Toshiba moving to new-format DVDs
10-21-04 | 02:50 PM
#1
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 2,932
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Toshiba moving to new-format DVDs
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Japan's Toshiba Corp.said Wednesday it would introduce notebook computers with HD DVD technology in the last quarter of 2005 in a move to pressure rivals in the battle over formats for next-generation DVDs.
Toshiba's move comes after Sony said in September that its next-generation PlayStation console, tentatively called PlayStation 3, would support Blu-ray technology, giving a boost to the competing Blu-ray camp.
Both HD DVD and Blu-ray technologies use blue laser light, which, with a shorter wavelength than the red light used in conventional DVD recorders, can handle data at the higher densities needed for high-definition recordings.
Toshiba, along with NEC and Sanyo Electric, support HD DVD as the next-generation DVD format.
Toshiba's move comes after Sony said in September that its next-generation PlayStation console, tentatively called PlayStation 3, would support Blu-ray technology, giving a boost to the competing Blu-ray camp.
Both HD DVD and Blu-ray technologies use blue laser light, which, with a shorter wavelength than the red light used in conventional DVD recorders, can handle data at the higher densities needed for high-definition recordings.
Toshiba, along with NEC and Sanyo Electric, support HD DVD as the next-generation DVD format.
10-21-04 | 03:14 PM
#2
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 5,960
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
From: A far green country
Format wars where the competing formats use the same physical form factor and base technology (blue lasers, in this case) aren't very exciting format wars.
Look how heated the SACD/DVD-Audio war was when the formats were announced. For a brief time the competition was pretty intense. Today, both of those formats are available on almost every DVD player sold. I don't see this new "format war" ending any differently. We will eventually have reasonably priced machines that can play (and probably record) HD-DVD and Blu-ray, which will also be fully compatible with SACD, DVD-Audio and DVD-Video (today's version).
Given this likely outcome, my response is a mild shrug. Just give us the machines already.
Look how heated the SACD/DVD-Audio war was when the formats were announced. For a brief time the competition was pretty intense. Today, both of those formats are available on almost every DVD player sold. I don't see this new "format war" ending any differently. We will eventually have reasonably priced machines that can play (and probably record) HD-DVD and Blu-ray, which will also be fully compatible with SACD, DVD-Audio and DVD-Video (today's version).
Given this likely outcome, my response is a mild shrug. Just give us the machines already.
