Report: Toshiba to Abandon HD DVD

Marcus Yam (Blog) - February 15, 2008 5:20 PM

Toshiba may drop support for its own high-def format


Perhaps not wanting to be the last off a sinking ship, Toshiba could soon be abandoning the HD DVD format it helped bring to market, if the Hollywood Reporter is to be believed.

According to the report’s sources, Toshiba will be pulling the plug on its HD DVD format sometime in the coming weeks. The official word from Toshiba, predictably, is that it is still behind HD DVD as the format of choice.

"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," said Jodi Sally, Toshiba’s VP of marketing.

Interestingly enough, Toshiba didn’t completely put to rest any ideas that the company could change its stance in the format war. "Given the market developments in the past month," continued Sally, "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."

Possibly urging Toshiba to drop HD DVD are the recent events transpired since Warner Bros. announced at CES 2008 that it would go Blu-ray Disc exclusive this summer. Most recently, online rental giant Netflix announced that it too would be dropping HD DVD stock, while Best Buy would begin to push Blu-ray Disc as the preferred format.

In what could be the final nail in the coffin for the format, Wal-Mart today announced its plans to drop HD DVD players and software stock starting this June.

Update

Toshiba quits HD DVD 'format war'

TOKYO (CNN) -- Toshiba said Tuesday(2/19/2008) it will no longer manufacture HD DVDs, effectively ending the long-running battle with the rival Blu-ray for a dominant high-definition format.

People watch a demonstration of HD DVD at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Toshiba said it made the decision to cease developing, manufacturing, and marketing HD DVDs after ""recent major changes in the market."" It promised to continue offering support and service for all existing 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,"" Toshiba President and Chief Executive Atsutoshi Nishida said in a news release.

Toshiba's HD DVD business has been suffering recently with a string of major retailers and rental companies announcing their preference for Blu-ray, developed by Sony.

Last week alone, Wal-Mart and online rental company Netflix said they would abandon HD in favor of Blu-ray. Last month, Warner Brothers Home Entertainment -- which had been the largest media company releasing videos in both formats -- announced it would offer DVDs solely in Blu-ray.

DVD battle

The DVD battle has been reminiscent of the VHS vs. Beta fight in the early 1980s. It has left many consumers confused and waiting to see which technology will emerge as the industry standard.

Sony's Blu-ray is backed by Disney, 20th Century Fox, MGM, Dell, Panasonic, and Philips. Toshiba's HD DVD is backed by Paramount, Universal Pictures, Microsoft, Sanyo, and NEC.

Toshiba said it would continue to work with those companies and study ways to collaborate with them in the future. Tens of billions of dollars have been at stake as major movie studios battled for a dominant format. But rival game consoles have been part of the struggle, too -- Sony's Playstation 3 plays Blu-ray discs, while the Microsoft X-Box plays HD DVDs.

Both Blu-ray and HD are high-definition DVDs, the successor to ordinary DVDs which show pictures only in standard definition. But Blu-ray and HD involve different hardware and are not compatible with each other, meaning consumers have had to decide which system to invest in.

Don't miss

Both formats have an excellent picture quality with a large storage space. But Toshiba has lost the battle because it lacks a retail presence in many markets, said Carl Gressum, a senior analyst at Ovum, a London technology consultancy.

""They didn't manage to bring on board some of the China vendors, they didn't bring (on board) the retailers, they've failed to develop in the European and Asian markets,"" Gressum told CNN.

Warner Brothers announced its decision to drop HD DVD right before last month's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a significant event for corporate buyers. Gressum said that led to an immediate drop in retail support for Toshiba's format.

Gressum said manufacturers of both formats have made things more difficult for retailers by forcing consumers to make a choice between the gradually-dominant Blu-ray and the much-cheaper HD.

""They're losing money in many cases because of the price war between the two formats as Toshiba -- and also Microsoft, to a certain extent -- has been playing the price card for HD DVD players,"" he said.

Toshiba said the company would continue to market standard DVD players and recorders.

I'm an early HD-DVD adopter and well, it's kind of sad. But one day I'll get around to getting a PS3...so I suppose I just have a good up-converter for now.

I love TOSHIBA and DELL laptops.
In fact I only buy them... Period.

But, TOSHIBA Corp., must finally, whether they like it or not,
bring they all out together from helpfulness with it self,
cool the nerves and pride childish caprice / spite,
and finally, finally, offer to a market a good and first
TOSHIBA laptop with a Blu-ray drive in it!!!

If they do not do that, numerous people will be,
or are even now, forced, more and more,
to buy some different mark of laptop instead TOSHIBA one,
disregard the fact that TOSHIBA is a serious IT Corp.,
especially on Laptop manufacturing...
And even if it is so Professional Global Corp.,
just look the above sentence of mine about the pride...


Furthermore, all Laptop manufacturers over Globe
need to finally wake up from sleeping beauty dream,
that we all finally require decent Barebone Laptops
that has an option to input in it, or Upgrade it later
(at least during 4 years time period then this
laptop model is launched over market),
with, at least few stuff, such as
more better and bigger HDD (+ HDD physical protection 3-axis sensors),
more faster CPU (especially + Intel Visualization Technology),
more than only 4GB of Mem.,
and better VGA / GPU Engine
that we can Upgrade input in the future in our laptops,
but after we buying it in the first place!!!


Blu-ray is all here, he is undeniable fact and reality, so,
laptop manufacturers,
wake up, wake up finally,
my ladies and gentlemen ~ meine damen und my hern!!!

And this wakening is really calling on fire now,
since we living in right the year,
where the laptop computers is finally become equally sell as desktop computers!!!
So, we deserve that they be more adaptive to all us customers!!!

It is sad.. but check ebay, you can get HD DVD's for like $5

Unfortunately it is death technology.
Nobody will talk about it for one year or
maybe some time after...

So, the standard is Blu-ray...


- Can you suggest how to bring real serious revolution
on all those IT Companies,
to really wake them up from long sleepy beauty dream
living with olive crown of old glory...?
They are OK in all this, they earning money pretty good,
but the customers hate all this...

- Can we spank them somehow...?

It's better now that HD DVD and Blu-Ray aren't competing. No more thinking about which to get.

I am very confused now.. I was thinking to buy Blue ray decoder but now i don't know what to do.....

thanks you for news