Toshiba to drop HD DVD, sources say

[gadgtfreek]

"But in the end, sources say, the substantial loss Toshiba is incurring with each HD DVD player sold -- a figure sources say could be as high as several hundred dollars -- coupled with a series of high-profile retail defections has driven the company to at last concede defeat."

[pie]...but what about the attach rate? [/pie]

Yeah! May those BDA CE manufacturers burn in hell for MAKING money on each player. People need to get over thinking they are price gouging.

 

[gadgtfreek]

You mean this one?

Nice.

 

[allargon]

Yeah! May those BDA CE manufacturers burn in hell for MAKING money on each player. People need to get over thinking they are price gouging.

Dude, they are price gouging. Come on... The whole reason why so many mainstream players went BD was to put the profit back into the optical disc market. $150 retail margins alone should tell you something. I laughed at that article that said Toshiba was losing hundreds of dollars per player with the A3. (A1-yes!) That thing is such a sea of plastic. I would have to ask was it the overpriced cardboard that caused it to cost more than $125 to manufacture?

An Ethernet port doesn't add a lot to the cost of a player. Even 1GB of RAM doesn't. (This is a $500 player.) The whole point of the profile stuff is to triple dip. If you think its because HD DVD forced their hand, etc. then you drank the Kool-aid. I know you didn't because you seem like a sharp guy.

 

[gadgtfreek]

How do we know how much Toshiba is losing? We don't. I've said before, I take no issue in the current pricing or someone wanting to make a profit. Now, if new players are still $499 a year from now, then Ill agree with you.

I do not think its 100% Koolaid(notice I said NOT 100%), BUT I feel HD-DVD did force them to rush. Are they milking it a little too long? Probably.

 

[akodoreign]

How do we know how much Toshiba is losing? We don't. I've said before, I take no issue in the current pricing or someone wanting to make a profit. Now, if new players are still $499 a year from now, then Ill agree with you.

I do not think its 100% Koolaid(notice I said NOT 100%), BUT I feel HD-DVD did force them to rush. Are they milking it a little too long? Probably.

Longer that Toshiba holds out the more library I can still watch, Means I can hold out longer on buying BD and it will be cheaper (hopefully) by then. :up

 

[skottey]

Toshiba to drop HD DVD, sources say

This is all really sad because HD-DVD is really the better of the two players as it stands today. I have both and prefer buying movies for HD-DVD. The bluray win is a loss for all consumers, even the Sony fanboys. The longer the two formats co-exist, the quicker the price of HD media will get down around the price of SD DVD. I think with only BD out there, there will remain SD for the $10-$20 price and BD for the premium price of $20-$30. I would like to see an HD format (was hoping for HD-DVD) REPLACE SD DVD and settle around the $10-$20 price like SD DVD is today. But I am thinking they are going to keep SD around for a while. I think the opposite of many, in that the two formats were good for consumers. Think about it.. if there are two formats competing for your $$$, they release the older movies in HD, along with the new releases, to build your support by a broader catalog of titles offered. Now, with just BD, there is no rush in releasing the classics. They can take their time.

Seriously..... we consumers all lose with Sony's "win." I hope you Sony fanboys are glad you got what you wanted.

Anyway.... this statement from the article is a joke......
"We've listened to our customers, and we are responding," said Best Buy president and COO Brian Dunn.

Anybody that has been a Best Buy shopper over the years like I, must feel frustration on so many levels at many things about Best Buy. The fact is, Best Buy does not listen! It is a slap in the face that COO Brian Dunn would even say such a thing. And I am not talking specifically about HD-DVD vs. bluray. Across the board, BB does not "listen" to the customers and "respond." BB is clueless about consumers on so many levels.

 

[tiraggi]

It figures. I buy an HD DVD player in January and they are pulling the plug a month later. Well at least it does a pretty good job upconverting standard DVD's.

 

[db2]

HD-DVD: The look and sound of obsolescence

 

[teamerickson]

This has been a crazy week. Sold my stuff just in the nick of time.

 

[navychop]

Man- you are conflicted!

 

[JoeSp]

Toshiba pulling plug on HD-DVD?

Looks like the final clock has started ticking on HD-DVD:

Toshiba to drop HD DVD, sources say

Seems with all the retailers now chosing BD maybe Toshiba will come out with a really good Dual Format player --- or a BD standalone that works extreeemly well.

Anyway, there seems to be alot of smoke coming from differant sources about Toshiba giving up on HD-DVD and if this source is acurate -- we could see an answer in the next few weeks not months!

 

[beast37799]

well i look at it like this my hddvds still work and as long as the player works what do i really care plus i see many cheap players and movies on the horizon

 

[dfergie]

Merged duplicate thread...

 

[teamerickson]

Merged duplicate thread...

Common Joe, pay attention!

 

[ONUOsFan]

Dude, they are price gouging. Come on... The whole reason why so many mainstream players went BD was to put the profit back into the optical disc market. $150 retail margins alone should tell you something. I laughed at that article that said Toshiba was losing hundreds of dollars per player with the A3. (A1-yes!) That thing is such a sea of plastic. I would have to ask was it the overpriced cardboard that caused it to cost more than $125 to manufacture?

An Ethernet port doesn't add a lot to the cost of a player. Even 1GB of RAM doesn't. (This is a $500 player.) The whole point of the profile stuff is to triple dip. If you think its because HD DVD forced their hand, etc. then you drank the Kool-aid. I know you didn't because you seem like a sharp guy.

I hadn't heard that $150 retail margin figure. If that is true, I'd have to agree with you, given the current state of things. I'd love to see some evidence of that and/or your theory that Toshiba is not, in fact, losing a boatload on each player.

The one place I completely disagree with you on is the "triple dip" theory. Did the BDA rush out an incomplete product? Yes. Were they somewhat forced to if they wanted to stay in this business? Yes. Do I think they did it on purpose just to sell three players to each early adopter that bought one in the first two years? No. They have a lot more to gain by having a complete player out there and generating good momentum in sales and "goodwill" than they do by triple-dipping a few thousand early adopters.

 

[mike123abc]

I suspect that Toshiba takes a moderate loss on the A3 and maybe a tiny loss on the A35. Sony supposedly could break even on the PS3 40 at the 399 price. The PS3 has a lot more in it than the A35s. Toshiba is trying to avoid taking the huge loss with extra inventory by the time this is over.

 

[JoeSp]

Common Joe, pay attention!

Yeah, I slipped behind on the blue ball on that one!

 

[JonUrban]

The sad part in all of this is that the decision should have been made BEFORE Christmas, thus keeping so many folks who don't read forums or trade papers from buying HD-DVD players.

Toshiba took a shot, but was stabbed in the back and in the long run the losers are the people who bought the machines and the movies. Unlike DVD-A and SACD, where many manufacturers paid to develop players, only Toshiba made the machines so you can't feel sorry for them. The end result is the losers are the consumers.

Again.

 

[mikesd]

Must be Over

As Yogi Berra said " It Aint Over Till Its Over "

Toshiba to exit HD DVD, end format war-NHK | Industries | Consumer Goods & Retail | Reuters

 

[JAG72]

Link did not work for me.