HD DVD is near death... All articles, rumors, etc. HERE
02-17-08 | 01:32 PM
#202
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080217/...qoNkqfH5ML1vAI
I hope Toshiba plans on making an HD DVD/Blu-ray player.
This quote doesn't sound good: "We have entered the final stage of planning to make our exit from the next generation DVD business..."
So, is Toshiba just going to say, "So long, farewell!" and not even make anything related to Hifh-Def?
I hope Toshiba plans on making an HD DVD/Blu-ray player.
This quote doesn't sound good: "We have entered the final stage of planning to make our exit from the next generation DVD business..."
So, is Toshiba just going to say, "So long, farewell!" and not even make anything related to Hifh-Def?
Last edited by DVD Polizei; 02-17-08 at 01:50 PM.
02-17-08 | 02:14 PM
#203
DVD Talk Reviewer
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 10,380
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
From: Blu-ray.com
Originally Posted by DVD Polizei
"
So, is Toshiba just going to say, "So long, farewell!" and not even make anything related to Hifh-Def?
So, is Toshiba just going to say, "So long, farewell!" and not even make anything related to Hifh-Def?
As noted earlier perhaps a third-grade company will attempt to do so given that HITACHI/Maxwell will offer their HDDVD-R discs on the market in Japan shortly but the shortage of commercial HDDVD media will be enough of a reason for the serious players to stay out of it.
Pro-B
02-17-08 | 02:25 PM
#204
Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 222
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by GizmoDVD
Ok, you do know you really can't wear out a DVD (or Blu-ray), right?
Plus, with that extra coat protection it should be durable for at least 10 years of constant playback!
My Best Buy has had the same 'Batman Begins/Paramount' Blu-ray demo disc running for almost 2 years straight.As I stated before, WE are a minority. Just because you and a couple dozen buddies from Blu-ray.com are going gaga for this movie does not mean an instant 100k sold. It is now a catalog title that is available for under $10 on DVD at almost every other store. The HD DVD has been on sale numerous times, including this past week in a BOGO. Everyone that really wants this movie already has it. The only people buying it would be Blu-ray fans, people that need the PCM track (which is still rumored, along with this title), and P.O.ed HD DVD fans.
02-17-08 | 02:28 PM
#205
Well, they'll probably lose customers, as well as losing the format war if they decide to throw their toys down, grab their security blanket, and stomp out of the room.
The least they can do, is be a little mature, accept the situation, and make some money off of it, as well as supporting their HD DVD consumers.
I'm hoping Toshiba is a little more mature than the quote I read.
The least they can do, is be a little mature, accept the situation, and make some money off of it, as well as supporting their HD DVD consumers.
I'm hoping Toshiba is a little more mature than the quote I read.
Last edited by DVD Polizei; 02-17-08 at 02:33 PM.
02-17-08 | 03:44 PM
#206
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by DVD Polizei
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080217/...qoNkqfH5ML1vAI
I hope Toshiba plans on making an HD DVD/Blu-ray player.
This quote doesn't sound good: "We have entered the final stage of planning to make our exit from the next generation DVD business..."
So, is Toshiba just going to say, "So long, farewell!" and not even make anything related to Hifh-Def?
I hope Toshiba plans on making an HD DVD/Blu-ray player.
This quote doesn't sound good: "We have entered the final stage of planning to make our exit from the next generation DVD business..."
So, is Toshiba just going to say, "So long, farewell!" and not even make anything related to Hifh-Def?
I wouldn't read too much into the specific words used in that article. Its not the most well written, continually using the phrase High Definition DVDs to describe both Blu-Ray and HD DVD. So some phrase in that article means little as to what actually will happen.
I suspect Toshiba will release something, provided there's money in it. It's debateable how much can be made with standalone units, but I have a hard time believeing Toshiba will not at elast explore the idea of making a Blu-Ray or combo machine.
02-17-08 | 03:58 PM
#207
DVD Talk God
Originally Posted by BKenn01
Dont know if this one has been posted. Perhaps the death blow
http://www.videobusiness.com/article....html?nid=2705
Wal-Mart goes Blu, wallops HD DVD
http://www.videobusiness.com/article....html?nid=2705
Wal-Mart goes Blu, wallops HD DVD
A simple search would've revealed that is what this entire thread has been discussing the past few days.
02-17-08 | 05:07 PM
#208
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by DVD Polizei
Well, they'll probably lose customers, as well as losing the format war if they decide to throw their toys down, grab their security blanket, and stomp out of the room.
The least they can do, is be a little mature, accept the situation, and make some money off of it, as well as supporting their HD DVD consumers.
I'm hoping Toshiba is a little more mature than the quote I read.
The least they can do, is be a little mature, accept the situation, and make some money off of it, as well as supporting their HD DVD consumers.
I'm hoping Toshiba is a little more mature than the quote I read.
Let's keep it real. The primary reason why people want Toshiba to produce Blu-ray players is the expectation that they will produce combo-players. If Toshiba took a BR-only stand on producing players, would you be so interested in seeing Toshiba make those players?
02-17-08 | 05:15 PM
#209
I expect to buy Blu-ray discs, but probably not until the beginning of next year. I really liked the XA2's quality, and would certainly buy a Blu-ray version of that model. Toshiba making a combo player would also be favorable as I don't want to buy from anyone else at the moment.
Answering your question, I wouldn't have anything against Toshiba making Blu-ray players. But if they didn't make combo players, I'd be extremely disappointed.
If Toshiba can make an XA2-like Blu-ray player, I think they would have a lot of Blu-ray owners look at their products, and HD DVD owners would buy them without a doubt. Many HD DVD owners are dual-format, so I don't believe this no-win scenario for Toshiba is as bad as you might think.
If Toshiba abandons High-Def altogether, I don't see how this could help their company at all. They are investing heavily in a new LCD plant for HDTVs, and if word gets around Toshiba has "abandoned" High-Def, they might associate other products as well.
Answering your question, I wouldn't have anything against Toshiba making Blu-ray players. But if they didn't make combo players, I'd be extremely disappointed.
If Toshiba can make an XA2-like Blu-ray player, I think they would have a lot of Blu-ray owners look at their products, and HD DVD owners would buy them without a doubt. Many HD DVD owners are dual-format, so I don't believe this no-win scenario for Toshiba is as bad as you might think.
If Toshiba abandons High-Def altogether, I don't see how this could help their company at all. They are investing heavily in a new LCD plant for HDTVs, and if word gets around Toshiba has "abandoned" High-Def, they might associate other products as well.
Last edited by DVD Polizei; 02-17-08 at 05:19 PM.
02-17-08 | 05:27 PM
#210
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Toshiba might decide there isn't any money in high-def disc media, if they aren't the ones collecting the royalties. And they might be right, for now.
They could wait and see if BR takes off, and in a couple of years produce BR players when it will be easy and cheap to get one manufactured in China, Malaysia, etc.
They could wait and see if BR takes off, and in a couple of years produce BR players when it will be easy and cheap to get one manufactured in China, Malaysia, etc.
02-17-08 | 05:38 PM
#211
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by tonymontana313
That's interesting. Where did you get that info if you don't mind me asking?
02-17-08 | 05:59 PM
#212
Suspended
Originally Posted by PhantomStranger
Blu-ray insiders have alluded to the fact that Bay has been watching the Transformers BD encode on his world class home theater(seriously it costs more than most people's homes here) instead of a certain HD DVD encode because he found the HD DVD coming up short. Apparently both encodes had been done separately at entirely different compression houses and watched by Bay before Paramount decided to drop Blu-ray. This is what sent Bay on his rant(remember him threatening to not do Transformers 2). There is more if you dig through Michael Bay's website.
02-17-08 | 06:54 PM
#214
Do we have any specific info on the Michael Bay Transformers Blu-ray transfer? The reason I ask is because I don't understand something. Bay ADDED digital film grain to Transformers. By that fact alone, you won't get a crystal clear picture, like so many other Blu-ray and HD DVD titles. So, if HD DVD was coming up short, I highly doubt it was the codec and HD format which was the problem. MPEG-2 requires what, almost twice as much space as a typical VC-1 codec? Not to mention, what exactly is his HT setup anyway. Because if he has a 100" plasma, then yeah, a person might notice a difference between codecs and bitrates. On a 50" or so, I doubt you would notice anything.
02-17-08 | 06:58 PM
#215
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,745
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
From: Houston, Texas
Originally Posted by GizmoDVD
I'm gonna LOL if Transformers come out on Blu-ray and it looks exactly the same. I very much doubt it looks that much better (if at all) for Michael Bay to have a hissy fit. Remember, Blu-ray is the bestest because his friends told him so over dinner.
02-17-08 | 07:12 PM
#216
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 5,960
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
From: A far green country
Originally Posted by Suprmallet
It may look better to the trained eye under very exacting conditions, which Michael Bay has. To most of us, I doubt it would look significantly different.
02-17-08 | 08:27 PM
#218
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Jericho
I wouldn't read too much into the specific words used in that article. Its not the most well written, continually using the phrase High Definition DVDs to describe both Blu-Ray and HD DVD.
02-17-08 | 09:37 PM
#219
Suspended
Originally Posted by Drexl
Don't you just hate that? I think that may be responsible for as much confusion as having two formats. Maybe with BD winning they'll finally stop doing it.
02-17-08 | 09:41 PM
#220
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by GizmoDVD
Problem is HD DVD makes sense. Its a HD version of DVD. Blu-ray makes little sense to the average person. Ive had several people ask me if they need a Blu-ray TV to watch Blu-ray movies. I laughed....but many people actually think this way.
02-17-08 | 09:54 PM
#222
TOKYO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose 1.3 percent on Monday, with better-than-expected economic data last week helping to ease market worries.
Toshiba Corp (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research) jumped more than 6 percent after a company source said it planned to give up on its HD DVD format for high-definition video.
The benchmark Nikkei .N225 average ended the morning session up 1.3 percent at 13,797.28 and the broader TOPIX was up 1.1 percent at 1,349.42. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka)
Toshiba Corp (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research) jumped more than 6 percent after a company source said it planned to give up on its HD DVD format for high-definition video.
The benchmark Nikkei .N225 average ended the morning session up 1.3 percent at 13,797.28 and the broader TOPIX was up 1.1 percent at 1,349.42. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka)
Toshiba Says It May End HD DVD
By YURI KAGEYAMA – 1 hour ago
TOKYO (AP) — Toshiba may pull the plug on its high-definition DVD format but no decision has been made, the Japanese electronics maker said in a statement Monday.
Toshiba Corp. has started a review of its HD DVD business, it said, amid reports by the Wall Street Journal and Kyodo News agency that Toshiba was considering pulling out after losing ground to the competing Blu-ray disc format.
The Journal, citing people familiar with the situation, reported Sunday that the company is likely to pull out early this week.
A Toshiba pullout would signal the almost certain defeat of HD DVD to Blu-ray, which is backed by Sony Corp., five major Hollywood movie studios and others.
Only one format has been expected to emerge as the winner, much like VHS trumped Sony's Betamax in the video format battle of the 1980s.
Recently the Blu-ray disc format has been gaining market share, while Toshiba has been forced to slash prices to sell its HD DVD machines.
On Friday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the largest U.S. retailer, said it will sell only Blu-ray DVDs and hardware and no longer carry HD DVD offerings.
The announcement came five days after Netflix Inc. said it will cease carrying rentals in HD DVD. Several major U.S. retailers have made similar decisions, including Target Corp. and Blockbuster Inc.
Last month, Warner Bros. Entertainment decided to release movie discs only in the Blu-ray format, becoming the latest studio to reject HD DVD.
Warner Bros., owned by Time Warner Inc., had been the only remaining Hollywood studio releasing high-definition DVDs in both formats.
Should Toshiba exit the business, companies supporting its HD DVD format — including General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures and Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures — would be released from their contracts, the Journal reported.
Both formats deliver crisp, clear high-definition pictures and sound, but they are incompatible with each other, and neither plays on older DVD players.
HD DVD was touted as being cheaper because it was more similar to previous video technology, while Blu-ray boasted bigger recording capacity than HD DVD.
By YURI KAGEYAMA – 1 hour ago
TOKYO (AP) — Toshiba may pull the plug on its high-definition DVD format but no decision has been made, the Japanese electronics maker said in a statement Monday.
Toshiba Corp. has started a review of its HD DVD business, it said, amid reports by the Wall Street Journal and Kyodo News agency that Toshiba was considering pulling out after losing ground to the competing Blu-ray disc format.
The Journal, citing people familiar with the situation, reported Sunday that the company is likely to pull out early this week.
A Toshiba pullout would signal the almost certain defeat of HD DVD to Blu-ray, which is backed by Sony Corp., five major Hollywood movie studios and others.
Only one format has been expected to emerge as the winner, much like VHS trumped Sony's Betamax in the video format battle of the 1980s.
Recently the Blu-ray disc format has been gaining market share, while Toshiba has been forced to slash prices to sell its HD DVD machines.
On Friday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the largest U.S. retailer, said it will sell only Blu-ray DVDs and hardware and no longer carry HD DVD offerings.
The announcement came five days after Netflix Inc. said it will cease carrying rentals in HD DVD. Several major U.S. retailers have made similar decisions, including Target Corp. and Blockbuster Inc.
Last month, Warner Bros. Entertainment decided to release movie discs only in the Blu-ray format, becoming the latest studio to reject HD DVD.
Warner Bros., owned by Time Warner Inc., had been the only remaining Hollywood studio releasing high-definition DVDs in both formats.
Should Toshiba exit the business, companies supporting its HD DVD format — including General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures and Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures — would be released from their contracts, the Journal reported.
Both formats deliver crisp, clear high-definition pictures and sound, but they are incompatible with each other, and neither plays on older DVD players.
HD DVD was touted as being cheaper because it was more similar to previous video technology, while Blu-ray boasted bigger recording capacity than HD DVD.
Last edited by Bill Geiger; 02-17-08 at 09:57 PM.
02-17-08 | 09:55 PM
#223
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,745
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
From: Houston, Texas
I disagree. I've had a lot of family and friends assume that hd-dvds would work in regular dvd players as long as you had a hdtv. They also couldn't get the concept of the blue and red cases and why you would have to buy two players to get all the content versus only having to buy one player with Sdvd.
I would guess that consumer confusion will be greatly reduced now and that BD is much easier to recommend for most of my family and friends.
I would guess that consumer confusion will be greatly reduced now and that BD is much easier to recommend for most of my family and friends.
02-17-08 | 09:59 PM
#224
Suspended
Originally Posted by The Cow
"Can I play an HD DVD in a DVD player?"
I've heard that several times.
I've heard that several times.