02/15/2008, 8:40am, EST
Friday, February 15thToshiba to axe HD DVD in weeks?
Toshiba may be ready to pull the HD DVD format entirely after suffering a series of key defeats, says a claimed source of Hollywood Reporter. A tip reportedly from a person close to the HD DVD faction says Toshiba has not seen the expected surge in player sales from large-scale price discounts instituted for its movie players to compete with Blu-ray -- a decision which may have cost "several hundred dollars" per unit -- and is reportedly reeling from its format being marginalized at retailers such as Best Buy. The losses are such that Toshiba is said by the source to be announcing a complete withdrawal of HD DVD in a "matter of weeks."
Publicly, Toshiba continues to maintain support for HD DVD and has often issued statements touting the "value" of the format, though in recent releases it has shifted attention to its devices as upscaling DVD players rather than high-definition playback.
HD DVD's troubles began when movie studio Warner Bros. said it would drop HD DVD from its releases starting from June, effectively handing a clear majority of HD movie releases to Blu-ray. The decision had an almost immediate impact on HD DVD sales that has largely been sustained since and has led to moves by Best Buy and other retailers to either downplay HD DVD or sell Blu-ray alone. Several smaller, more regional movie studios have since opted for Blu-ray exclusivity as well, including ADV Films and National Geographic.
The succession of losses may also have led to damage at Microsoft, the Reporter adds. Having been Toshiba's closest non-studio supporter, the company and its chief HD DVD evangelist Kevin Collins have reportedly been inaccessible for comment on the alleged HD DVD shutdown. The Windows developer has often been heavily involved in promoting the standard but last week cut its Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on price to $130 to mirror Toshiba's cuts.
Aside from Toshiba, most computer builders have not followed Microsoft's endorsements, either offering Blu-ray drives as options alongside HD DVD equivalents (as with HP) or relying on Blu-ray alone as the sole HD disc reader format, as with Dell and Blu-ray's primary supporter Sony. Apple, Lenovo, and other larger computer builders have largely refrained from committing to any HD disc format with their systems.
Filed under: industry, upgrades/storage
Other story tags: Microsoft, blu-ray, Toshiba, HD DVD, Xbox 360, Warner, Best Buy
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Have they talked him down from the ledge?
Many have compared the HD-DVD/Blu-ray conflict to the Beta/VHS battle. I never subscribed to this comparison, but it is worth noting a difference. VHS prevailed in the consumer market, but many consider Beta to be superior, particularly in professional applications. Beta remains with us for professional applications. OTOH, HD-DVD's claim to fame is that it is cheaper to produce. Having lost in the consumer space, it falls like a house of cards.
- Sony spear-headed Blu-Ray as it did with BetaMax__ - Both superior products when compared to the alternative_
Except that in the 80's the Betamax lost out as the standard consumer choice - no matter how much Sony pushed it_
So yeah it is a viable direct comparison - except this time Sony happens to be on the winning side of the format war_
Beta died out - Sony stopped production as of 2002_
You really might want to go reeserch stuff before you simply slap words into a text field_
Is it because Apple is mentioned sitting on the fence for a format they helped develop?
'Cause otherwise this is a streatch and barely inside the sphere of Apple that you should be reporting on_
Now let's hope that prices of Blu-ray players and disks start dropping a bit. i suppose that more companies will start offering Blu-ray options, which should help.
The difference between the BetaMax/VHS war is that Sony learned from their failure with Betamax and didn't try to go it alone and gouge for licensing fees. JVC was smart with VHS, they licensed the format liberally for reasonable fees. This time around Sony partnered with lots of companies and in true Japanese business style, looked at the long view, not the next quarter's profits.
Now we all win!