RSSToshiba to Push Back HD DVD Players
By Nate Mook | Published March 23, 2006, 3:04 PM
Following news that Warner Home Video has delayed the release of its initial batch of HD DVD movie titles by three weeks, Toshiba said Thursday it will hold off on launching the first HD DVD players until next month. The company initially targeted a March debut of the high-definition DVD format.
Blaming the delay on technical issues, Warner said its HD DVD discs would not appear until April 18, rather than March 28 as previously announced. Also, its list of launch titles has been scaled back as well to three: "Million Dollar Baby," "The Phantom of the Opera" and "The Last Samurai."
Warner explained that it needs the extra time to ensure that it ships a "flawless" product. Nearly everything that is being done to produce these discs -- the copy protection, codec and compression algorithms -- is new, Warner executives said.
"Toshiba is currently working with the studios as well as our retailers, to finalize the sale date of our players," Toshiba said in a statement. "In order to maximize the launch of HD DVD, we intend to synchronize the launch of our players with HD DVD title releases."
HD DVD isn't the only one running into launch hiccups. Analysts say Sony's rival Blu-ray format will be hindered by a delay in the PlayStation 3, which won't be available until the holiday season rather than spring 2006 as expected.
Sony had previously touted the PlayStation 3 as a low-cost Blu-ray player that will spur adoption of its format over HD DVD. In contrast, the company plans to offer a $1,000 USD standalone unit and partner Pioneer will debut a Blu-ray player priced at $1,500 USD.
Toshiba has two HD DVD players planned for launch next month: the HD-XA1 for $799 USD and HD-A1 for $499.
IMHO - So what?
The only player I'd be interested in would be a dual player, and I certainly won't spend 500 or 1K for 3 lame-o movies.
I'll just keep watching my movie channels in HD from Fios. This is one totally worth laying back and waiting. Why does everyone want this crap for so few titles? I just don't understand this.
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|I find it really funny how Sony and Toshiba are fighting over the next hd movies when they are partners when it comes to gaming.
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|Wow, those are three pretty pathetic launch titles. What are they thinking over there?
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|I beg to differ, in fact, I'm just going to differ. The Last Samurai is a great movie!
Million Dollar Baby was good, until the middle of the movie, then it was proabably the most depressing movie I have seen...ever...
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|Sorry to be blunt. But they can keep them on hold forever as far as I'm concerned.
http://gear.ign.com/articles/691/691408p1.html
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|The players will have component outputs and it is up to the movie studio to determine how they want to handle this on a per disc basis. My prediction is that noone will downgrade signals at the start and as more HDMI sets proliferate the market, they'll start to make use of this protection.
I think it would be suicide for them to implement it now, considering their market is already small - implementing that cuts out (my guess) 80% or more of their market.
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|Why are Blu-Ray players so much more expensive than HD-DVD players? They both use the same technology. Is it because it says "Sony" on it? I'd hate to see how much the PS3s are going to be. Actually, the PS3 technology will probably be aged enough to make it a bit cheaper by the time it comes out next year.
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|The technology is very different. Blu-ray discs are more complex and hold more data, which means more expensive components are needed to read them. The Blu-ray discs themselves also cost more money due to special coating they need to prevent scratching.
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|Blu-Ray players are not " so much more expensive than HD-DVD players", show us pricing that indicates this.
Also, PS3 is out THIS year, do you not read the news?
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|Maybe the PS3 will be out this year (don't you read the news?) don't hold your breath.
Has everyone forgot about the Beta / VHS wars?
Sony has tried so many proprietary formats in the past and look at their history.
Do you really want blue ray?
Do you really want a Sony product?
Do you really want to pay the price for blue ray?
Do you really want to wait on Sony?
And every article you read does a cost and price comparison on the 2 where have you been dude?
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|Please examine 'Exhibit A: BetaNews".
Quote:
"...[Sony] plans to offer a $1,000 USD standalone unit..."
"Toshiba has two HD DVD players planned for launch next month: the HD-XA1 for $799 USD and HD-A1 for $499."
That'd be the pricing you were after, right? I think twice the price is "so much more expensive", don't you?
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|Quote: "Blu-Ray players are not " so much more expensive than HD-DVD players", show us pricing that indicates this."
To start off, why not this artical?
HD-DVD: "HD-A1 for $499, HD-XA1 for $799"
Blue-Ray: "$1,000 USD, $1,500 USD"
I don't know what you consider "not so much more expensive" but I think double price is quite a bit more expensive.
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|When it comes to hardware, Sony rules. I want Blu-Ray and yes I definitely want Sony hardware. I would gladly pay the higher price for Blu-Ray because it's superior in every way to HD-DVD. Why go with HTML or a variant when you can use superior Java technology. Who in their right mind would want to use an obscene amount of compression when you can just get more space with Blu-Ray.
With Blu-Ray I can get the audio quality of an SACD along with the very latest in high definition video. If this is what I can get on Blu-Ray then yes I definitely want to wait for Sony.
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|Jeez, there are always some idiots, Perhaps I needed to specify LIKE FOR LIKE in my original question.
Comparing a Sony and a Toshiba is like comparing a Porsche and a Ford!!
When 2nd tier manufacturers announce their Blu-Ray pricing, it will be on-par with Toshibas
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|One problem I have with Sony is they're going to strangle us with their copy protection scheme. You also can't stream movies over your network with Blu-Ray which is becoming very popular with all the new multimedia hardware and multimedia PCs. With DVDs and HD DVDs you can.
I've noticed that all my Sony monitors, TVs and stuff always need repairs, where other brands I buy seem to last forever with no problems whatsoever.
I don't buy Sony anymore.
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|Blu-Ray fully supports managed copy just like HD-DVD. This was publicly announced when HP stopped exclusively supporting Blu-Ray.
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|Errm, sorry to bring you bad news, you need to stop believing the fanboys and Sony haters. HD-DVD and Blu-Ray share the same copy protection scheme...
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|What's not Like for Like?
They are both players that will play High Def movies, right? What makes Toshiba products inferior to Sony?
Ultimately, you are saying that we pay more for the Sony name?
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|That's the stupidest comment on this entire page; just because they both play HD movies doesn't mean they are the same quality. There's a bit more to it than just "paying for a name". Jesus...
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|You are partly right. They are temporarily downgrading their copy protection to compete with HD DVD, but as soon as they win most of the market, they are re-initializing full copy protection.
If you own Sony stock or love copy protection, go with Blu-Ray. If you want to use next-generation DVDs in a variety of ways, go with HD DVD.
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|Instead of ripping my comment - why not state what the differences are between the two?
Unless you can point to something and say, this is why Sony's is better and warrants a higher price tag, then I'm not convinced. We're not comparing Sony to Joe Schmoe - Toshiba is a significant electronics maker.
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|Then you're not convinced, so be it. I'm not going to do your homework for you. Buy whatever you want.
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|The only thing that sony has made that is competetive in the home theatre arena in the last 20 years are they're televisions. Audio products(receivers,etc.) suck,dvd players mediocre,speakers(why bother),satellite receivers 2nd tier at best. Sony products are for those who either don't know or can't afford better.
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