Toshiba Hints at Dropping HD DVD, Report Says

Big news (okay, rumor), but not to surprising.

Not surprising really. As an HD DVD owner, I hope that they at least offer a line of dual-format players as they make the move to Blu-ray.

I’m a dual supporter and I gave up on HD DVD when Warner made their announcement.  I’m glad it’s going to be over soon. Stick a fork in it…it’s done!

Can’t wait to see the BluRay players NOT drop in price now

Here are three points that I think affect the category for CE Pro’s readers and their clients:

For the time being, installers and specialty dealers now have the opportunity to offer a single next-generation HD disc format to their clients without creating any confusion.

Blu ray will be no different than DVD or flat-panel televisions in that over time as the popularity of these products grow, the prices will fall naturally through competition.

The key to Blu ray’s success will be the format’s ability to straighten out its glitches to allow users to enjoy their DVDs without the players freezing up or skipping. They’ve got to roll out a stable standard that’s compatible with Blu rays and DVDs or consumers won’t buy it.

Bob Archer

while Blu-ray does have glitches to work out it’s nice to see them appearing to be wrapping up the deal.  Blu-ray, though not as user friendly as HD-DVD, is the superior of the two technologies and so i think deserve the victory.

now if we get get those damn monkeys to drop HDCP (and other invasive DRM/related BS) we can have seemless operation with out the glitchy “handshakes” and skipping.  Here’s hoping

The key to Blu ray’s success will be the format’s ability to straighten out its glitches to allow users to enjoy their DVDs without the players freezing up or skipping.

I bought my blu-ray player in January. Haven’t seen a skip or a freeze-up yet. What player are you using that you’re encountering these problems? Just curious if it’s a brand thing, or a particular player, or what?

Mine is a PS3, which I bought to use as a blu-ray player and media extender.

I am so glad that this format war is finally over. It has been a real difficult time for consumers and has alienated many movie enthusiasts who enjoy their home theaters. Now if they can just make HDMI do what it is supposed to without glitching.

I have both HDDVD & Blu-Ray and with all the movies that I have watched I have found that HDDVD is the superior product. Why? well for one thing most of the bugs are worked out and the remote interface is alot easier to operate and understand. From a business model, the HDDVD’s are cheaper to make and the online interface in already in use. Blu-Ray still has a way to go and the cost to get into one is more expensive then HDDVD. Bottom line for me, I’ll keep my XA2 player and pick up whatever I can of the movies and also use it for the upconversion aspect for SD. There is not a Blu-Ray player out there that upconverts as good as the XA2! A lot of $$$$$ had to change hands in order for Blu-Ray to be declared the winner.

Bill

Bill

Well, I do feel a little bad for the “rumored” losers in this whole ordeal, but to be fair, they had an opportunity to hash this out before hand and chose to fight it out in the public market instead.

I feel really bad for people who bought a lot of HD-DVDs… I bought around 20 and the Xbox 360 add-on, but I know that is small beans compared to some people who bought a whole lot of discs and expensive equipment.  I guess they knew the risks, as did I (which is why I minimized my risk), but it still stinks.  :(

Of course, I went whole hog on Blu-Ray once I believed they had a better chance because of their inherent technology advantages in multiple markets.

And it’s all over
For the unknown soldier
It’s all over
For the unknown soldier
—————————-
War is over, if you want it
War is over now
—————————-
The newspaper says, says
Say it’s true, it’s true…
And we can break through
Though torn in two
We can be one.

My PS3 never glitches either. What kind of Blu-ray players are having problems like that?

People are so cheap. They whine about player prices. I paid $1200 for the first S-VHS VCR and these guys are complainng because a 1080p playback device costs $300. I don’t get it.

I am amazed that there has been no arguments separating the media from the [logical format] of the disks.

Could have BD on HD-DVD media as THE ROM format and BD on BD as the RE format.  With a little bit of work BD media could be created that could be formatted either to be high capacity BD compatible or readable in the cheaper HD-DVD players.

Consumers could have one authoring format and still gain the benefit of cheap players and ROMs. Only high/low capacity check box would be required. People who want to archive material could go for the more expensive (BD) recorders.

Cross licensing before the war would have made the uptake faster (because it would have been cheaper) and no confusion for consumers.

Now as usual the consumer loses.

ALL consumer electronics devices fall in price and become superior technically over time.  Blu-ray will be no exception.  Early adopters of new technology pay more because they are enthusiasts who are willing to do so and inventor companies want to recoup their R&D;costs as soon as possible, with the ultimate goal of selling a machine to every human being on the planet.  The firts standard def DVD players followed this model, even though it was the ONLY format.  Standard def players were near a thousand when introduced; now there are such machines in the market for $30.  HD DVD vs. Blu Ray was a short war, shorter than Betamax vs. VHS, and obviously shorter than Apple vs. PC, which continues to this day.  I predict prices for discs and players will fall faster now that the war is over:  Economies of scales for player and disc production will take over because reluctant, fence-sitting consumers worried about picking the loser in the war have nothing to worry about and the studios want to sell movies.  As for the player manufacturers, people who predict high prices are forgetting that there is competition in the market among the companies who manufacture Blu Ray players:  Sony, Samsung, Pioneer, Panasonic, Denon, Sharp (and dare I predict Toshiba in the not too distant future.)  The $100 Blu Ray player will be in a Wal Mart neary you, and soon.