HD Dvd is dead

[greyrocket]

Toshiba Officially Drops HD DVD
Tue Feb 19, 2008 at 03:15 AM ET
Tags: Toshiba (all tags)

conference [/url]


Following several days of rumors, Toshiba has confirmed that it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders, effectively ending the high-def format war.

In a just-issued press release, the company said that it reached the decision following "recent major changes in the market." Toshiba emphasized that it will continue to provide full product support and after-sales service for all owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.

"We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop,"￾ said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation. "While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality."￾

Toshiba said it will begin reducing shipments of HD DVD players and recorders immediately, with the aim of pulling all HD DVD players, recorders and disc drives from store shelves by March. The company went on to say that it would "continue to assess" the long-term viability of notebook PCs with integrated HD DVD drives.

Asked at a Tokyo press conference whether his company had any plans to adopt Blu-ray, Nishida said Toshiba had no such plans at the moment.

HD DVD first hit stores in April of 2006, and enjoyed an early sales lead against rival format Blu-ray up until the release of Sony's Blu-ray enabled PlayStation 3 later that year.

Though Blu-ray software outsold HD DVD throughout 2007, a series of tactical moves from the HD DVD camp kept the format in the game up until early this January, when Warner Bros announced it would drop its HD DVD support and would release its titles on Blu-ray exclusively, beginning this June.

In the weeks that followed, HD DVD backers vowed to fight on, issuing a series of price drops and embarking on a new marketing campaign, but it wasn't enough to convince retailers to stick with the fledgling format. Faced with the prospect of diminishing prominence at such top US retailers as Best Buy and Wal-Mart, insiders say it was only a matter of time before Toshiba would pull the plug.

 

[NightCrawler]

'Bout dang time!

I'm glad to see the "war" is over. These companies seem to forget that the consumer also lose when they (the companies) can't agree on a single format. I held out until a true winner was decided, but I feel kinda bad for those who took the path of HD-DVD.

 

[FastBusa]

Glade I waited, no "Beta Max" for me!

 

[BlueHaya]

Figures 2 days after I get a HD DVD player..................j/k I have nothing HD...not even my TV.

But you know somewhere someone did just do that....and they a mad.

 

[Mr Bogus]

Well I finally get to get my HD player for my HD tv for my Low Res eyeballs...

Figures they get all this HD stuff rocking and rolling and my eyes are not as good as the players....

 

[Revlis]

Good, I can finally go out and buy a Hi-Def Format...

As much as I dislike Sony's proprietary formats this I think is a good thing for consumers and the industry...

 

[WWJD]

I banked on Sony from the beginning. They have been in the home/movie/tv/media entertainment industry MUCH LONGER than Microsoft. Toshiba is good products, but not a world dominating force like Sony. that, and I will never spend a DIME supporting ANYTHING with the Micro$oft logo

I been watching HD movies/tv for a year and LOVING IT! A lot of movies I have look better than I have EVER seen them before in my lifetime and that is pretty exciting

 

[Revlis]

I was pretty sure Blu-Ray would come out on top, but then Sony lost the Betamax war, and it was a superior format so ya never know. I don't feel one way or another about Toshiba, I don't know if I've ever owned anything made by them. I'm a fan of Samsung DLPs and LCDs though.

Interesting, and a real bonus as I was proly going to be buying a PS3 here in a few months anyway so I can play the new Grand Tourismo...

 

[WWJD]

Cool. I been playing the GT free demo, it's very nice and HiDeffy. There is a cycle game coming out someday soon... but be VERY SCARED! It's by a company that made a REAL CRAPPY cycle game for the PS2 - I mean it is the WORST controlling cycle game I have ever played. Bought it new for $15, gave it away to a friend that same day.

Hopefully they will get it right for their HD outing

 

[zukracer]

I think the next 12-24 months will be incredibly interesting in the audio/video/streaming market. There are players that some folks havent even considered and technologies that most people havent even heard of when it comes to ATSC transmissions. Mix that with the fact that NTSC transmissions will be moving to ATSC, the new tv and tuner market will get interesting. Its been a few years since they introduced ATSC compliant devices, though not all have tuners. I think we are going to see a huge influx of convergence devices that will enable a whole new level of how we watch TV

 

[blitzburgh]

I banked on Sony from the beginning.  They have been in the home/movie/tv/media entertainment industry MUCH LONGER than Microsoft.  Toshiba is good products, but not a world dominating force like Sony.  that, and I will never spend a DIME supporting ANYTHING with the Micro$oft logo

I am the opposite of ya.. If it wasn't for microsoft, we would still be rubbing two sticks together for fire. I fully support everything microsoft does and lets face it. What would the world be today without Microsoft? I'm sorry but nobody can sit here and tell me that if they was Bill Gates they would do things different. The man runs a business that I would think everyone would want to model. Not to mention how much he gives to charity.

Just a side note.. Microsoft did NOT make HD-DVD format they just supported it just like they will support Blu-ray. Microsoft was pushing the war longer so it would give them more time to research and develope their streaming video format. Kind of funny how most people still think Microsoft actually made HD-DVD. I'm pretty sure that Microsoft is more world dominating than sony would ever hope to be.

But, this has nothing to do with Microsoft.. This is a Sony Vs Toshiba battle in which Sony has won...

 

[WWJD]

Right. They supported it. Microsoft IS a big name and HDDVD needed big name support. I'll admit that Microsoft has helped do a lot of kool stuff as well as keeping me employed for 20+ years. But from the inside, it's pretty silly what goes on. The security problems, the cost of product, the inferior patching structure, the monopoly... there REALLY needs to be some competition so your new OS versions would only cost $29 instead of $190. If the linux nerds would get off their butt and try to make a normal interface, it could take the world over eventually.

I talked to a few theater/PC geeks who kept telling me "Microsoft backs HDDVD so it will win cuz microsoft never backs loosers" [cough VISTA cough XBOX hardware cough]

In the end, I'm just not a fan of a world dominating business model that exists to try to make everyone a lot of money. I would prefer things to be RIGHT, not "Profitable"... in other words: lets change the interface of our office product! that will breed all new training platforms, new systems requirements and everyone down the line gets renewed income... again.... and again....
How's that VISTA working out for ya? Oh, it sucks? Guess ya shoulda made a BETTER product and not just a DIFFERENT one - requiring everyone to buy new hardware and learn new paradigms.

MACs market shared has risen a lot thanks to VISTA. Check it out, I'm not making it up. Why? Because people just want simple interface that works. Not 7 different ways to do things and a Microsoft Certified Class to learn to use it. k im done ranting.... on my XP based compuer

 

[blitzburgh]

Right.  They supported it.  Microsoft IS a big name and HDDVD needed big name support.  I'll admit that  Microsoft has helped do a lot of kool stuff as well as keeping me employed for 20+ years.  But from the inside, it's pretty silly what goes on.  The security problems, the cost of product, the inferior patching structure, the monopoly... there REALLY needs to be some competition so your new OS versions would only cost $29 instead of $190.  If the linux nerds would get off their butt and try to make a normal interface, it could take the world  over eventually.

I talked to a few theater/PC geeks who kept telling me "Microsoft backs HDDVD so it will win cuz microsoft never backs loosers" [cough VISTA cough XBOX hardware cough]

In the end, I'm just not a fan of a world dominating business model that exists to try to make everyone a lot of money.  I would prefer things to be RIGHT, not "Profitable"... in other words:  lets change the interface of our office product! that will breed all new training platforms, new systems requirements and everyone down the line gets renewed income... again.... and again....
How's that VISTA working out for ya?  Oh, it sucks?  Guess ya shoulda made a BETTER product and not just a DIFFERENT one - requiring everyone to buy new hardware and learn new paradigms.

MACs market shared has risen a lot thanks to VISTA.  Check it out, I'm not making it up.  Why?  Because people just want simple interface that works.  Not 7 different ways to do things and a Microsoft Certified Class to learn to use it.  k im done ranting.... on my XP based compuer  

LOL I use to do nothing but MMO's on the computer.. I would build a high end machine every other year because that is what it took to actually play games online and be competitive. I bought a 360 and sold everything I had including my pride and joy, My 25" monitor. That is what I love about console games your hardware will never be outdated compared to the games you play on it. I have nothing but a laptop to search the web and stuff like that. I was never a fan of Vista because of the stories about problems with hardware and drivers so I stuck with XP. Now I could install my old copy of ME and still be happy...

I did see on X-Play that Microsoft is rumored to have a Blu-Ray add on by May for the 360. They also might even have a new system with Blu-Ray later on in the year. Wonder if Microsoft seen this comming and though ahead?