Toshiba Ends Format War

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It is now official, Toshiba has thrown in the towel. CEO Nishida said Toshiba has "absolutely no plans" to make or sell Blu-ray players.

The decision by the electronics maker ends the battle with a consortium led by Sony over who would set the standard for the next generation of discs, a fight that confused shoppers and stalled a move to the new technology in the $24 billion home DVD market.
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"This was a very difficult decision to make ... but when we thought about the trouble we would cause to consumers and our partners, we decided it was not right for us to keep going with such a small presence," Toshiba Chief Executive Atsutoshi Nishida told a news conference.
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Even the CEO admits that HD DVD has a small presence :D HD DVD is not officially dead, RIP. I don't care how Blu-Ray has managed to win this war but I'm glad that I bought my PS3.
 
well there should be some AWESOME HD DVD deals soon and your inexpensive HD DVD player can be used as an upscaling DVD player, so it's not a complete loss.
 
I dont forsee any gouging;
Prices will stay the same.. For a long time im afraid..

$25-$35 per movie is a KILLER for most people.. the $13 price point CC and other put out ther for Release week on DVD is about right..

Price is the driver here..
 
so ..those of us with the HD-DVD add on for our X360's or stand alone HD-DVD players need to make the decision to either liquidate are players and HD-DVD collections or jump on the huge price reductions to come and expand our collection and snag another HD-DVD player in case our current players fail at some point..


hmmm ...decisions, decisions ....:p
 
Ok now to just wait two more years for a finalized Blu-Ray spec so I can buy a player.

Um...yeah?
 
You people will hate Sony to no end. Its hilarious if you ask me.

Blu-ray was the worse format, Sony bought their way into it, They are gonna screw us in prices now, Its all about Downloads anyways...etc etc etc.

I don't see why you can't just be happy that the format war is done.....isn't that what everyone wanted anyways? The siding with this format war was almost as bad as it is in the console gaming world.
 
Rebel44 said:
I am waiting for BR burner for less then 250 USD.....
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Or how about a HD burner at ALL!?:rolleyes:

SnapperDragon said:
The title should have read "Sony ends the format war".
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Sony doesn't own Bluray, but nice try.

L33t Masta said:
And thus begins the era of high priced movies. I'm glad I never buy them anyway.
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How you figure? Bluray doesn't set the prices of movies, they set the prices of the raw media and since the prices are pretty low already, I doubt you'd see any change, perhaps they may even get cheaper.

But nice try ;)
 
Ockie said:
Or how about a HD burner at ALL!?:rolleyes:



Sony doesn't own Bluray, but nice try.



How you figure? Bluray doesn't set the prices of movies, they set the prices of the raw media and since the prices are pretty low already, I doubt you'd see any change, perhaps they may even get cheaper.

But nice try ;)
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DVD is like 1/2 the price of Blu-Ray right now. I don't like where this is going.
 
I now have an inexpensive upscaling DVD player that also does HD-DVDs. $96 for a Toshiba HD-A2 along with 5 free HD-DVD movies. I think that was a pretty good deal, seeing as how each movie cost about $20-$30 retail. I just have to make sure my firmware is up-to-date so that I can watch recently released HD-DVDs.

The only sad thing is once my player dies, my collection of HD-DVDs die with it. However, that's going to take a long time. My previous DVD player (purchased for $80) is 4 years old and it still works. I just stopped using it when I got the A2.
 
L33t Masta said:
DVD is like 1/2 the price of Blu-Ray right now. I don't like where this is going.
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Maybe because Blu-ray is a new, prices will fall over time. If it is "high" for you currently then you can wait on the side until prices fall, but if you really want to buy into the HD formats then watch for sales on Amazon and such sites. Blu-ray movies sell for less than 20USD and many times you can catch a buy one get one free or buy two get one free deals.
 
It sucks to see a better format and setup go down. HD-DVD had better features and a more mature format. I guess money greasing palms talks more.
 
Cinge said:
It sucks to see a better format and setup go down. HD-DVD had better features and a more mature format. I guess money greasing palms talks more.
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What better features did it have that Blu-ray cannot achieve by adding a firmware update, or adding down the line to its production of media?
 
theDreamer said:
Maybe because Blu-ray is a new, prices will fall over time. If it is "high" for you currently then you can wait on the side until prices fall, but if you really want to buy into the HD formats then watch for sales on Amazon and such sites. Blu-ray movies sell for less than 20USD and many times you can catch a buy one get one free or buy two get one free deals.
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No. It should be less than the current format is. Just like how Vista should use less system resources because it's newer.
 
Ockie said:
I think you have been smoking too much latley.
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I SEE NO REASON TO UPGRADE FROM DVD! BLU-RAY HAS NO PROMISING FEATURES JUST LIKE VISTA IS NO REASON TO UPGRADE FROM XP BECAUSE IT HAS NO FEATURES! IF SOMETHING IS NEWER IT SHOULD BE LESS THAN THE OLD ONE! :rolleyes:
 
L33t Masta said:
No. It should be less than the current format is. Just like how Vista should use less system resources because it's newer.
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Give me a logical explanation, and any proof of this ever happening, that a newer device, media, product was cheaper than its previous model/self.
 
theDreamer said:
Give me a logical explanation, and any proof of this ever happening, that a newer device, media, product was cheaper than its previous model/self.
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Give me a logical explination, and proof, that a newer version of software should take up less system resources than an older one.


ITT: People don't get the point I'm trying to make.
 
L33t Masta said:
Give me a logical explination, and proof, that a newer version of software should take up less system resources than an older one.


ITT: People don't get the point I'm trying to make.
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Do you even get the point you are trying to make? Stop attempting to do a comparison with another product and look at the point at hand. Blu-ray is not that much more expensive than current DVDs, it is but only because of it being newer technology, and the product offers a level above DVD. Now is it enough to warrant the upgrade and such, some say no while some say yes, but you are just rambling so far.
 
Cinge said:
It sucks to see a better format and setup go down. HD-DVD had better features and a more mature format. I guess money greasing palms talks more.
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If it is really better then it won't go down ;) It went down because the industry think that Blu-Ray is the better format, period.
 
oh goody the war is over not sure what that means seeing i can't justify the change from sd to hd esp since i have a old fashioned TV :)
 
SnapperDragon said:
The title should have read "Sony ends the format war".
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You are right, Sony doesn't own blu-ray but it partly owns it and is an original founder. Also they personally paid off a few key companies to make the switch, so YES Sony did "end" the format war.

theDreamer said:
Give me a logical explanation, and any proof of this ever happening, that a newer device, media, product was cheaper than its previous model/self.
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The Core2DUO E8400 was cheaper than the E6850 on launch and faster. Wake up dreamer.
 
Paul_Johnson said:
Ok now to just wait two more years for a finalized Blu-Ray spec so I can buy a player.

Um...yeah?
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Exactly why I went HD-DVD. That, and Transformers. And the lower price. And the region free. And it wasn't dominated by Sony (not the only backer, but the highest profile).

I was thinking PS3, but I want a more dedicated player with an easy to use remote and interface. And the games just aren't there for the PS3. And as Microsoft said: people buy a console to play games. The fact that you can watch movies is an added bonus.

Hmmm. Oh well, I'll be buying a whole bunch of cheap HD-DVD's soon! :) Increase my collection. With HD-DVD going on clearance, I wonder if it will have a lot more adopters. And I wonder if it would be enough to breath life back into the format. I doubt it, but this is my fantasy! :) That, and that some decent porno was available on HD-DVD. Something with a plot (like I said, it's my fantasy. I realize that there is no plot in porn!).
 
theDreamer said:
Do you even get the point you are trying to make? Stop attempting to do a comparison with another product and look at the point at hand. Blu-ray is not that much more expensive than current DVDs, it is but only because of it being newer technology, and the product offers a level above DVD. Now is it enough to warrant the upgrade and such, some say no while some say yes, but you are just rambling so far.
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Why? It's a perfectly valid point. People bitch about Vista so I get to bitch about blu-ray costing more because it should be cheaper. New products are supposed to be cheaper!
 
Why spend more money on a format that would be obsolete soon? With the same amount of money spent on a dead format for the deals, you can get yourself a PS3 or this here and the PS3 can also upconvert DVD. Later you can buy more HD movies when the price goes down because it will go down just like other format before this.
 
XamediX said:
You are right, Sony doesn't own blu-ray but it partly owns it and is an original founder. Also they personally paid off a few key companies to make the switch, so YES Sony did "end" the format war.



The Core2DUO E8400 was cheaper than the E6850 on launch and faster. Wake up dreamer.
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That is a very thin line though, you are offering very similar items with minor upgrades, which are truly just a side upgrade in fact. Going from a standard DVD to a high definition format is a larger increase all around. You are offered a better picture, sound, clarity, better bonus features, plus more space for anything else the studio wants to throw on. So no, it is not the same.
 
seems like a war is going on in here. I'm just glad i didn't fall into either one of these. I might pick up the HD addon for the 360 and some movies just cause the price "should" go down. I'm sure with time BluRay will be on par with everyones expectations.
 
L33t Masta said:
Why? It's a perfectly valid point. People bitch about Vista so I get to bitch about blu-ray costing more because it should be cheaper. New products are supposed to be cheaper!
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:confused:
Two different products, Vista is newer and thus cost more, it offers more features and different experience, have you even used Vista yet? When a product cost more to product then the price is going to be adjusted at the consumer level to reflect that so the companies can then spend more money on development of cheaper means of production then lower cost. They just announced recently a way to reduce cost of the Blu-ray laser so hopefully we will see a price decrease in players soon and maybe towards media also.
 
Now that HD-DVD lost the war, some former HD-DVD fans have accepted reality with good grace. But a significant number instead have gone the route of sour grapes and trying spread FUD about Bluray. Most of it incorrect. So here is my guide to bitter HD-DVD fan rhetoric vs Reality. Now I can just answer standard FUD with a number.


1: BluRay will be dead soon too, replaced by HD downloads FUD:

Reality: this is not happening anytime soon. So far you can get a rental download that they Call HD, but in reality is no better DVD quality. Call your ISP and ask when you are getting fiber optics runto your house for some real high speed. Now in some future world (10years+ for any but a small minority) where I have 50Mb+/s bandwidth and I can finally think about HD downloads for real. I might do rentals this way, but I still wouldn't buy content this way. Think about what you get with downloads as far as extras. Think about how easy it is to take your download to a friends house and watch it (impossible). Downloads are much more restrictive than any physical format.

2: "its not profile whatever compatible and is now a fancy paper weight": The incompatible profile FUD.

Reality: All profiles play all movies. This is pure nonsense FUD. Let's be crystal clear what each profile gives you:

1.0: All Movies and all standard extras similar to DVD.
1.1: (AKA Final standard profile) Adds extras with Picture in Picture. I would probably buy a 1.1 at this point, but I wouldn't upgrade if I had a 1.0.
2.0: (Optional profile BTW) Add internet connectivity for downloading lame crap. How many people want to connect their player to the internet. I know I don't. I really don't want this feature and will never use it.

3: Now we will face high prices forever with no competition FUD.

Reality: You mean like with CD players/DVD? Someone must be out of touch to state this. CD and DVD machines were both over $500 when they came out. I paid $500 for a VCR after the format war and I guess prices must have stayed there since. I paid $300 for my first CD player. I also remember movies for $70 on VHS.

The truth is Blu Ray is following the normal downward price cure for consumer electronics and there is plenty of competition with multiple manufacturers. Toshiba players where cheaper only because they were selling at a loss trying to fight alone in a losing batle against the rest of the CE industry which is backing Bluray. There is plenty of competition to build BD players and prices are falling at standard CE rates, which is quite fast.

4: Upscaled DVD is all I need it looks great FUD.

Reality: This one is really funny coming from HD-DVD fans. Maybe this is why their format failed, after buying the players they all decided DVD was all they stopped buying HD-DVD disks. If you actually compared the two you would know the difference is extremely blatant.

5: The bluray associationg paid off/bribed Warner (or netflix, walmart etc...) otherwise HD-DVD would have won FUD.

Reality: There is Zero evidence that Warner or other recent movers was paid anything, just one HD-DVD fan blog started this rumor. If you look at the stats Bluray was outselling everywhere and something missed in all the uproar was that in the weeks before CES and Warner announce, HD DVD was losing on sales of standalone players. It's one and only previous bright spot. No the end was near before Warner accellerated the end game and sided with the obvious winner. You don't need to pay someone to side with the winner.

6: I won't buy Bluray because it is a Sony product, and Sony destroys all life as we know it (insert random Sony hater line here)....

Reality. Bluray is not Sony, Sony does not control Bluray and they could dissapear tomorrow and Bluray would continue. But if you want to indulge your Sony hatred, don't stop there. Get rid of CD player, your DVD player, anything with a s/pdif (sony/philips) digital interface for starters, because they all had just as much/more Sony involvement. Remember PS/2 with DVD pushing the DVD standard. Sony pushes new standards. It is what they do, it doesn't meant they own the standard.

There are 18 companies listed in the Bluray patent pool at MPEG LA. The license is non-discriminatory and anyone can build a player with equal terms. If you want to avoid all product sony touched, by all means pout in the corner with your 8 track.
 
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