Toshiba - BD Ever??
03-14-09, 12:30 AM
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Toshiba - BD Ever??
One of my TV's is a Toshiba LCD. I'm wondering if Toshiba will make a BD Player?? or even better BD/HD Player. I mean, are they still pissed for losing HD-DVD that they are willing to lose market share and not make a BD player??
Any comments??
Also-I noticed that in some places i can get a cheap HD-DVD XBOX add-on. I don't want to use it as marketed. I already have an HD-DVD XBOX drive connected to my 360, but I'm trying to take it apart and use it as a HD-DVD Drive in my PC. Has anyone done that? Does it work?
Any comments??
Also-I noticed that in some places i can get a cheap HD-DVD XBOX add-on. I don't want to use it as marketed. I already have an HD-DVD XBOX drive connected to my 360, but I'm trying to take it apart and use it as a HD-DVD Drive in my PC. Has anyone done that? Does it work?
03-14-09, 07:07 PM
#5
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
It does actually internally use a mini-IDE interface or something like that if you want to spend money on adapters. It's easier to just use it via USB though.
03-15-09, 12:51 AM
#7
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
Well, there could be a few possibilities.
Is it possible that the Toshiba execs refuse to throw any more money at HD in general after HD-dvd died? Maybe they just don't view it as profitable enough now?
Also, maybe something out of their control is limiting what they can do. They did piss the other CE's off something fierce. Having another company selling players doesn't really help companies like Samsung, Panasonic or Pioneer sell more of their hardware.
Then again, maybe Toshiba is a case of sour grapes, and is developing something else instead.
Is it possible that the Toshiba execs refuse to throw any more money at HD in general after HD-dvd died? Maybe they just don't view it as profitable enough now?
Also, maybe something out of their control is limiting what they can do. They did piss the other CE's off something fierce. Having another company selling players doesn't really help companies like Samsung, Panasonic or Pioneer sell more of their hardware.
Then again, maybe Toshiba is a case of sour grapes, and is developing something else instead.
03-15-09, 01:25 AM
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03-15-09, 08:02 AM
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Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
Whoa- I didn't know the XBox drives worked with a PC- do you need any kind of adaptor or just a regular USB cable? I already heard you can't transplant it into a regular HD-DVD player if that dies, but I may still have to get one.
03-15-09, 10:36 AM
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Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
Yes, because as soon as Betamax died (which was evident for a few years before it really went away) Sony jumped on the VHS bandwagon. IIRC, it was 2.5 years when Sony officially stopped Betamax until they rolled their first VHS player into stores. Its been slightly over a year for Toshiba.
Remember, Toshiba gets plenty of money from DVD so why would they want to kill their cash cow? For Sony and Panasonic?
Why would they want to spend the money making one so they could sell it at $199 just to complete with all the other CEs (and the upcoming slew of Chinese ones). There is simply not enough in it for Toshiba.
Remember, Toshiba gets plenty of money from DVD so why would they want to kill their cash cow? For Sony and Panasonic?
Why would they want to spend the money making one so they could sell it at $199 just to complete with all the other CEs (and the upcoming slew of Chinese ones). There is simply not enough in it for Toshiba.
03-15-09, 12:09 PM
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03-15-09, 02:18 PM
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Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
OP, Toshiba will never make a BD player. They've pretty much said High-Def is not as revolutionary as they once said it was. They've said upsampling is just as good as High-Def. This is a company who decided to retaliate against a format, just because they were the loser on the format war.
What's even more amazing, is Toshiba wasn't just a loser, but they created their own demise by allocating resources to other areas, such as RAM manufacturing plants, and even held contracts to help make chips for Sony's PS3 machines.
Toshiba has so much sour grapes in their company, they could sell their own wine label and would make a better profit for Q4 2009 than any product they currently have.
Toshiba has an interest in DVD, but you'd never would have guessed when HD DVD was alive and competing with Blu-ray. Toshiba never touted DVD like they are now. It's a clear case of being a sore loser, and resorting to outright lies to the consumer in a desperate attempt for a larger market share.
What's even more amazing, is Toshiba wasn't just a loser, but they created their own demise by allocating resources to other areas, such as RAM manufacturing plants, and even held contracts to help make chips for Sony's PS3 machines.
Toshiba has so much sour grapes in their company, they could sell their own wine label and would make a better profit for Q4 2009 than any product they currently have.
Toshiba has an interest in DVD, but you'd never would have guessed when HD DVD was alive and competing with Blu-ray. Toshiba never touted DVD like they are now. It's a clear case of being a sore loser, and resorting to outright lies to the consumer in a desperate attempt for a larger market share.
03-15-09, 08:57 PM
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Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
Maybe when (and if) Blu-Ray goes mainstream, Toshiba will follow. Also, Blu-Ray has a lacking catalog so when the big movies of each major studio puts their best on Blu-Ray, I don't think Toshiba will have much of a choice.
03-15-09, 10:10 PM
#15
Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
I wouldn't be surprised if Toshiba will then launch another campaign, like, "You don't NEED the latest movies! What's already on DVD is good enough!"
But it's a good point. Toshiba might eventually be hard pressed to come out with something.
But it's a good point. Toshiba might eventually be hard pressed to come out with something.
03-16-09, 02:22 AM
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Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
Yes, because as soon as Betamax died (which was evident for a few years before it really went away) Sony jumped on the VHS bandwagon. IIRC, it was 2.5 years when Sony officially stopped Betamax until they rolled their first VHS player into stores. Its been slightly over a year for Toshiba.
Remember, Toshiba gets plenty of money from DVD so why would they want to kill their cash cow? For Sony and Panasonic? Why would they want to spend the money making one so they could sell it at $199 just to complete with all the other CEs (and the upcoming slew of Chinese ones). There is simply not enough in it for Toshiba.
Why would they want to spend the money making one so they could sell it at $199 just to complete with all the other CEs (and the upcoming slew of Chinese ones). There is simply not enough in it for Toshiba.
I just think they could make a decent player and it's stupid for them not to throw their hat in the rink. Plus, the margins are definitely better on BD players than with DVD now. Considering you can get a DVD player in cracker jack boxes now... well maybe not now but soon!
03-16-09, 06:14 AM
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Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
Toshiba felt high def wasn't a large enough factor to be concerned about, yet they plunked a fortune on their HD-DVD format. Things change over time, and although I can't say I know what Toshiba is going to do since they re-invested in selling those super SD-DVD players, Blu-ray continues to grow. If they want in on the game again, they need to make Blu-ray players.
03-16-09, 07:19 AM
#19
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
Hmmm, Gizmo you are letting on to your age...
Yet, they made hd-dvd so not sure what you mean with your logic here.
I just think they could make a decent player and it's stupid for them not to throw their hat in the rink. Plus, the margins are definitely better on BD players than with DVD now. Considering you can get a DVD player in cracker jack boxes now... well maybe not now but soon!
Yet, they made hd-dvd so not sure what you mean with your logic here.
I just think they could make a decent player and it's stupid for them not to throw their hat in the rink. Plus, the margins are definitely better on BD players than with DVD now. Considering you can get a DVD player in cracker jack boxes now... well maybe not now but soon!
I agree, the margins are better on BD vs. their super upconverted machines, plus there is a whole promotion machine in the works for hi-def.
Last edited by JimRochester; 03-16-09 at 09:18 AM.
03-16-09, 08:00 AM
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Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
Yes, because as soon as Betamax died (which was evident for a few years before it really went away) Sony jumped on the VHS bandwagon. IIRC, it was 2.5 years when Sony officially stopped Betamax until they rolled their first VHS player into stores. Its been slightly over a year for Toshiba.
03-16-09, 09:58 AM
#21
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Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
same with MiniDisc. When studios stopped releasing movies it took about 2 years for Sony to make a VHS player.
03-16-09, 10:05 AM
#22
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Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
Hmmm, Gizmo you are letting on to your age...
Yet, they made hd-dvd so not sure what you mean with your logic here.
I just think they could make a decent player and it's stupid for them not to throw their hat in the rink. Plus, the margins are definitely better on BD players than with DVD now. Considering you can get a DVD player in cracker jack boxes now... well maybe not now but soon!
Yet, they made hd-dvd so not sure what you mean with your logic here.
I just think they could make a decent player and it's stupid for them not to throw their hat in the rink. Plus, the margins are definitely better on BD players than with DVD now. Considering you can get a DVD player in cracker jack boxes now... well maybe not now but soon!
I read up on VHS vs. Beta many, many times while bored at work. As I've said numerous times, I would buy a Toshiba BD player no question about it. Hoping they sneak in HD DVD support or XDE....Toshiba felt high def wasn't a large enough factor to be concerned about, yet they plunked a fortune on their HD-DVD format. Things change over time, and although I can't say I know what Toshiba is going to do since they re-invested in selling those super SD-DVD players, Blu-ray continues to grow. If they want in on the game again, they need to make Blu-ray players.
Shall Toshiba just price their BD players at $199 and make $10-$30 off each sale or continue with XDE where they may sell 5x more units for less of a cost to them? That's the double-edged sword for Blu-ray - they dropped prices to fast because of the bad economy yet prices are still not low enough for a good chunk of people. Judging by last years stand alone (not PS3) player sales DVD still killed them. What's the point for Toshiba to jump in when DVD is still making them money? The only reason they released an XDE was so people buying Regza's could buy a brand name (matching) player. XDE a gimmick? Sure, but it has a catchy name and gen x advertising.
I'll say it again - Toshiba, release a BD player and I will open up my wallet.
03-16-09, 10:19 AM
#23
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Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
Here's a new article that made me
Yeah...no BD player for a while.
Toshiba has finally taken the wraps off its innovative Net Player. Details of the hybrid DVD/streaming device were exclusively revealed by HCC back in January, but this is the first time the unit has been seen in the UK, albeit in prototype form.
The Net Player, which was shown as part of the brand’s annual spring DVD and LCD TV product showcase, will sport wi-fi and Ethernet connectivity and be DLNA and Microsoft Windows Media Extender compliant, allowing sound and vision to be streamed from networked PCs and hard drives.
It will also be the first non-TV device to support the Intel Yahoo Widget TV platform. The Net Player will allow any flatscreen TV to deliver widget services to the screen.
It’s unclear at present exactly what applications will be made available at launch, but it looks likely the Player will offer access to news and weather snippets, Picasa and Flickr image browsing plus YouTube video streaming.
As with other widget TV devices, the platform runs off an Intel Media Processor C3100 chip.
Fiona Patterson, Toshiba UK’s DVD product manager, thinks mainstream consumers will appreciate the new functionality: ’Research shows that 75 per cent of viewers already watch YouTube once a week.’
The unit, which also has an integrated DVD player, is expected to sell for less than £200 when it arrives. We’d like to show you a picture of the Net Player; however Toshiba UK banned all photography. Just imagine a slim-line DVD player and you’ll be 90 per cent of the way there.
New, improved Toshiba?
The Net Player, which will officially be launched at this year’s IFA expo (which runs 4-9 September in Berlin), is destined to become a philosophical touchstone of sorts for the company.
Explains Andy Bass, Toshiba UK’s managing director: ‘we have a new company vision - to deliver the ultimate on-demand experience. A year ago we withdrew from the HD player market; now we're a new, improved Toshiba.'
Bass went on to defend the company’s decision to side-step Blu-ray and concentrate on developing online products. ‘We're one of the most patented companies in the world,’ said Bass. ‘We're big in storage and semi-conductors, not just electronics. And our strategy to focus on downloads has already paid off. If you look at sales data, it wasn’t a Blu-ray Xmas; sales of DVD players and DVD software continue to dwarf sales of BD.’
[...]
As at CES, Toshiba's Cell TV concept was also shown, although more as a technical curiosity than actual product.
[...]
There was no new additions to the brand’s XDE DVD line-up in evidence at the product showcase although the E500 player is now being promoted with a free year-long subscription to Love Film, worth approx. £100.
The Net Player, which was shown as part of the brand’s annual spring DVD and LCD TV product showcase, will sport wi-fi and Ethernet connectivity and be DLNA and Microsoft Windows Media Extender compliant, allowing sound and vision to be streamed from networked PCs and hard drives.
It will also be the first non-TV device to support the Intel Yahoo Widget TV platform. The Net Player will allow any flatscreen TV to deliver widget services to the screen.
It’s unclear at present exactly what applications will be made available at launch, but it looks likely the Player will offer access to news and weather snippets, Picasa and Flickr image browsing plus YouTube video streaming.
As with other widget TV devices, the platform runs off an Intel Media Processor C3100 chip.
Fiona Patterson, Toshiba UK’s DVD product manager, thinks mainstream consumers will appreciate the new functionality: ’Research shows that 75 per cent of viewers already watch YouTube once a week.’
The unit, which also has an integrated DVD player, is expected to sell for less than £200 when it arrives. We’d like to show you a picture of the Net Player; however Toshiba UK banned all photography. Just imagine a slim-line DVD player and you’ll be 90 per cent of the way there.
New, improved Toshiba?
The Net Player, which will officially be launched at this year’s IFA expo (which runs 4-9 September in Berlin), is destined to become a philosophical touchstone of sorts for the company.
Explains Andy Bass, Toshiba UK’s managing director: ‘we have a new company vision - to deliver the ultimate on-demand experience. A year ago we withdrew from the HD player market; now we're a new, improved Toshiba.'
Bass went on to defend the company’s decision to side-step Blu-ray and concentrate on developing online products. ‘We're one of the most patented companies in the world,’ said Bass. ‘We're big in storage and semi-conductors, not just electronics. And our strategy to focus on downloads has already paid off. If you look at sales data, it wasn’t a Blu-ray Xmas; sales of DVD players and DVD software continue to dwarf sales of BD.’
[...]
As at CES, Toshiba's Cell TV concept was also shown, although more as a technical curiosity than actual product.
[...]
There was no new additions to the brand’s XDE DVD line-up in evidence at the product showcase although the E500 player is now being promoted with a free year-long subscription to Love Film, worth approx. £100.
03-20-09, 01:35 AM
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Re: Toshiba - BD Ever??
How wrong do you have to be before you actually admit that you were wrong? You made a statement that was complete BS. And you were called on it. At least man up and admit it before spewing a bunch of misleading crap that makes it almost look like you don't know what you're talking about.
