Call me Mr. Schadenfreude, but I can't wait to read Toshiba's official response. I've taken amusement in their increasingly sad-and-hopeless sounding press releases.
Damn...Wal-mart. Now J6P will have a clear choice and I don't see any chance whatsoever for HD DVD now. I think I can comfortably say it is over. Over. And thank goodness. Hopefully now we can all just start enjoying high-def movies via Blu-ray and wait for the day it makes its inclusion in the next Mac.
I would like to point out that in the 2006 thread I said "Whichever format Wal-Mart picks will win."
I will admit that when I said that I had cast Wal-Mart in the Warner Brothers role as the first domino and not the last.
Oh well, I'm still going to do the "I was right" dance. Incidentally, my wife got me Harry Potter IV yesterday on HDDVD for Valentines day.
That might be the best option at this point, as the dominoes keep falling in Blu-ray's favor. While Netflix and Best Buy were pretty damning evidence that the end was near, now it's glaringly obvious: it's over for HD DVD.
The Hollywood Reporter is citing "reliable industry sources" as saying that Toshiba is on the verge of officially dropping its HD DVD format.
Though Toshiba denies that any such decision has been made, the just-published article in The Reporter points to "substantial" losses from each HD DVD player sold and a series of high-profile defections as key motivators for the company, with one unnamed source close to the HD DVD camp telling the Reporter that "an announcement is coming soon... it could be a matter of weeks."
Asked to respond to the report, Toshiba VP Jodi Sally reiterated her company's support of the HD DVD format. "Based on its technological advancements, we continue to believe HD DVD is the best format for consumers, given the value and consistent quality inherent in our player offerings," said Sally.
The exec went on to address "the market developments in the past month," saying only that "Toshiba will continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of our recent price reductions on all HD DVD players."
Toshiba seems to have been a really good partner to work with. Despite the writing on the wall for a month, they have not simply pull up stakes and rode off into the sunset.
Taking a month of embarrassing PR setbacks to allow your content partners a graceful exit on their own terms is an honourable way to do business.
Toshiba seems to have been a really good partner to work with. Despite the writing on the wall for a month, they have not simply pull up stakes and rode off into the sunset.
Taking a month of embarrassing PR setbacks to allow your content partners a graceful exit on their own terms is an honourable way to do business.
Perhaps I'm being cynical, but I figured they were jsut trying to offload their obsoleted stock before moving on.
While all the speculation sounds encouraging for the end of the format war, I'm holding off celebrating until Toshiba, Universal and Paramount throw in the towel and make official announcements as too many strange things have happened in this whole farce.
Speaking of Paramount, does anyone remember the titles they had announced for release on BD before they went HD exclusive? The only one I can recall is the Jack Ryan Collection.
Taking a month of embarrassing PR setbacks to allow your content partners a graceful exit on their own terms is an honourable way to do business.
They were particularly honorable in the 80s when they were caught selling advanced machining technology to the Soviets for their sub program. Some people still refuse to buy anything Toshiba from that fallout 20 years ago...
heh heh heh - quality will win out in the end. My PS3 is the same price as my 360, once you count all the add-on bits for the 360, and the PS3 is a much higher quality unit. I think that blu-ray in the PS3 was the right move after all.
heh heh heh - quality will win out in the end. My PS3 is the same price as my 360, once you count all the add-on bits for the 360, and the PS3 is a much higher quality unit. I think that blu-ray in the PS3 was the right move after all.
If we get December's unit sales figures we may be able to infer it was a supply issue or an embrace of Blu-ray.
Microsoft is totally full of it. They over shipped through the holidays, (which is why their holiday sales were so high) and retailers have stockpiles of xbox 360's in all flavors laying around.
Niveus pledges allegiance to Blu-ray, bids adieu to HD DVD
Not like it's any huge surprise or anything -- after all, the HD DVD deathwatch is already in full effect -- but Niveus has just informed us that due to "customer demand and format war influences," it will be adding support for Blu-ray and "ceasing production of HD DVD-based servers." According to CEO Tim Cutting, "incorporating Blu-ray into its offerings has always been part of the plan, but the demand from our customers, market trends, and recent announcements expedited its decision to come to market with Blu-ray support sooner rather than later." Adding more salt to the wound, he continued by saying that "while it has stood behind HD DVD as a viable high-definition platform, company engineers have been running Blu-ray in its testing facilities and are very impressed with the performance and integration with its servers." Another one bites the proverbial dust, eh?
Comments
It's official...
http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/15/tech...ion=2008021511
Wal-mart has prepared the grave for HD DVD.
Call me Mr. Schadenfreude, but I can't wait to read Toshiba's official response. I've taken amusement in their increasingly sad-and-hopeless sounding press releases.
Nielsen/VideoScan Numbers ending February 10th
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ques...1708/index.php
WE: BD-81% HDD-19% YTD: BD-77% HDD-23% SI: BD-65% HDD-35%
It will be interesting to see the numbers the following weeks given the announcements of Netflix, BestBuy, and now, Wal-mart.
Wal-Mart puts stake through HD DVD's heart
Damn...Wal-mart. Now J6P will have a clear choice and I don't see any chance whatsoever for HD DVD now. I think I can comfortably say it is over. Over. And thank goodness. Hopefully now we can all just start enjoying high-def movies via Blu-ray and wait for the day it makes its inclusion in the next Mac.
I would like to point out that in the 2006 thread I said "Whichever format Wal-Mart picks will win."
I will admit that when I said that I had cast Wal-Mart in the Warner Brothers role as the first domino and not the last.
Oh well, I'm still going to do the "I was right" dance. Incidentally, my wife got me Harry Potter IV yesterday on HDDVD for Valentines day.
That might be the best option at this point, as the dominoes keep falling in Blu-ray's favor. While Netflix and Best Buy were pretty damning evidence that the end was near, now it's glaringly obvious: it's over for HD DVD.
The Hollywood Reporter is citing "reliable industry sources" as saying that Toshiba is on the verge of officially dropping its HD DVD format.
Though Toshiba denies that any such decision has been made, the just-published article in The Reporter points to "substantial" losses from each HD DVD player sold and a series of high-profile defections as key motivators for the company, with one unnamed source close to the HD DVD camp telling the Reporter that "an announcement is coming soon... it could be a matter of weeks."
Asked to respond to the report, Toshiba VP Jodi Sally reiterated her company's support of the HD DVD format. "Based on its technological advancements, we continue to believe HD DVD is the best format for consumers, given the value and consistent quality inherent in our player offerings," said Sally.
The exec went on to address "the market developments in the past month," saying only that "Toshiba will continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of our recent price reductions on all HD DVD players."
<animated gif>
Is that from Robocop?
Is that from Robocop?
You got it. I thought it was humurous...just had to share.
Taking a month of embarrassing PR setbacks to allow your content partners a graceful exit on their own terms is an honourable way to do business.
You got it. I thought it was humurous...just had to share.
Funny, earlier this week I was thinking the one-after-another death blow to HD DVD was very similar to the death of Alex Murphy.
Toshiba seems to have been a really good partner to work with. Despite the writing on the wall for a month, they have not simply pull up stakes and rode off into the sunset.
Taking a month of embarrassing PR setbacks to allow your content partners a graceful exit on their own terms is an honourable way to do business.
Perhaps I'm being cynical, but I figured they were jsut trying to offload their obsoleted stock before moving on.
Speaking of Paramount, does anyone remember the titles they had announced for release on BD before they went HD exclusive? The only one I can recall is the Jack Ryan Collection.
Taking a month of embarrassing PR setbacks to allow your content partners a graceful exit on their own terms is an honourable way to do business.
They were particularly honorable in the 80s when they were caught selling advanced machining technology to the Soviets for their sub program. Some people still refuse to buy anything Toshiba from that fallout 20 years ago...
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/busine...onsoles15.html
heh heh heh - quality will win out in the end. My PS3 is the same price as my 360, once you count all the add-on bits for the 360, and the PS3 is a much higher quality unit. I think that blu-ray in the PS3 was the right move after all.
The PS3 has been beating the 360 for quite a while now in worldwide sales, but now it is also ahead in the US:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/busine...onsoles15.html
heh heh heh - quality will win out in the end. My PS3 is the same price as my 360, once you count all the add-on bits for the 360, and the PS3 is a much higher quality unit. I think that blu-ray in the PS3 was the right move after all.
If we get December's unit sales figures we may be able to infer it was a supply issue or an embrace of Blu-ray.
Niveus pledges allegiance to Blu-ray, bids adieu to HD DVD
Not like it's any huge surprise or anything -- after all, the HD DVD deathwatch is already in full effect -- but Niveus has just informed us that due to "customer demand and format war influences," it will be adding support for Blu-ray and "ceasing production of HD DVD-based servers." According to CEO Tim Cutting, "incorporating Blu-ray into its offerings has always been part of the plan, but the demand from our customers, market trends, and recent announcements expedited its decision to come to market with Blu-ray support sooner rather than later." Adding more salt to the wound, he continued by saying that "while it has stood behind HD DVD as a viable high-definition platform, company engineers have been running Blu-ray in its testing facilities and are very impressed with the performance and integration with its servers." Another one bites the proverbial dust, eh?
No comment from Lens boy and Super Murch 180?