Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Sure, sure, the format war is over, but we never expected HD DVD to just disappear overnight, and it looks like the combination of deeply-discounted hardware, cheap media, and a weak economy are keeping Red alive even as Toshiba pretends no one really wants true HD anyway. Players are going for as little as $60 with movies available for $10, and retailers like Buy.com say that “sales are still very strong.” Of course, eventually all this stock has to run out, so we doubt this’ll be a long-lasting phenomenon, but hey — stranger things have happened.

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Nothing too notable here — just that Toshiba is apparently fixing to unveil a brand new DVD player in the age of Blu-ray that will be “capable of producing high-resolution images from regular DVDs.” As you’re laughing heartily, ponder this: are we looking at a simple upconverting DVD player? Or will that Cell-based SpursEngine chip bring “super-resolution” to a standalone deck? According to unnamed sources cited by Daily Yomiuri Online, the planned release “signifies an effort to recover from a humiliating setback suffered in March after announcing its decision to withdraw from its HD DVD business.” We really cannot fathom why Tosh would even dream of fighting BD with souped-up DVD, but reportedly, it plans on marketing the unit “as a device with which consumers can enjoy a broader array of content than is available in the Blu-ray format.” Congratulations Toshiba — we thought it couldn’t get any lamer than HD VMD, and you handily proved us wrong.

[Via VNU Net / Yahoo, image courtesy of DangerousIntersection]

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And you thought $49.99 was cheap. Word on the street has it that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, which has been seen as slightly less valuable since Toshiba pulled the plug on the once mighty red format, has stooped to €9.99 across the pond. For those not savvy on the absurd devaluation of the US dollar, we’re talking $15.47 — and that’s with a Media Center remote bundled in, too. We’re totally straight-faced when we say that’s actually not a half bad deal if you’re a fan of the media already out there, but the parsimonious among us are definitely waiting for these to come bundled with our favorite cereals before pulling the trigger.

[Thanks, Conor]

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A year ago today Toshiba was announcing ¥26.17 billion in profits for the quarter. Today, just ¥1.25 billion or about $12 million. In addition to the $580 million hit on account of its withdrawal from HD DVD, Toshiba also saw a swift decline in flash memory prices. While bad news for Toshiba on all accounts, we consumers are basking in a market dominated by a single high-def optical disc standard and cheap NAND and DRAM pricing. Sorry Tosh, but you won’t find any tears around here.

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Filed under: Desktops, Media PCs

While Shuttle’s KPC most certainly wasn’t aimed at the enthusiast in the crowd, its newest XPC definitely is. The XPC G5 6801M gets going with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ processor, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 320GB hard drive, LG’s GGC-H20L Blu-ray / HD DVD combo drive, ATI’s 256MB HD 3450 graphics card, a DVB-T tuner, 25-in-1 multicard reader and 7.1-channel audio output. Moreover, you’ll find gigabit Ethernet, FireWire, a slew of USB / eSATA ports, DVI / VGA out (DVI-HDMI adapter thrown in) and a bundled remote to make your life even easier. If you’re digging where this is going, you can latch on to one of these boxes for €1,091 ($1,727), and if you’ve turned a cold shoulder to HD DVD, a BD-only unit can be had for €167 ($264) less.

[Via Bios Magazine]

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Filed under: HDTV, Media PCs, Storage

Okoro Media Systems has been offering up well-spec’d HTPCs for quite some time, but it has finally seen fit to jump on the flash-based storage bandwagon. The firm’s new ZX series of Extreme Digital Entertainment Systems gets going with the OMS-ZX100, which comes standard with a 32GB SSD (for the OS and such) and a 1TB HDD for media storage. Moreover, you’ll find a 3.0GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6850 processor, 3GB of DDR2 RAM, NVIDIA’s 256MB GeForce 8600 GT graphics card, Blu-ray / HD DVD playback and your choice of “any automotive color” on the chassis. ‘Tis a shame it costs $5,995 to even join the ZX100 club, but look to spend even more if you’re hankering for a built-in CableCARD tuner and WiFi adapter.

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Well, it’s no surprise that it was going to happen, but the HD DVD Promotion Group officially dissolved today, leaving behind nothing but this terse message directing us to individual “selling agencies.” And so, with literally nothing left of HD DVD, we formally close the sad chapter of consumer electronics history known as the HD Format War, remembering those times when HD DVD rode high, with low prices, more features and less restrictive rights management as its rallying cries, and the rantings of Michael Bay still only the delusional fantasies of a fool. May the resistance live on, and our PS3s always be reminded of a time when their ascension was not guaranteed. Red’s dead, baby.

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Best Buy is following Future Shop, Circuit City and others in reaching out to casualties of the format war. In this case, anyone who bought an HD DVD player from Best Buy before February 23, 2008 can request a complimentary $50 gift card for each player. For those too traumatized to even look at their discontinued hardware and software, Best Buy also announced it’s adding HD DVD players and media to its Trade-In Center program, starting March 21. No word on how much a player can net you, but once its updated, check BestBuyTradeIn.com to get an estimate and decide how much holding onto the past is worth.

[Thanks, Harmin C.]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Best Buy is following Future Shop, Circuit City and others in reaching out to casualties of the format war. In this case, anyone who bought an HD DVD player from Best Buy before February 23, 2008 can request a complimentary $50 gift card for each player. For those too traumatized to even look at their discontinued hardware and software, Best Buy also announced it’s adding HD DVD players and media to its Trade-In Center program, starting March 21. No word on how much a player can net you, but once its updated, check BestBuyTradeIn.com to get an estimate and decide how much holding onto the past is worth.

[Thanks, Harmin C.]

Update: Best Buy just issued a press release with additional information about the more than $10 million in gift cards it plans to distribute, and details on how to make sure you get yours, check out the full PR after the break.

Continue reading Best Buy offers HD DVD owners $10 million in gift cards, trade in, shoulder to cry on

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

While entering a format war is still worthy of a cautionary tale or two — Sony, you may have been on a winning side this time, but we remember Betamax — Toshiba appears to have escaped the fall of HD DVD a bit more intact than expected. Its official forecast for the financial year shows a loss of 65 billion yen ($669 million U.S.), a bit less than the ¥100b/ $1b U.S. figure anticipated last week. Unfortunately, the company as a whole is expecting slightly lower profits, so former red campers may not want to light cigars just yet.

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

There are spicy meatballs, and there are spicy meatballs — and now there’s a figure that will be tossed around for decades to come, one which will instantly represent the caution companies should take when embarking on another format war: a billion dollars. At least that’s what Nikkei is reporting that Toshiba’s losses on HD DVD totaled in 2007 alone: a ¥100b, or about $982m USD. It won’t drive Toshiba under or anything, but you seriously have to ask yourself, was it really all worth it? [Warning: subscription req’d]

[Via Reuters]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Slowly but surely, we’re seeing retailer after retailer conjure up its own trade-in / exchange program to deal with the finality of the format war. Canada’s Future Shop, however, has certainly put an interesting twist on things. First off, it’ll accept standalone HD DVD players purchased from anywhere until April 3rd. In exchange, you’ll receive $100 off the purchase of an LG or Samsung Blu-ray / HD DVD combo player, but not a standalone Blu-ray player of any kind. Unfortunately, that means your options are pretty limited, but we can certainly understand the retailer’s desire to wash its hands of anything with an HD DVD logo on it. Better still, Future Shop will be donating all of the returned HD DVD players to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada “for use in their after-school and evening programs.” Now if that’s not a reason to trade-up, we don’t know what is.

[Thanks, Josh]

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/tech_news/Sony_offers_Blu_ray_trade_in_deal_for_HD_DVD_owners_in_Swit’;We’ve already seen a couple of Blu-ray exchange programs offered to HD DVD owners looking to jump ship, but looks like Sony is now finally getting in on the action itself, albeit only in Switzerland. While some of the details are lost in translation, it seems that if you buy either the BDP-S500 or BDP-S300 Blu-ray player before the end of March, you’ll then be able to send in your HD DVD player for Sony to recycle and receive a discount of 200 Swiss Francs (about $190), plus both the Spider-Man trilogy and Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy on Blu-ray. Not surprisingly, the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive and all computer HD DVD drives are excluded, and you’ll need the proof of purchase and cash receipt for your HD DVD player (purchased before February 29th) in order to take advantage of the offer. Needless to say, we wouldn’t recommend holding your breath for Sony to offer a similar deal ’round these parts.

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, Storage

Though the Maxell brand name will live on, the company announced it is ending production of CD, DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD discs at the end of the month. It plans to outsource to other manufacturers (like Mitsubishi perhaps?) and though the name on the packaging will be the same, we just don’t see how anyone else can provide the rather unique experience of Maxell tape discs.

[Via Impress]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

We had an inkling that the format war was soon to be over when Warner announced it was going Blu-ray just before CES and HD DVD canceled its press conference, but we didn’t realize how quickly things would come to an abrupt end. It looks like Toshiba CEO Atsutoshi Nishida was decisive in ending the battle, telling the Wall Street Journal that HD DVD didn’t stand a chance after Warner left, and that if HD DVD wasn’t “going to win then we had to pull out, especially since consumers were already asking for a single standard.” That’s interesting, especially since Toshiba issued all those jilted-lover press releases as former partners defected and continued to waffle for another month or so and even air a Super Bowl ad, but we suppose PR people can’t go running around saying things like “One has to take calculated risks in business, but it’s also important to switch gears immediately if you think your decision was wrong,” like the CEO can. Of course, the CEO probably shouldn’t be saying Toshiba’s upconverting DVD players are so good “consumers won’t be able to tell the difference from HD DVD images” either, but give the man a break — he’s still in mourning.

[Thanks, ogscorpion]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

We don’t know if Jeffrey Katzenberg got a text message, fax, e-mail or smoke signal indicating the format war was over, but Video Business has confirmed Paramount and Dreamworks Animation will (rather abruptly) to stop releasing HD DVDs after next week. If you were looking forward to Bee Movie on March 11, Sweeney Todd on April 1 or the just announced There Will Be Blood, those are cancelled. Into the Wild and the appropriately-named Things We Lost in the Fire will be Paramount’s last reminders of its exclusive agreement. Not specifically mentioned was Star Trek: TOS Season 2, but don’t hold your breath. Blu-ray release plans are still up in the air but we wouldn’t be surprised to hear something soon. As far as HD DVD movies still scheduled, that leaves two from Universal (for now) and twelve from Warner Bros, who may have been the first to leave red, but will apparently be the last major studio out the door.

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

While even the most steadfast red fans have accepted things are over for HD DVD, it appears Dreamworks Animation isn’t able to let the format war go. Even though Paramount seems to have found a way out from under its exclusivity deal, Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg told Reuters he still needs to hear from Toshiba what to do with the truckloads of money HD DVD gave them about its agreement before making any Blu-ray release plans. He seems (to be the only one) worried about the upcoming DVD release of Bee Movie and what will happen there. An analyst quoted said they should certainly have this taken care of by the holiday season, which would only be six to eight months after HD DVD manufacturing has ceased to be. We have a feeling it won’t take that long long to turn Shrek Blu.

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Filed under: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment.

When Sony included a DVD drive on its PlayStation 2, it was clear which technology was helping sell which product. After just avoiding being a victim of a format war itself, DVD was on its way to enticing consumers with many of the same benefits that had turned the compact disc into a huge success — high-fidelity, portability, durability and the end of rewinding. The PS2 may well have been a success without DVD, but DVD did not need the PS2.

For the PlayStation 3, the issue was a lot murkier. While US sales of standalone — that is to say, excluding PS3 — players for Blu-ray and HD DVD were almost dead even in 2007, Blu-ray titles consistently outsold HD DVD titles. Part of this may have been due to Toshiba’s heavy bundling of titles with HD DVD players, but PlayStation 3 owners seem to have bought Blu-ray movies in droves. While Sony consistently promoted Blu-ray’s game and movie capacity as a PS3 selling point, the PS3 — specifically its owners’ embrace of Blu-ray movies — was the major consumer factor in swinging the fate of the high-definition video disc for Blu-ray.

Yet the fight was fought at least as much by corporations as by consumers. Out of the gate, Blu-ray had more studio support and a Murderers’ Row of consumer electronics companies — Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Philips, LG, Sharp, and Pioneer — backing the format. Not only did these companies account for the vast majority of DVD player sales in the US, they also accounted for most of the large-screen TVs, paving the way for bundles and other promotions that are sure to accelerate now that there is more security in buying Blu-ray.

Continue reading Switched On: Blu-ray had friends in high def places

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Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment

Look, don’t act like you didn’t know this was coming. Microsoft has started selling its Xbox 360 HD DVD drive for the ultra-bargain price of $49.99. So now’s your chance to get one super-duper cheap. Or you could just throw that $50 into the garbage… same thing.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Laptops

While many stores are slashing down HD DVD player prices as much as management will allow, it seems that one diehard supporter is casting a blind eye to the whole format war meltdown. Rock — which tooted its own horn after making HD DVD standard on many of its laptops — hasn’t changed its approach one iota. Even now, the firm is still offering up internal HD DVD drives (and writers) in a plethora of its machines, and curiously enough, there’s not even an option to select a Blu-ray or combo player. C’mon Rock, we know you’re just trying to clear out inventory, but at least give prospective buyers a choice in the matter, would ya?

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