RSSToshiba Delays Second-Gen HD DVDs
By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published November 15, 2006, 12:15 PM
What Toshiba is calling, in a statement to the British electronics publication Pocket-lint, "a minor reliability issue with an outsourced LSI component," is being blamed by its UK division for the delay of its second-generation HD DVD players in Europe. US dealers were apparently also informed of the delay of the American versions HD-A2 and HD-XA2 until at least the second week of December, though Toshiba US has yet to issue a formal statement.
In the UK, Toshiba announced its upper-tier player, the HD-XE2, will most likely be released there in January, thus pushing back the premiere of Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound for that model until the first of next year.
As a result, customers in the US and Europe -- though not in Japan -- will have to wait another month before seeing for themselves whether 1080p (progressive scan) resolution is actually better than, or the same as, 1080i (interlaced).
Early this year, just prior to the release of Toshiba's HD-A1 and HD-XA1, and other first-generation HD DVD players, it was revealed that these initial models would only be capable of generating interlaced images at the highest resolution, and that the first movies in HD DVD format would be encoded as 1080i. Meanwhile, Blu-ray Discs and players would support 1080p.
Since that time, supporters of the HD DVD format have argued that video components capable of rendering 1080p would be able to reconstitute a 1080i signal coming from a first-gen player, as 1080p. Early reviews of the first-gen players from both formats were mixed, with some celebrated reviewers actually commenting the HD DVD output looked better than Blu-ray's.
A recent Engadget report shows what purports to be a demonstration of Samsung equipment doing a better job of upscaling low-resolution, 480-line images to 1080p than to 1080i.
So when the HD-A2 and HD-XA2 were announced in September, features such as 1080p and the XA2's support for HDMI 1.3 -- the latest version of the digital interconnection standard for video and audio -- prompted at least some first-gen player owners, according to the AVS Forum, to sell their consoles in anticipation of the new and improved versions.
"Don't I feel stupid now hearing it will be a week or so before Christmas," one forum member there wrote. A new running tally of sales trends for player consoles and discs in both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats, using data provided by Amazon, now appears at The DVD Wars. There, the advantages of HD DVD's earlier release appear quite pronounced.
Mark,
I'm going to quote you directly. "At least the Blu_Ray players available today are half decent".
You were the one saying the Blu-Ray player is the best...blah blah blah. 1080p blah blah. PS3 blah blah blah blah.
I have seen the painfully slow load time of the Toshiba HD-DVD player, it's pathetic. So I have to agree with you there.
I cant wait to see your comments on all the failing PS3 console stories that are sure to come out this weekend and Thanksgiving week.
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|While waiting for Toshiba crap check something here:
http://playb3yond.com/
http://foxbd.com/
http://www.disneybluray.com/
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|Why would I want to check out that sh*t?
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|No need, I bought the 360 HD-DVD drive.
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|Why would I buy a BlueRay movie for my HD-DVD player?
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|Dave,
You post all of the links, which by the way Playb3yond isn't working or loading.
Where are the ones that show BD is outselling HD-DVD? That's right, there arent any.
Here's a couple that are factual, based on sales.
www.thedvdwars.com
www.gamesystemwars.com
I just had to throw those links up again. It makes Dave and Mark so mad to know they blew a grand on a BD player.
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|I don't think they've spend a dime, they are just talk.
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|The final nail in the HD-DVD coffin?
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|:D
Poor 10-15k remaining hd dvd fans :)
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|I had heard as few as 19,000 HD-DVD hardware units had actually been sold (more shipped, but unsold)
Even if the analysts numbers on US PS3 shipments are true (the Japan rumours turned out the be false in the end), then there will still be 10 times more Blu-Ray drives out there in the US, than HD-DVD, not evening including the Jap launch numbers (88,000)
I wonder if the Toshiba drive delay is more about Toshiba not wanting to keep the sinking HD-DVD boat afloat anymore with their $200 per unit loss, and dwindling studio backing.
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|$200 per unit has got nothing on the loss per unit for the PS3 then. ;)
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|True, but the important factor, is that Sony have a revenue stream to make it back, the software licences for PS3 games, and indirectly via Blu-Ray movies sales.
Toshiba on the other hand, are just a hardware manufaturer, with no other revenue streams to make than loss back.
BIG difference...
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|What are you even talking about? I work at a Futureshop retail outlet and in the history of our store we've only sold 1 blu-ray player ever, AND it was returned. We don't even have any HD-DVD players in-store yet, but the HD-DVD discs are selling like hot cakes. I don't know where everyone's getting their players or if they even have them and are just future proofing their collection because of the unique backwards playability benefits.... But facts are facts. It sells!
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|Toshiba has many more revenue streams than just HD-DVD. It's like saying Sony only has PS3 and it's games - simply not true.
Although it seems Sony is losing out on many of it's other markets. Exploding batteries, anyone?
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|So please tell us how Toshiba make this money back from HD-DVD?
You obvously didn't understand this guys point. Yes both Sony and Toshiba many many product lines. But Sony make money back from PS3 via games and movies. Toshiba just makes hardware, no way to make money back...
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|HotCakes or relative HotCakes?
In relation to DVD, how many HD-DVD titles are being s***ed?
0.001%?
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|...and the importance of that is?
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|Let's compare them to VHS too while we're at it. Wouldn't it make more sense to compare the sales to BD sales? Oh right, then you'd be losing.
If you REALLY want to go that route though, let's compare BD sales to DVD. Uh oh, run away Mark!
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|It's an investment doofus, they'll make it back hand over fist when HD-DVD replaces DVD as the mainstream consumer movie format.
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|BD Players get delayed...no big deal. HD-DVD player gets delayed...OMG nail in the coffin! You FUD thumpers make me sick.
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|The point is, the market is still wide open. Many people believe that HD-DVD has already won, because it's outselling Blu-Ray.
The fact is, both formats still pale into insignificance compred to DVD sales..
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|At least the BD players on the market are half decent.
The Toshiba HD-XA1 takes 2 1/2 minutes from putting the disk in, until the movie starts playing..
Does it run Windows 3.11 in there?
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|"At least the BD players on the market are half decent."
Is that why they are all sitting on shelves gathering dust while the Toshiba's sell out as fast as they come into the stores? You're comical sometimes.
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|Even if the analysts numbers on US PS3 shipments are true (the Japan rumours turned out the be false in the end), then there will still be 10 times more Blu-Ray drives out there in the US, than HD-DVD, not evening including the Jap launch numbers (88,000)
Of course, not all of those Bluray-bundled consoles will be used for movies. We all know how well UMD has done.
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|The battle is not over yet, but comparing the two formats to dvd is logically ignorant. The number of people that will eventually use the surviving format really has nothing to do with which one will survive. The smartest consumers will wait until there is no format choice before they go high def...
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|http://www.amazon.com/gp...414328?ie=UTF8&pg=2
No too shaby, HD-DVD player ranked 58 for the video game department.
62 Now :'(, still its sold out, that must mean something.
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|Nevermind what Banquo said, They make it back the same way the PS3 makes money. With sales of software, and with HD-DVD outselling blu-ray I think its save to say that they WILL get money back.
Before you jump the gun and rant on about Sony makes the movies and junk like that. Just know that Samsung makes blu-ray players, how do they make money then? Blu-ray sales? get real
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|Also considering HD-DVD is half the price. I'd rather spend the $500 on HD-DVD movies.
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|lmao
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|wateva ,,,,.....,
i can't buy as its really gonna be very COSTLY :(
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