Toshiba to drop HD DVD, sources say
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Wow, NHK is making it public in Japan! In case you guys do not know this, when NHK outs your company it is considered an embarrashment to the Japanese. When a company does something that is not successful they would prefer for the failed project to disappear quietly. Toshiba having pushed the HD-DVD format as far as they could should of beat NHK to the punch and announced shutting down support of HD-DVD. Having NHK put your failure on air to the public before you do is considered losing face to the Japanese. I expect Toshiba to announce their plans very quickly now. And before some come to smack me I am married to a half -Japanese woman for 35 years. Her mother has lived with us for 10 years. I know all too well how the Japanese mind works when it comes to embarrashment -- more then I have ever wanted to!
I think its finally over...
When WalMart announced they were phasing out support for HD DVD, I thought that might be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Well, if this report is to be believed, apparently Toshiba felt the same way:
Toshiba to give up on HD DVD, end format war: source - Yahoo! News
Loosing support at Best Buy, outright loosing Netflix and WalMart all in one week.
Here's hoping Toshiba makes a Blu-Ray player! I really like my HD-A2, but I can't find a Blu-Ray player that doesn't have at least one significant flaw. Sure, the PS3 is great, but no bitstream support for TrueHD and no DTS-MA support at all (Until Sony announces the firmware update, its just a rumor). The Panasonic BD30 looks really good, but it will never see profile 2.0 support (not a big strike against it in my book) and there's the LFE bug for PCM soundtracks. The Sammy players have had a long, fugly history of buggy behavior. So, I'm hoping Toshiba jumps into the BR business, because they can make a really nice hi-def disc player
When WalMart announced they were phasing out support for HD DVD, I thought that might be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Well, if this report is to be believed, apparently Toshiba felt the same way:
Toshiba to give up on HD DVD, end format war: source - Yahoo! News
Loosing support at Best Buy, outright loosing Netflix and WalMart all in one week.
Here's hoping Toshiba makes a Blu-Ray player! I really like my HD-A2, but I can't find a Blu-Ray player that doesn't have at least one significant flaw. Sure, the PS3 is great, but no bitstream support for TrueHD and no DTS-MA support at all (Until Sony announces the firmware update, its just a rumor). The Panasonic BD30 looks really good, but it will never see profile 2.0 support (not a big strike against it in my book) and there's the LFE bug for PCM soundtracks. The Sammy players have had a long, fugly history of buggy behavior. So, I'm hoping Toshiba jumps into the BR business, because they can make a really nice hi-def disc player
WOW that is a big deal.. I lived 13 years in Japan. I guess HDDVD is dead I was hopeing it would have made it.. BUT now the format war is over, I can now save my pennies for a new DVD player.
I wish that DTV would carry NHK on thier International Channels.. I miss Sumo, and Japanese commercials....
When WalMart announced they were phasing out support for HD DVD, I thought that might be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Well, if this report is to be believed, apparently Toshiba felt the same way:
Toshiba to give up on HD DVD, end format war: source - Yahoo! News
Loosing support at Best Buy, outright loosing Netflix and WalMart all in one week.
Here's hoping Toshiba makes a Blu-Ray player! I really like my HD-A2, but I can't find a Blu-Ray player that doesn't have at least one significant flaw. Sure, the PS3 is great, but no bitstream support for TrueHD and no DTS-MA support at all (Until Sony announces the firmware update, its just a rumor). The Panasonic BD30 looks really good, but it will never see profile 2.0 support (not a big strike against it in my book) and there's the LFE bug for PCM soundtracks. The Sammy players have had a long, fugly history of buggy behavior. So, I'm hoping Toshiba jumps into the BR business, because they can make a really nice hi-def disc player
:up
The biggest embarassment (curse) that can happen to a public person or company in Japan is when accused of "Serving the West".
A good example would be Akira Kurosawa - a great director recognised all over the world, but not in Japan.
There is also a list of companies with the same fate. Sony is in that list, Toshiba isn't.
Diogen.
A good example would be Akira Kurosawa - a great director recognised all over the world, but not in Japan.
There is also a list of companies with the same fate. Sony is in that list, Toshiba isn't.
Diogen.
Here's hoping Toshiba makes a Blu-Ray player! I really like my HD-A2, but I can't find a Blu-Ray player that doesn't have at least one significant flaw. Sure, the PS3 is great, but no bitstream support for TrueHD and no DTS-MA support at all (Until Sony announces the firmware update, its just a rumor). The Panasonic BD30 looks really good, but it will never see profile 2.0 support (not a big strike against it in my book) and there's the LFE bug for PCM soundtracks. The Sammy players have had a long, fugly history of buggy behavior. So, I'm hoping Toshiba jumps into the BR business, because they can make a really nice hi-def disc player
The article you linked doesn't sound like Toshiba has a BD player or even a dual format player planned -
You're right about BD players - I bought the Panasonic BD-30 in November, figuring BD Live / 2.0 was a long way off, and I'd be able to enjoy web interactivity on HD DVD.
My reaction to all the news this week - picking up HD DVD titles when a bargain, and bought a refurb XA2 to use as my primary player and move my A35 to the office/den. And eBaying some of my BD disappointments. Oh yeah - and canceled Netflix as every HD/BD titles I want has been stuck in "very long wait" in my Q. Joined Blockbuster on a 4 week free trial and got 3 of those movies shipped the first day.
Surprising...I thought HD DVD would kick and scream for another year or two. In the long run, Blu-ray's marketing, along with including a BD player with each PS3, seems to have been the winning strategy. Offhand, even my 75 year old mom understands that buying a BD player and sliding in a BD means watching HD on her HDTV, but she gets confused between DVD and HD DVD.
Anyway, I will be on the lookout for HD DVD bargains in the coming weeks/months.
Anyway, I will be on the lookout for HD DVD bargains in the coming weeks/months.
Diogen, taking Sony out of the equation (simply because I know you hate Sony so to debate on Sony is moot) but I would like to address Akira. I really like his movies and think that he might be one of the best directors ever. I think that his movies are real spectacles of Japanese culture and that some of that culture the Japanese do not want on celioud. His movies are at times very historic but at the same time show how Japanese culture evolved in a very protective shell. He portrays Japanese as not being very nice in alot of his movies and he shows the hard edge of their society. My guess is that while the rest of the world salutes his brashness the Japanese would of rather had kept his movies to themselves as it shows the outside world a side of the Japanese culture that they do not want out there. Also, he was one of the first directors to use western themes in the background of his movies -- which I am sure does not please all Japanese. I personally think that many US directors really used his stuff rather then the other way around. A very good example is 'The Seven Samurai' and the 'Magnificent Seven'. When I first saw the Magnificent Seven I thought it was a great movie until I watched The Seven Samurai. Akira was just great at making epic movies.
On another note, I took my wife to see 'The Geisha' and the first thing she said (she is half-Japanese) was that there were no Japanese women in the movie. They were all Chinese. She was upset and wondered why they would make a movie about a very important part of her culture and not have Japanese women in the movie. She thought it was somewhat accurate as to how Geishas came about and were used by Japanese men. But she still steams over the idea that the main characters were Chinese. The Japaneses while appearing outgoing and worldly are still very much a closed society in how they deal with each other and that also includes their business dealings.
That said, I still believe the outing of Toshiba on dropping support for HD-DVD by NHK is not the way Toshiba would've wanted to have that information shown to the Japanese public.
On another note, I took my wife to see 'The Geisha' and the first thing she said (she is half-Japanese) was that there were no Japanese women in the movie. They were all Chinese. She was upset and wondered why they would make a movie about a very important part of her culture and not have Japanese women in the movie. She thought it was somewhat accurate as to how Geishas came about and were used by Japanese men. But she still steams over the idea that the main characters were Chinese. The Japaneses while appearing outgoing and worldly are still very much a closed society in how they deal with each other and that also includes their business dealings.
That said, I still believe the outing of Toshiba on dropping support for HD-DVD by NHK is not the way Toshiba would've wanted to have that information shown to the Japanese public.
I think Kurosawa controversy is much deeper than that. I believe they are willing to expose and deal with their problems much more than the West does.
Or they wouldn't be where they are now after having survived the only atomic attack against humans in history...
Diogen.
Assuming Toshiba makes this official in the next week or so, how long will it take for any contracts with Universal and Paramount be considered null and void opening the doors to them joining the BD fold? I can only imagine that behind the scenes they are lining up BD authoring and production facilities for their titles. It will of course be a lot easier for Paramount to make the switch since they had already released a number of BD titles. Universal will have some catching up to do.
I've read "reports" rumors, if you will, that Toshiba has moved up the expected introduction of a Toshiba badged Blu-ray player from September to July.
Other rumors state that Toshiba may have done a deal with the BDA to halt all HD DVD production and in return get firmware updates to Blu-ray players to allow them to play HD DVD movies. Not the extras or interactive features, just the movies. I guess that's possible. But why would the BDA do any sort of deal at this point? They don't have to pay out any more- they've won.
Other rumors state that Toshiba may have done a deal with the BDA to halt all HD DVD production and in return get firmware updates to Blu-ray players to allow them to play HD DVD movies. Not the extras or interactive features, just the movies. I guess that's possible. But why would the BDA do any sort of deal at this point? They don't have to pay out any more- they've won.
I am not sure that such a decision would make any contracts with universal or paramount void. The article indicates that they will still sell current devices for some time. Besides we have no idea of the terms of these agreements, they may not have included a n exit clause for this as it was not expected to occur so fast.
I am still skeptical of this. I certainly was not one of those who thought that discussions of how tough it was for HD DVD was FUD but I find it nhard to believe that they a re giving up this soon.
I am still skeptical of this. I certainly was not one of those who thought that discussions of how tough it was for HD DVD was FUD but I find it nhard to believe that they a re giving up this soon.
They have nothing to sell (movies, soon) and nobody to sell or rent them. No point throwing more money down that hole, even if MS would kick in more bucks.
Well I have to admit that even the hardcore HD DVD spinners and the like seem to have given up the fight. But these thing generally takea little more time.
It is over now - Toshiba to Give Up HD DVD, Give in to Sony: Source
This article came out on CNBC this morning. Looks like Toshiba is throwing in the towel.
Toshiba HD DVD - Hardware * Technology * News * Story - MSNBC.com
It is too bad, HD-DVD had a lot going for it, a complete specification, no need to download updates through the internet, etc..
It is good for all of us consumers to end the format war though...
This article came out on CNBC this morning. Looks like Toshiba is throwing in the towel.
Toshiba HD DVD - Hardware * Technology * News * Story - MSNBC.com
It is too bad, HD-DVD had a lot going for it, a complete specification, no need to download updates through the internet, etc..
It is good for all of us consumers to end the format war though...
