HD-DVD is dead!

[Pooks]

The Big Boys win (what a suprise )

Sony whooped some Toshiba ass

[Carlos_E]

honestly i thought HD-DVD would win because of the familiarity with the name DVD. my dad has been wanting an HD DVD or blu-ray player but we both decided it would be better to wait until we saw which one would be more prominent. looks like blu-ray takes that category.

but... don't they make hd-dvd camcorders? i could be wrong but i thought there was a way to video record in hd dvd format? do they have that technology in blu-ray...or should i say yet?

Most HD camcorders record to a hard drive.

[Carlos_E]

The Big Boys win (what a suprise )

Sony whooped some Toshiba ass

Blu-ray isn't a Sony format. Sony pushed the format by putting it in the PS3.

"The 'Blu-ray Disc Founder' was founded in May 2002 by nine leading electronic companies: Matsushita, Pioneer, Philips, Thomson, LG Electronics, Hitachi, Sharp, Samsung, and Sony"

Toshiba was invited to participate but declined and came out with their own competing format. Bad move on their part.

[Pooks]

Blu-ray isn't a Sony format. Sony pushed the format by putting it in the PS3.

"The 'Blu-ray Disc Founder' was founded in May 2002 by nine leading electronic companies: Matsushita, Pioneer, Philips, Thomson, LG Electronics, Hitachi, Sharp, Samsung, and Sony"

Toshiba was invited to participate but declined and came out with their own competing format. Bad move on their part.

that is interesting. I wonder if they're gonna allow Toshiba to join the alliance the Blu-Ray alliance.. .. not sure how all that works with licensing a product like blu-ray technology.

But with DVD players, TV-sets, etc it seems like everyone puts out their player.. but than there wasn't really a competitor to DVD that I can remember.

[Carlos_E]

Toshiba to exit HD DVD, end format war-NHK

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp is planning to stop production of equipment compatible with the HD DVD format for high-definition video, allowing the competing Blu-Ray camp a free run, public broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday.

Toshiba is expected to suffer losses amounting to tens of billions of yen (hundreds of millions of dollars) to scrap production of HD DVD players and recorders and other steps to exit the business, Japan's NHK said on its website.

No one at Toshiba could be reached for comment.

The format war between the Toshiba-backed HD DVD and Sony Corp's Blu-Ray, often compared to the Betamax-VHS battle in the 1980s, has slowed the development of what is expected to be a multibillion dollar high-definition DVD industry.

Toshiba was dealt a blow on Friday when Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it would abandon the HD DVD format, becoming the latest in a series of top retailers and movie studios to rally behind Blu-ray technology for high definition DVDs.

Toshiba plans to continue selling HD DVD equipment at stores for the time being but will not put resources into developing new devices, NHK said.

(Reporting by Nathan Layne, editing by Mike Peacock)

[Psychotron]

Ha, awesome.

[scriptfactory]

Noooooooooooooooooooo! I still think that HD-DVD is the superior format and it's a shame that Blu-ray is going to "win" the war when it should be about the consumer and not the format... Oh, well.

[english accent]Carlos! I admit defeat! Well played, old chap.[/english accent]

[Carlos_E]

Noooooooooooooooooooo! I still think that HD-DVD is the superior format and it's a shame that Blu-ray is going to "win" the war when it should be about the consumer and not the format... Oh, well.

[english accent]Carlos! I admit defeat! Well played, old chap.[/english accent]

Man blu-ray isn't going to win. It already won. Time for you to go buy a blu-ray player if you want to continue to buy/rent HD media.

[Carlos_E]

http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Gaming/...7L7H2R4?page=1

Blu-ray Xbox 360 Planned By Microsoft



Rumours were circulating today that Microsoft is set to dump HD DVD and bring out a Blu ray Xbox 360 by as early as May 2008. The move will allow the Company to go head to head with the Sony PS3 gaming console which has been credited with being one of the main reasons that retailers have preferred Blu-ray over Toshiba’s HD DVD.
Insiders at Microsoft in the USA have told SmartHouse that Microsoft has already configured a standalone Blu-ray player that can be connected into an Xbox 360 and that subject to internal marketing and sales approvals the model could be on sale within 3 months.

The Company has also been working on a built in Blu-ray player however insiders are claiming that Microsoft see the HD format battle moving online with consumers offered 1080p movie and content files as a download as opposed to having to buy a HD DVD or Blu-ray disc.

Both Intel and Microsoft have been supporters of the HD DVD format that is set to be killed off this week.

The Company has also held discussions with several OEM manufacturers of media centres with nearly all of them telling the software Company that they are set to move to Blu-ray configured Media Centres within the next month.

Late last week US Media Centre maker Niveus dumped HD DVD in favour of Blu-ray.

The Company VP of marketing Brian Paper said that Niveus had received support from Microsoft and Intel when implementing HD DVD. The format wasn't pushed on Niveus, he said, adding that the commitment in both Intel and Microsoft "isn't religious for HD DVD".

Michael Ephraim the Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment said: "We would welcome Microsoft to the Blu-ray stable. In fact it is quite logical for them as the PS3 has been very succesful in driving consumers to Blu-ray. In fact we believe that it has done more to win the format war than traditional Blu-ray player".

When asked whether Sony would grant Microsoft a Blu-ray licence he said: "That is up to Sony Corporate but I see no reason why they would not do it".

During CES 2006 the then Microsoft's Xbox corporate VP of worldwide marketing and publishing Peter Moore told Japanese site ITmedia that a Blu-ray Xbox 360 peripheral could appear for the system if the need arises. Moore admitted that Microsoft isn't sure of the next-generation format war's outcome, with the worst-case scenario being a repeat of the Beta vs. VHS war of the '80s.

However, he suggested that whatever the outcome of the HD-DVD/Blu-ray war, the Xbox 360 can adopt the dominant format since its uses an external drive.

[Carlos_E]

Toshiba Announces Discontinuation of HD DVD Businesses

19 February, 2008

Company Remains Focused on Championing Consumer Access to High Definition Content

TOKYO--Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has undertaken a thorough review of its overall strategy for HD DVD and has decided it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders. This decision has been made following recent major changes in the market. Toshiba will continue, however, to provide full product support and after-sales service for all owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.

HD DVD was developed to offer consumers access at an affordable price to high-quality, high definition content and prepare them for the digital convergence of tomorrow where the fusion of consumer electronics and IT will continue to progress.

"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 will continue to lead innovation, in a wide range of technologies that will drive mass market access to high definition content. These include high capacity NAND flash memory, small form factor hard disk drives, next generation CPUs, visual processing, and wireless and encryption technologies. The company expects to make forthcoming announcements around strategic progress in these convergence technologies.

Toshiba will begin to reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail channels, aiming for cessation of these businesses by the end of March 2008. Toshiba also plans to end volume production of HD DVD disk drives for such applications as PCs and games in the same timeframe, yet will continue to make efforts to meet customer requirements. The company will continue to assess the position of notebook PCs with integrated HD DVD drives within the overall PC business relative to future market demand.

This decision will not impact on Toshiba's commitment to standard DVD, and the company will continue to market conventional DVD players and recorders. Toshiba intends to continue to contribute to the development of the DVD industry, as a member of the DVD Forum, an international organization with some 200 member companies, committed to the discussion and defining of optimum optical disc formats for the consumer and the related industries.

Toshiba also intends to maintain collaborative relations with the companies who joined with Toshiba in working to build up the HD DVD market, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks Animation and major Japanese and European content providers on the entertainment side, as well as leaders in the IT industry, including Microsoft, Intel, and HP. Toshiba will study possible collaboration with these companies for future business opportunities, utilizing the many assets generated through the development of HD DVD.

[scriptfactory]

Boooooo... I'm really sorry for the early adopters of the format. I'm especially happy I didn't buy a HD-DVD player. lol

Stupid Blu-ray... :-)

[Bigen12]

I had thought that HD DVD was going to win out.

I remember the Beta vs VHS battle, and remembered that porn had helped turn the table.

I had heard that Blue Ray had snubbed porn, and lead me to believer that HD DVD was going to win.

However I am now hearing that although they aren't making it easy or actually encouraging Porn to go with Blue Ray, they aren't stopping it.

[RA]

I was waiting to see who won before buying. Im glad its over with...

[goodcents]

blu-ray pornwe'll be able to see every zit on the chics ass then

[RA]

Hey, with the right lighting you can make Britney look sane and Hillary look like a person and not the lochness monster. I think well adapt.

blu-ray pornwe'll be able to see every zit on the chics ass then

[Carlos_E]

I was waiting to see who won before buying. Im glad its over with...

It's safe to buy now.

[Kingweb50]

blu-ray pornwe'll be able to see every zit on the chics ass then

they have hd dvd porn and from what I read the chicks are having to go out and get minor imperfections fixed with plastic surgery because you can see everything and the consumers dont like it so I think they will stick to lower definition.

[sphincter]

I was waiting to see who won before buying. Im glad its over with...

I'm in the same boat.. my upconvertine Denon Dvd player is nice and all but I know it's nothing like real Hd content! Looking for nice BluRay player now