Toshiba May End HD-DVD Format

[ILS1]

TOKYO - Japanese electronics maker Toshiba might withdraw its HD DVD next-generation video format, Kyodo News agency reported Saturday.

The report cited unidentified individuals from the industry as saying Toshiba Corp. is reviewing its operations, with the timing of the withdrawal to be decided later, depending on U.S. demand for its HD DVD products and other factors.

Calls went unanswered at Toshiba Corp.'s Tokyo office, which was closed for the weekend.

HD DVD has been competing against the Blu-ray technology, backed by Sony Corp., other makers and five major Hollywood movie studios.

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. A Toshiba pullout would signal the almost certain defeat of HD DVD to Blu-ray.

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.

Both formats deliver crisp, clear high-definition pictures and sound, but they are incompatible with each other, and neither plays on older DVD players.

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.





Story Link (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23204819/)

[Txbroadcaster]

finally one format to pick

[SintonFan_inAustin]

Thats is what i heard from our HR :(

[TMer25]

Now if Blu Ray can release a fully functional profile 2.0 player everything will be great.

[JasperDog94]

Originally posted by ILS1
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. Wow. Wal-Mart is now running part of the world economy, not just the US.;)

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by JasperDog94
Wow. Wal-Mart is now running part of the world economy, not just the US.;)
No it's just a common sense business decision. Check with Blockbuster...Netflix...etc for more info

[crzyjournalist03]

Do Blu-Ray players play regular DVDs?

[JasperDog94]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
No it's just a common sense business decision. Check with Blockbuster...Netflix...etc for more info I know, but I thought it was funny that right after Wal-Mart made their decision Toshiba said that they were done making HD-DVDs.;)

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
Do Blu-Ray players play regular DVDs?
yes

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Adidas410s
yes

that's good news to me then...I had heard early on that they didn't, so that's why I was rooting for HD-DVD, but if they do, it doesn't matter to me so long as there's only one format out there.

[JasperDog94]

what does a blue-ray look like?

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by JasperDog94
what does a blue-ray look like?

Blu Ray Disc

http://www.tecnofashion.it/img/articoli/50gb_blu-ray-disc_001.jpg

HD DVD Disc

http://media.teamxbox.com/dailyposts/hd-dvd/hd-dvd_disc_30gb.jpg

They both look like a regular disc. It's what's on the "inside" that counts! ;)

[JasperDog94]

So each one can still get all scratched up? Great...

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by JasperDog94
So each one can still get all scratched up? Great...

seriously...about 50% of the time I rent a movie these days, it has a scene in it that skips.

[Emerson1]

Originally posted by JasperDog94
So each one can still get all scratched up? Great...
http://www.stacksandstacks.com/image/65307.jpg

is your friend.

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Emerson1
http://www.stacksandstacks.com/image/65307.jpg

is your friend.

tell that to everybody else who rents from Blockbuster :rolleyes:

[JasperDog94]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
tell that to everybody else who rents from Blockbuster :rolleyes: Seriously. How hard is it to not scratch up a disc? It can't be that complicated.

[Emerson1]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
tell that to everybody else who rents from Blockbuster :rolleyes:
That's why you check it before you even get to your car, if there is any major scratches you take it back ;)

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Emerson1
That's why you check it before you even get to your car, if there is any major scratches you take it back ;)

are video games bad too? I haven't rented one since they're 8 bucks, but I was planning on using my free rental from the rewards program to get a game.

[Emerson1]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
are video games bad too? I haven't rented one since they're 8 bucks, but I was planning on using my free rental from the rewards program to get a game.
I've never had a problem with games skipping or freezing. I always check to make sure it doesn't look like this

http://www.dansdata.com/images/io044/bigscratch280.jpg

Minor scratches likely won't affect it. Especially if they are going from center to out. That's is why when you clean a disc don't go in circle, go in to out

Games are a ripoff anyways, I maybe get 1 a month

[TMer25]

Originally posted by JasperDog94
So each one can still get all scratched up? Great...

One of the reasons the rental companies chose Blu Ray was it has a protective coating that helps prevent scratches. Doesn't make them immune to them, but they are more scratch resistant than HD-DVD's.

[JasperDog94]

Originally posted by TMer25
One of the reasons the rental companies chose Blu Ray was it has a protective coating that helps prevent scratches. Doesn't make them immune to them, but they are more scratch resistant than HD-DVD's. Let's hope so.

[Blitzkrieg]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
are video games bad too? I haven't rented one since they're 8 bucks, but I was planning on using my free rental from the rewards program to get a game.
I wouldn't rent any games. its just throwing money down the drain. I rented 3 games last time and the didnt looked scratched and well only 1 worked. :(

[Adidas410s]

Originally posted by Blitzkrieg
I wouldn't rent any games. its just throwing money down the drain. I rented 3 games last time and the didnt looked scratched and well only 1 worked. :(
If you live in the Dallas area...go rent from Movie Trading company. Anything you pay to rent a movie/game can be applied towards the purchase. You can even rent used copies if you prefer. Don't bring it back...and you just pay the full price.

[SintonFan_inAustin]

Originally posted by JasperDog94
So each one can still get all scratched up? Great... The main difference between the two being the storage capacity.
A single-layer Blu-Ray disc can hold up to 25 GB, while a single-layer HD-DVD disc can hold up to "only" 15 GB. A dual-layer Blu-Ray disc can store up to 54 GB, while a dual-layer HD-DVD can store only up to 30 GB. Blu Ray can store more with a .1mm recording layer compare to HD's .6mm(which is the same as dvds) but must be handled more carefully, as any scratch on its surface can easily reach the recording layer, compromising the recorded data.

[Emerson1]

Originally posted by Blitzkrieg
I wouldn't rent any games. its just throwing money down the drain. I rented 3 games last time and the didnt looked scratched and well only 1 worked. :(
Why didn't you take it back when you found out it didn't work?

[Johnny 5]

As for renting games, do Gamefly. Very very reliable. You get the game and a sleeve to return it and get the next game on your list(postage paid(3 days shipping)). You can keep the game for as long as you like. If you like it, you can keep it (paying the price for a used game) by notifying them, and they will send you the box and liner notes, free.

I have been using them for about 2 years now. No problems whatsoever.

$20 a month

[sahen]

woohoo long live bluray!

[Emerson1]

Best Buy Stands Behind Customers By Awarding More Than $10 Million in Gift Cards to HD-DVD Purchasers
Leading Consumer Electronics Retailer will Send $50 Gift Cards to Customers Who Purchased an HD-DVD Player from Best Buy in the U.S.

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With Blu-ray declaring victory over HD-DVD in the high definition movie format war, Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer, is giving $50 gift cards to customers who purchased an HD-DVD player or HD-DVD attachment from its U.S. stores before February 23, 2008. Customers will get a gift card for each player or HD-DVD attachment that they purchased. Through this program, Best Buy will distribute more than $10 million in gift cards to customers across the country.

"The DVD format war has divided our customers in a way we haven't seen since Betamax took on VHS more than 20 years ago," said Brian J. Dunn, president and chief operating officer for Best Buy. "At Best Buy, we understood and shared our customers' frustrations as they were being asked to choose one format or the other. Now that the format war is over, we hope these gift cards will reassure our customers that we will help them make a smooth transition into the right technology for their needs."

Most Best Buy customers won't have to do anything to receive their gift card. As a demonstration of its commitment to its customers, Best Buy will proactively mail cards to all customers that the company can identify as having purchased an HD-DVD player. Members of the Best Buy Reward Zone program, customers who purchased Performance Service Plans (PSPs) or who made their purchase on BestBuy.com should look for their gift cards in the mail by May 1. Other customers who may not be easily identified can call (888) BEST BUY to receive their gift cards with proof of purchase through a credit card or their Best Buy receipt.

"The beauty of this offer is that it doesn't require our customers to give up their HD-DVD player," said Barry Judge, chief marketing officer for Best Buy. "We know that many people who purchased these players have HD-DVD movies that they would like to continue to watch. We're telling our customers they can keep their players to play these movies as well as their older DVDs and use the $50 to treat themselves to anything else in our stores."

HD-DVD players can actually deliver greatly enhanced video performance with standard DVDs by upconverting the video resolution.

Beginning on March 21, customers who do want to get rid of their HD-DVD players can visit Best Buy's Online Trade-In Center at www.bestbuytradein.com. Visitors to the site will receive instant estimates of the value of their HD-DVD players and movies. Those who agree with the estimates can then ship their goods to the Trade-In Center free of charge by downloading a prepaid shipping label and will receive an additional gift card as payment for their trade-in. This service is open to HD-DVD owners regardless of where they bought their player.


For more information visit www.bestbuy.com/hddvd

[Diocletian]

I just bought my HDTV and can't figure out why i shouldn't just buy a PS3 instead of getting the bluray, i'm guessing there is a reason they are selling the blu rays alone, but if you can get a ps3 for the same cost why not?

[sahen]

Originally posted by Diocletian
I just bought my HDTV and can't figure out why i shouldn't just buy a PS3 instead of getting the bluray, i'm guessing there is a reason they are selling the blu rays alone, but if you can get a ps3 for the same cost why not?

get a ps3, but dont get teh 40 GB one...get the 80 GB ps3 or wait until they come out w/ one larger...

[Emerson1]

Originally posted by Diocletian
I just bought my HDTV and can't figure out why i shouldn't just buy a PS3 instead of getting the bluray, i'm guessing there is a reason they are selling the blu rays alone, but if you can get a ps3 for the same cost why not?
I don't think there is. From what I understand most stand alone players can't be updated while the ps3 can. TMer25 can give you better info. I don't see how a 1000 player is better than the ps3.

[TMer25]

The PS3 is a very good entry level player. There are players with better video decoders, and players that can pass the new audio formats to a receiver that can decode them. The PS3 can decode Dolby TrueHD but it then converts it to PCM to send to a receiver. At this point it doesn't look like that it will ever be able to pass or decode the DTS HD-MA format. The only player at that general price point that seems to outperform it video wise is the Panasonic DMP BD30. Has a slightly better picture and can bitstream all of the audio formats to a capable receiver. The PS3 is the only current player that will be updatable to Blu Ray profile 2.0. All 2.0 is going to add is internet functionality. The Panasonic player I mentioned is a profile 1.1 player. Just stay away from the Samsung and Sharp players and you should be fine. If you have any questions feel free to ask and I will try to make it as easy to understand as possible.