http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/...yer_Rumors/153

Fri Jul 28, 2006 at 01:45 PM ET

Despite continued strong consumer demand for HD DVD and high hopes from retailers for a second-generation player to help fuel fourth quarter sales, the electronics manufacturer is denying it will unveil any new models this year.

Some electronics retailers have said Toshiba is planning to launch a second-generation HD DVD player as early as this October, in time for the traditionally lucrative holiday buying season. Many early adopters hoping to upgrade their current Toshiba HD DVD players, as well as enthusiasts waiting to jump into the format until second-generation decks arrive, have also lit up online message forums with expectations of a second wave of HD DVD decks by year-end.

However, Toshiba VP of marketing Jodi Sally told Video Business today that any reports of a second-generation player in 2006 are untrue.

"We have not yet announced any new models, and we are continuing to ship significant quantities of both of our HD DVD models to retailers monthly,” Sally said. "To date, we are very pleased with the progress and sales results."

The manufacturer's current two first-generation HD DVD players, the HD-A1 and the HD-XA1 continue to be hot sellers. Retailers nationwide have reported shortages of the decks at retail, with some speculating that Toshiba may be intentionally undersaturating the market with hardware despite consumer demand.

"The problem Toshiba is having [with inventory shortages] is a better problem than having too much in the market and it not being able to sell,” John Abt, owner of electronics chain ABT, said last month. "But from a consumer standpoint, this might not be the best thing."

And actually, this is bullshit.

If you read the quotes, they never say that there won't be another model in 2006.

If there isn't another model this year, they will say they told you so. If there is another model this year, then this story is just there so people don't hold off on buying the G1 players right now.

This is just like the "Walmart has stopped carrying HD DVD/BD" thread.

All that article is saying is they are not ready to announce anything at this point.

Couldn't they just come up with a variation of the A1 player that has the new chipset, and some other tweaks, and not call it a new model?

If the marketing folks are steering, it would be more likely that they would just put a new cover on the existing hardware and call it a new model.

Is the new chipset a reference to adding the full 1080p capability? I think I read in the reviews here at DVDtalk that both the 1st gen Toshiba decks and the Samsung BD player use a chip that forces a 1080i resolution at some point within the player.

Think about it this way:

Toshiba will be coming out with a new 2nd generation model that supports both 1080p and lossless sound just as BD is coming out with its first. Plus it will supposedly be faster as well as other bells and whistles.

They'll be doing everything they can to trump the BD players in every way. Hell, they've already done it, but now they'll go above and beyond.

Again, from a reliable source at AVS:

Thanks. I did wander over to the AVSforum and just read the thread you quoted from. It didn't sound like 1080p would necessarily be included in the next release, however it's generally agreed that the whole 1080p "issue" is a BD smokescreen (for some very good technical reasons).

I've been on the fence, but am now planning to buy an HD-A2 as soon as they hit the streets (hopefully in October).

There is definately good reason to be able to come out with your 2nd Gen just as Sony is coming out with a first Gen, and then have it cost around half or less.

It'd be stupid for them to say that they have one because they'd probably end up killing some sales of their existing player.

In a way, its probably good that the second generation will only come after a long time after the first. This way, Toshiba would probably squashed a lot of bugs before the player entered the market.