Toshiba to Dump HD DVD?
Filed under: Tech Stuff, Home Entertainment
Forget all those retailers and studios abandoning HD DVD. Here's the biggest domino to fall: Toshiba, which was surely the biggest and most important exclusive supporter from the beginning, releasing the first commercially available HD DVD player back in 2006. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Japanese company is expected to discontinue production of HD DVD products, including players and other devices related to the format. Apparently, however, they will continue selling existing equipment and have only ceased development and manufacture of new HD DVD products. There has been no formal announcement, though, from Toshiba. The trade quotes a vp of marketing for Toshiba America as saying the company still believes HD DVD to be technologically the best high-def format (over Blu-Ray) for customers. The decision, if in fact true, comes on the heels of, and is surely an effect of, last month's news that Warner Bros. and then (maybe) Paramount were going Blu-ray exclusive and recent announcements from Netflix, Best Buy, Blockbuster and Wal-Mart that they would each stop renting and/or selling HD DVD discs (or in Best Buy's case, stop selling HD DVD players yet continue selling the discs, but push/recommend Blu-Ray as the favored format) within the year. The Hollywood Reporter details some of the more recent HD DVD history, including Toshiba's desperate moves to stay in the game after Warner's abandonment. The company significantly cut the cost of their players, but still Blu-ray was the champion in the market. Additionally, new Blu-ray movie titles are constantly out-selling new HD DVD movie titles. The trade mentions that Toshiba's "last ditch effort" was a TV commercial that ran during the Super Bowl and which cost the company $2.7 million. Now all eyes are on the few HD DVD supporters that are left: Microsoft; Universal; DreamWorks and Paramount. How long before they all admit defeat? Within the week?
Anyway, despite the impending death of HD DVD, this may be best time to get yourself an HD DVD player. Sure, it will be obsolete soon, but if you can find a good enough deal, it will be worth it. There are almost 400 movies available on HD DVD in the U.S., and all those disc are reportedly really cheap now, too. So, buy the player and some of your favorite movies and watch them. You can still go Blu-ray now or in the future, as well. But don't think of HD DVD as simply the new Beta. Supposedly it's actually a really great format, despite its lack of favor.
2011 Will Not Feature a Summer Pixar Film?
Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams Reunite for 'Mission Impossible 4'
'Big Top Pee-Wee': The Original Benicio Del Toro Wolfman
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-16-2008 @ 10:30PM
Adam Wright said...
Regardless of whether they are cheap now or not, it would seem rather foolish to get an HD-DVD player now. By the end of the year, no one will be carrying new titles for it, and it won't play the competing format (Blu-ray), so unless you just like throwing money away on technology that's pretty much already obsolete just because it's "cheap"....I'd spend that money on a Blu-ray player if I were you if you're planning to make the jump to high-def movies.
Reply
2-16-2008 @ 10:46PM
MCW said...
I agree. I just didn't want to be the first one to say that Christopher Campbell is insane again. People, do not fall for the trick. Yes an HD-DVD player with a drastically reduced price may seem like something you should buy. But honestly, some of you constantly like to bring up "Beta", so you should KNOW that HD-DVD is the new BETA. Do not buy something that is obsolete now. Don't be a moron. Sell your HD-DVD's and player now, while you can still get a dollar for it. In a year, it will be worthless.
2-16-2008 @ 11:36PM
Christopher Campbell said...
Yes, I'm insane. And, heck, I'm not going to buy an HD DVD player. But then, I don't even have an HD TV yet.
All I was saying is that if you pay $50 on an HD DVD player now, and you buy a bunch of HD DVD discs now, then you can certainly play them for a long time (they don't suddenly stop working or self-destruct after this year). So, I don't see why it would be a waste. I don't even see why anyone needs to sell their players right away. Don't many people like the picture of the HD DVD better than the Blu-ray? Wouldn't they want to keep watching what they can on HD DVD, even if the format is not continued further? I would think so.
2-17-2008 @ 6:09PM
Steve said...
No, you don't recommend outgoing technology to people regardless of the price.
It's only worth picking one up on the cheap if you already have one, so that when it craps out you have a replacement.
Please, think logically. There will be sub$200 Blu-ray players on the market for this holiday season, you should be recommending people stay away from HD DVD altogether and look towards this Christmas for a Blu-ray fully profiled player.
The fact that you don't even have an HDTV is pretty freakin' sad.
As for the people that used to tell you HD DVD was better, they were either paid to have that opinion or were misinformed by the lies and propaganda Microsoft employees like Amir Majidimehr were allowed to post as insiders on the AVSForum on a daily basis.
2-17-2008 @ 12:22AM
John B said...
I completely agree. I have the HD-A2 and about 20 movies, including BBC's Planet Earth. I got my player at the $98 Wal-Mart sale a few months ago. Not only will this not stop working, it's also an excellent DVD upscaler. So, for only a little bit more than an "regular" upscaling DVD player, I still get to enjoy my HD DVDs. In fact, if the prices come down low enough I'll buy a second one as a backup unit.
People can balk all they want about the player being "obsolete" and so forth. Well, there are still people out there who have laserdiscs and, technically, VHS is obsolete now. (When was the last time you bought a NEW VHS tape that was just made by the studios?) How many millions of people still have VCRs?
Nothing is obsolete until you no longer have a use for it. As long as this keeps playing, I'm going to keep enjoying. To hell with what the naysayers think.
Reply
2-17-2008 @ 12:49AM
Wayne said...
Anything that's currently available on HD-DVD will be available on Blu-ray shortly. There's no reason to buy an HD-DVD player unless you want two players sitting in your living room.
2-17-2008 @ 12:41PM
John B said...
That might be true, but I'm not about to go out and spend $400 for a PS3 just so I can re-buy and watch movies that I already have on a $98 HD DVD player. I'll keep using my HD DVD player until it drops, which I expect will be a couple of years.
At that point, I'm sure that there will be someone on eBay who'll buy when movies I have, even if it's only a buck or two each. That should give me many years to worry about getting a PS3 (or BD player if they drop in price and become profile 2.0 upgradeable), during which time I'll have gotten my money's worth from my HD DVD.
2-17-2008 @ 2:59AM
YouFaceTheTick said...
WTF is this? "But don't think of HD DVD as simply the new Beta."
Um, Beta was better than VHS. And yes Hd-DVD, like Beta is worthless to consumers.
Encouraging people to buy HD-DVDs players for the piddly 400 film library is irresponsible. What good will that be? What's out is essentially all that will ever come to this very dead format. Essentially you're telling people to buy DVD's defeated equivalent Circuit City's lame DIVX.
Reply
2-17-2008 @ 6:13AM
Adam Wright said...
If you already have an HD-DVD player, certainly don't throw it away because the format is all but officially dead at this point, but by why on earth would you go buy one now if you don't already have one? So that you can eventually buy a Blu-ray player as well and have 2 different machines and a bunch of movies that only play on one or the other?
I'm sure if you wait a few months more, HD-DVD players and movies will be even more cheap since stores will be putting them on clearance to get rid of them. I still can't see that as a reason to invest in a player and format that will dead and gone within the year.
Sure the players and movies will still work, but why not spend a few bucks more (if you're looking to upgrade to high-def) and get a format that's taking off instead of one that's dying out?
Again, if you already have one, keep on enjoying it and scarf up lots of cheap movies in the coming months (from what's available), but just realize you're inevitably going to have to buy a second player if you intend to keep buying movies in high-def...
Reply
2-17-2008 @ 8:39AM
cc said...
And in a year if that players breaks down you are stuck with tons of HDDVD movie you can't play. Unless you track down a player on Ebay. It would be foolish to spend a dime on HDDVD.
Reply
2-17-2008 @ 9:12AM
GhostDoggy said...
This tells me that the DVD Forum, as a body of professionals, is simply ineffective and of little worth. One could say that this is Sony Strikes Back after the VHS-Betamax consumer fiasco.
I feel sorry for the consumers that went with the DVD Forum's choice and will in the end get burned. But, the HD-A2 player I have is a nice scaling DVD player, too. Yet, for high-definition playback I am continuing to focus on Blu-ray and the two players I have for it.
Reply
2-17-2008 @ 2:07PM
h0mi said...
Ghost- absolutely. We've seen 3 format wars in the short time DVD has been around (Blu/HD, DVD+/- and SACD/DVD_A). You'd think companies that formed a forum like that would be able to work their issues together and not let it get to consumers as each of these myriad format incompatibilities have.
If the BDA is more successful on this front, I'd like to know how/why. The last thing we want to see is "Blu-ray 1.3" discs or players which are different, incompatible or otherwise out of spec.
I'll get an A3 or A30 for my collection and to upscale DVDs until there's a great blu-ray standalone that I can use to replace my ps3.
2-17-2008 @ 9:13AM
GhostDoggy said...
This tells me that the DVD Forum, as a body of professionals, is simply ineffective and of little worth. One could say that this is Sony Strikes Back after the VHS-Betamax consumer fiasco.
I feel sorry for the consumers that went with the DVD Forum's choice and will in the end get burned. But, the HD-A2 player I have is a nice scaling DVD player, too. Yet, for high-definition playback I am continuing to focus on Blu-ray and the two players I have for it.
Reply
2-17-2008 @ 10:28AM
MCW said...
For a second I was thinking that AOL Time Warner owned part of HD-DVD too, the way this post was written.
Reply
2-17-2008 @ 12:06PM
Christopher Campbell said...
Really?? Do I read that seriously like an advertisement? I don't even say you should definitely buy HD DVD, nor do I have any idea of the supposed benefits of the format over Blu-ray (we used to get so many comments saying it was better -- what happened to those people?). I just pointed out that it's the best time to buy a player. Especially if, as you point out, someone might be selling off their player for a buck. How could it not be worth it to even watch HD DVD for a year for only a buck?
2-17-2008 @ 2:20PM
h0mi said...
Wow. I looked at Mr. Campbell's post and I'm still looking for a single instance of his being "misinformed".
Reply