 exclusive that i really want.

[mullet]

I will get a standalone BR player in maybe 2 years from now.

[NaitoSan]

you only say this to get people all worked up.

unless you really are as big of a sony fanboy as you appear to be. in which case, youre just pathetic.


well, if BD is the way to go then ill probably pick up a PS3 this summer. then i can have a linux box and a BD player. ill stick with games on 360, unless theres a PS3 exclusive that i really want.
actually blu-ray has caught up a lot since it first launched. right now it's as good as hd dvd but with few advantages i.e. more supports from studios (means more movies to choose from) and whatnot also it's being used for games and larger capabity.

only if they'll start to push profile 1.1 and 2.0 player out asap. but that doesn't really hurt because you're STILL able to watch 1.1 and 2.0 enabled discs on 1.0 player just fine, only that you wan't be able to access those features until you upgrade or so.

also again, blu-ray isn't entirely made by sony...

[ViN86]

actually blu-ray has caught up a lot since it first launched. right now it's as good as hd dvd but with few advantages i.e. more supports from studios (means more movies to choose from) and whatnot also it's being used for games and larger capabity.

only if they'll start to push profile 1.1 and 2.0 player out asap. but that doesn't really hurt because you're STILL able to watch 1.1 and 2.0 enabled discs on 1.0 player just fine, only that you wan't be able to access those features until you upgrade or so.

also again, blu-ray isn't entirely made by sony...
for the 100th time, i know Sony is a parter of the BDA. but they are the major promoter, so that's why i associate them with BD.

[NaitoSan]

major studios like walt disney, 20th century, and so are one of major promoters, not just sony.

[ViN86]

major studios like walt disney, 20th century, and so are one of major promoters, not just sony.
umm ok... i still associate sony with BD.

and anything you say will not change that.

[Bad_Boy]

this is 100% true. no longer a rumor. toshiba dropping hd-dvd.

stick a fork in it. ;)

[Peoples-Agent]

Ok....

So NOW announce a price drop for standalone 1.1 players to go under the £200 mark, please.

[Jonelo]

http://gigazine.net/index.php?/news/comments/20080216_toshiba_hddvd/


Translation (http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgigazine.net%2Findex.php% 3F%2Fnews%2Fcomments%2F20080216_toshiba_hddvd%2F&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=es&ie=UTF-8)

Toshiba, HD DVD finally in the final stage of the withdrawal operations, the loss of several billion yen

NHK news reported by just seven at this time, according to Toshiba HD DVD business is in the final stage of withdrawal and the loss of several billion yen into that.


The source is the Japonese TV NHK-

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Reuter

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSL1637974620080216