Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Toshiba To Halt HD-DVD Production

Posted by Soulskill on from the one-format-to-rule-them-all dept.

Multiple users have written to tell us that Toshiba is planning to halt production of devices related to HD-DVD. According to Japanese broadcasting network NHK, Toshiba will lose "hundreds of millions of dollars" as the format war finally draws to a close. Regardless, investors are pleased that Toshiba has made the decision to cut its losses. This comes after a last-ditch price cut was unable to prevent Wal-mart from throwing their lot in with Blu-ray, although some sources suggest that Wal-mart was already aware of Toshiba's plans to withdraw from fight.

4 of 494 comments (clear)

  1. Blu-ray Disc Association is slightly bigger by The13thSin · · Score: 5, Informative

    The current 18 board members (as of January 2008) are:

    • Apple Inc.
    • Dell Inc.
    • Hewlett-Packard Company
    • Hitachi, Ltd.
    • LG Electronics
    • Mitsubishi Electric
    • Panasonic (Matsushita Electric)
    • Pioneer Corporation
    • Royal Philips Electronics
    • Samsung Electronics
    • Sharp Corporation
    • Sony Corporation
    • Sun Microsystems
    • TDK Corporation
    • Thomson SA
    • Twentieth Century Fox
    • Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
    • Warner Home Video Inc.

    Like the PS2 was one of the biggest DVD players in the beginning, the PS3 will be the biggest Blu-ray player... that is untill in 1 1/2 year a $100 Samsung / LG profile 2.0 Blu-ray comes on the market.

    --
    "This should be fun, and by fun, I mean a wholly depressing insight into the cognitive ability of some grown adults."
  2. Re:whew, fewer syllables by Metorical · · Score: 5, Informative

    [rant]

    This is not insightful, you've just made up facts, so you're forcing me to finally sign up.

    I visited Samsung back when DVD technology was still in the labs and their guys were very keen to show it off. They all referred to it as a Digital Versatile Disc. Remember at this point you couldn't buy a DVD in the stores and data DVDs became mainstream a long time after videos.

    Also for it to be a backronym then it couldn't have been an acronym beforehand. From dictionary.com:

    backronym jargon
    (Backward acronym) A word which has been turned into an acronym

    or

    n. [portmanteau of back + acronym]
    A word interpreted as an acronym that was not originally so intended.

    [/rant]

  3. Re:whew, fewer syllables by IGnatius+T+Foobar · · Score: 5, Informative

    90%+ of average consumers don't have any clue whatsoever what "VHS" stands for, and couldn't care less.
    And those who do, probably think it stands for "Video Home System" -- a backronym created by a bunch of marketing types.

    An even smaller percentage know that it actually stands for "Vertical Helical Scan," a technical acronym which describes the physical tape format and transport.
    --
    Tired of FB/Google censorship? Visit UNCENSORED!
  4. Re:whew, fewer syllables by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 5, Informative

    And those who do, probably think it stands for "Video Home System" -- a backronym created by a bunch of marketing types.

    That's because they're right. VHS has been Video Home System for decades, probably since its consumer launch (and certainly at least soon afterward).

    The engineers might have called it "vertical helical scan", but it wasn't ever widely marketed that way.

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?