The final nail in the HD DVD Coffin

[DaemonSeid]

Toshiba Officially Drops HD DVD
Tue Feb 19, 2008 at 03:15 AM ET
Following several days of rumors, Toshiba has confirmed that it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders, effectively ending the high-def format war.

In a just-issued press release, the company said that it reached the decision following "recent major changes in the market." Toshiba emphasized that it will continue to provide full product support and after-sales service for all owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.

“We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop,” said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation. "While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality.”

Toshiba said it will begin reducing shipments of HD DVD players and recorders immediately, with the aim of pulling all HD DVD players, recorders and disc drives from store shelves by March. The company went on to say that it would "continue to assess" the long-term viability of notebook PCs with integrated HD DVD drives.



http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/news/...ps_HD_DVD/1477



So....now all I am debating to do is whther or not to get a PS3 which does both game playing and Blu Ray or wait and see if the players get any cheaper...but the PS3 seems like it will give more bang for the buck...

[RU OX Alum]

i got one for xmas, PS3 rocks

blu ray looks pretty cool as well

[Taualumna]

Oops....didn't realize this thread exists already....just posted one in News.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

Oops....didn't realize this thread exists already....just posted one in News.

Next technology to keep an eye on is flash drives and downloadable content.

[Taualumna]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Next technology to keep an eye on is flash drives and downloadable content.

But we already have that.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

But we already have that.

we do but it's still in it's primary stages...it still yet has not reached a wide variety of the public. your average PC still has yet to use large format sizes of flashdrives because right now it hasn't been created for public consumption nor has the price been good enough for the general public to hop aboard yet....for example...look at the ipod touch...they just introduced the 16gb model last year and just now put out the 32gb...it costs more than the classic ipods (which has higher capacities) but the technology is what pushed the price up.

[SthrnZeta]

I have a PS3 and I lurrve it Especially with a 50 inch HD-TV. ::drool:: Guitar Hero 3 kicks so much ass on it! Not to mention the Blu-Ray format. True, they may come down in price, but whether or not to buy one shouldn't be a question.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by SthrnZeta

I have a PS3 and I lurrve it Especially with a 50 inch HD-TV. ::drool:: Guitar Hero 3 kicks so much ass on it! Not to mention the Blu-Ray format. True, they may come down in price, but whether or not to buy one shouldn't be a question.

I want to get it for Uncharted and Heavenly Sword....sigh...I already neglect my 360 as it is....lol

[texas*princess]

YAY BLU RAY!

Yea, the prices for the BR discs are more expensive than regular DVDs (8-15 bux in some cases), but you are getting a far better picture and sound quality. HD DVDs did have pretty good picture, but most discs lacked the space for high def sound.... and if you're like me with a pretty sweet sound system, it's sooooooooo nice to see an awesome picture and hear the amazing sounds also (esp. in action type movies).

I read a blog saying you can get the "same thing" if you bought a $99 upconverting DVD player with regular DVDs.

Ummmm no that is not the same thing...

In college I worked for a movie store where you could trade in your old VHS/DVD titles for cash or credit towards new movies, and I remember the day a guy came in with BOXES full of VHS.. each still had the original price tag of around $80.

The prices will come down in the future, but I'm sure it will be a gradual thing.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by texas*princess

YAY BLU RAY!

Yea, the prices for the BR discs are more expensive than regular DVDs (8-15 bux in some cases), but you are getting a far better picture and sound quality. HD DVDs did have pretty good picture, but most discs lacked the space for high def sound.... and if you're like me with a pretty sweet sound system, it's sooooooooo nice to see an awesome picture and hear the amazing sounds also (esp. in action type movies).

I read a blog saying you can get the "same thing" if you bought a $99 upconverting DVD player with regular DVDs.

Ummmm no that is not the same thing...

In college I worked for a movie store where you could trade in your old VHS/DVD titles for cash or credit towards new movies, and I remember the day a guy came in with BOXES full of VHS.. each still had the original price tag of around $80.

The prices will come down in the future, but I'm sure it will be a gradual thing.

thing of it is, because there is no competiton now...why would they?

I was just listening to a podcast yesterday about BR manufacturers trying to find a sweet spot in which they could see some profit on this...right now thier only competition will prbably be upconverting DVD.

Think about, DVds really just started saturation the general public 3 or 4 years ago....heck my parents just graduated from VCR movies 2 years ago...a lot of people aren't going to be willing to movie from DVD to blu ray quite so fast....and Sony and company are going to have to start pushing some movie houses to really stick some big titles out there if they expect people to really want to change. Harry Potter and 300 was a start but people want to see Star Wars and Lord of the Rings and so forth...not to mention some of the new franchises...it may be a slow year for blu ray and I think peopel will wind up aiting til Christmas again to make the change.

meanwhile...I am hunting down a PS3 for 300 bux...saw one on craigslist but i was strapped...so i know they are out there....LOL

[texas*princess]

The original CE Blu-Ray backers will have absolutely no problem getting the studios to produce titles in BD format.

Most all of the major studios already have several big titles on BD including Disney flicks.

I think I know what you mean about consumers adopting... but I would go out on a limb and say with every passing month more and more people are upgrading their old TV sets for better picture quality. Not everyone is going to make the switch, but a big chunk of consumers will. It won't happen overnight, but it will happen just as it gradually has over the last two years. NPD data doesn't lie.

When I first got my shiny new flat panel, I'm not going to lie. I loved it mainly because it just looked cool... even when it was turned off, but the more and more I watched TV, the more I realized I shouldn't cheat myself with mediocre cable and a regular DVD player so I upgraded. The difference truly is amazing. At least on my set it was.

Regarding the prices -- yea, in the end, the CE companies are sales companies... all sales companies test the price elasticity, but they won't make major changes. The prices for movies are not ruled by the makers of the players - those prices are made by the studios.

HD-DVD players could be bought from anywhere between $99-$299. Most Blu Ray players started at $299. Toshiba continually dropped the prices, and while Blu Ray prices did drop a *teensy* bit, their entry level pieces still weren't anywhere near the prices of HD-DVD players. Most people still bought Blu Ray players because since the very beginning they had the most support and the better techonolgy.

Just because they don't have a "rival" anymore does not mean they are going to jack up the prices because their prices hardly moved when they did have a rival. The CE companies want the masses to drink the Blu Kool-Aid.... why would they price it so high that normal people couldn't afford it?

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by texas*princess

The original CE Blu-Ray backers will have absolutely no problem getting the studios to produce titles in BD format.

Most all of the major studios already have several big titles on BD including Disney flicks.

I think I know what you mean about consumers adopting... but I would go out on a limb and say with every passing month more and more people are upgrading their old TV sets for better picture quality. Not everyone is going to make the switch, but a big chunk of consumers will. It won't happen overnight, but it will happen just as it gradually has over the last two years. NPD data doesn't lie.

When I first got my shiny new flat panel, I'm not going to lie. I loved it mainly because it just looked cool... even when it was turned off, but the more and more I watched TV, the more I realized I shouldn't cheat myself with mediocre cable and a regular DVD player so I upgraded. The difference truly is amazing. At least on my set it was.

Regarding the prices -- yea, in the end, the CE companies are sales companies... all sales companies test the price elasticity, but they won't make major changes. The prices for movies are not ruled by the makers of the players - those prices are made by the studios.

HD-DVD players could be bought from anywhere between $99-$299. Most Blu Ray players started at $299. Toshiba continually dropped the prices, and while Blu Ray prices did drop a *teensy* bit, their entry level pieces still weren't anywhere near the prices of HD-DVD players. Most people still bought Blu Ray players because since the very beginning they had the most support and the better techonolgy.

Just because they don't have a "rival" anymore does not mean they are going to jack up the prices because their prices hardly moved when they did have a rival. The CE companies want the masses to drink the Blu Kool-Aid.... why would they price it so high that normal people couldn't afford it?

TP....I have to correct you because I have been paying attention since they first came out. It was also part of the agonizing decision that i made when I went HD DVD. Blu ray players are still FAR from the $299 price point, used ones may have been priced around that point during Christmas, but Blu rays at their cheapest normally hovered close to the 4, 5 and 600 dollar mark which is why a lot of people are trying to figure out whether or not to get a stand alone or for teh sam eprice a PS3.

As far as TVs are concerned, a lot fo people are still waiting for the prices to drop further before investing...altho I do recall many being sold during the holiday season...many are still holding out for more affordale and larger models and I think within one to 2 years, they will get their wish.

[texas*princess]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

TP....I have to correct you because I have been paying attention since they first came out. It was also part of the agonizing decision that i made when I went HD DVD. Blu ray players are still FAR from the $299 price point, used ones may have been priced around that point during Christmas, but Blu rays at their cheapest normally hovered close to the 4, 5 and 600 dollar mark which is why a lot of people are trying to figure out whether or not to get a stand alone or for teh sam eprice a PS3.

As far as TVs are concerned, a lot fo people are still waiting for the prices to drop further before investing...altho I do recall many being sold during the holiday season...many are still holding out for more affordale and larger models and I think within one to 2 years, they will get their wish.

You're right, during the holidays prices for Blu Ray players def. were lower. Most start out at around $399 now and go as high as $1K+. But even after Toshiba kept slashing their prices, Blu Ray (for the most part) stayed the same. The prices did go down some, but not much, and in the end, the price of the hardware wasn't the determining factor.

Average selling prices for LCDs have gone down dramatically in the last year - due to the field I'm in, I do get regular data on all that stuff

LCDs have taken off with consumers in a big way in the last few years but there will always be stragglers who wait around to get better pricing, and usually by that time, the "next big thing" comes out... or they will blow their money on a plasma because a lot of consumers think it's the same thing and they can get a 50' for the price of a 37' LCD.


It might be that I see this topic in a different light because I'm on the "other side" and see regular market numbers? I don't know.

But people are transistioning and will continue to do so.