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Toshiba Making Funeral Plans for HD DVD

Posted by Zonk on from the cue-taps dept.

Blue Light Special writes "With HD DVD on life support, Toshiba is reportedly preparing to bow to the inevitable and allow HD DVD to expire quietly. 'While denying that a decision on the fate of HD DVD has been made, a Toshiba marketing exec left the door wide open. "Given the market developments in the past month, Toshiba will continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of our recent price reductions on all HD DVD players," Jodi Sally, VP of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products, said.'" A few folks have also noted that Wal-mart is joining the Blu-ray train, further lowering the stock of HD DVD.

5 of 452 comments (clear)

  1. That's a Shame by thesaint05 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    HD-DVD was cheaper for both players and movies, but I'm glad the format war is officially over. Especially with wal-mart throwing their (considerable) weight behind BD. I just can't stand the fact that Sony won. Oh well. I'm still not buying a BD player until they get sub-$200.

    1. Re:That's a Shame by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 4, Interesting

      That's the "nice" thing about the different BD profiles--the manufacturers get to keep "updating" their player lines while keeping the price the same. This year at CES, they updated the players to profile 1.1, but kept the list prices the same. Next year, they'll update the players to profile 2.0, and the prices will stay the same (they might come down 50 bucks or so). I'm waiting for a sub-$200 profile 2.0 BD player, too, but I'm not holding my breath.

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      This guy's the limit!
    2. Re:That's a Shame by barzok · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Apparently you didn't buy DVD when it was new. I paid over $500 for my first DVD player, and I didn't even get a 1st gen player (more like 1.5 gen). And that was in 1997 dollars. ... DVD really didn't take off until 3-4 years after it came out, when the players got really cheap.
      1997 + 3-4 years = 2000. PS2 came out in October 2000, mass availability in early 2001.

      Quick show of hands...how many bought a PS2 not because it was a game console, but because it let them get a console and DVD player in one, for not a lot more than a high-quality DVD player?

      PS3/Blu-Ray is going to follow a very similar track, I think.
  2. At least it's over... by framauro13 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Had I not received a PS3 as a gift, I probably would have went HD DVD. But given the circumstances, I'm glad (and suprised) that the choice will eventually only be one single format.

    Hopefully I'll soon be able to get all of my favorite movies in high definition, not just the particular ones owned by production companies who signed specific format deals.

    A lot of people won't be happy about it, but I've gotta admit I'm impressed with how Sony marketing pulled this off. I definitely didn't see it ending this way.

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    In an effort to conform with internet communication standards, please note that the above comment is 100% biased opinion
  3. Re:Ew... by samkass · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I can't see them satisfied with the market share of 20% in next-gen consoles

    The Wii is doing great, but the PS3 has been picking up quite a bit of steam. The XBox360 is also doing great in the US, but not so much elsewhere. Sony got broadsided early on, but has been surprisingly competitive as of late.

    I think the interesting thing is that the Wii is selling to a lot of people who would probably never, no matter how Sony would have priced, packaged or marketed it, bought a PS3. Thus, the Wii is increasing the size of the total market, which isn't all bad for Sony. Also, the Wii is cheap enough that for those would WOULD buy one of the other consoles, it's not necessarily an either/or decision-- many can buy a Wii AND a PS3.

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    E pluribus unum