Praise
the baby Jebus 'cause after
slipping their
ship date due to
lack of content from
the studios, Toshiba quietly began selling their new HD-XA1 HD DVD player in Japanese stores... today! That makes
Tosh the
first second (
Sony's BDZ-S77 Blu-ray player and
recorder has been on sale in Japan for a few years) next-gen optical format to hit the shelves -- a full
four-months ahead of
Sony's BDP-S1 Blu-ray
player launch in July. Apparently, the HD-XA1 sports an MSRP of 100,000 yen ($940) and if purchased before 27
April, comes bundled with HD DVD copies of Resident Evil and the Japanese movie Moonlight Jellyfish -- the lower-end
HD-A1 does not seem to be available, yet. Tosh threw us an offiicial launch date of April for the US with the HD-XA1
tagged for $799 retail while the HD-A1 comes in at a blue-light special price of $499. And just for kix, Tosh also
mentioned that those
HD
DVD-equipped PCs should drop sometime between April and June as well. We'll see, let's just get those players out
the door first, and some flix too, please to make the purchase
really worthwhile.
[Via
Akihabara News]
posted Mar 31st 2006 6:35AM
Why would someone buy this
All dolled up and nothing to play.
So the HD DVD player comes with Resident Evil, a Sony Pictures film? On HD DVD? Something ain't right here...
And finally the format wars come to an end.
oh no my friend. the format wars are just beginning
Damn, Geezer, forgot about that one. Post updated.
Pip #4, is right, the war is over. At a price of $499 in the US, people will actually consider buying one. Any price higher is a NO GO, and Toshiba knows it too.
Sony on the other hand, is living in a fantasy world. Another overpriced, locked down, proprietary format. Whatever. Yeah... good luck with that!
We all know that the format war ends when the PS3 is released.
Within 48 hours of release it will become the best selling next-gen disc player in the world, and Blu-Ray units will have outsold HD DVD by an enormous margin. Not to say that the PS3 will be a top-tier player, but it doesn't have to be. Hundreds of thousands (millions maybe?) around the world will suddenly find themselves in possession of a Blu-Ray player--for not much more than the HD-XA1--and they _will_ buy the movies.
Hey, I just saw that Crutchfield is selling this thing too, only they're calling it the HDX-A1.
Here's a link
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-zsY0laJknSH/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=HDX%2DA1&i=052HDXA1
#9
That's November at the earliest and we have no idea about how many PS3 Sony can ship. I tend to doubt that a $500 game console is going to sell in the millions overnight.
At the best the PS3 matches the $499 HD DVD player that will have been shipping for months with movies available from stores and Netflix. It won't have a fan like the PS3 and it supports nextgen audio formats in Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD lossless.
If I'm not a gamer, which many of us aren't, why should the PS3 sway my purchase decision? Why would I put up with a loud game console versus a silent HD DVD player?
I have my doubts that a game console players will be significant movie buyers. Sony's UMD format sold well initially but after the shine wore off the UMD movies sat on the shelves. I'm personally not expecting much from the PS3 "effect"
Geezer you simply haven't been paying attention.
Panasonic just announced their BD player- $1499
The Pioneer Elite BD Player- $1799
The Samsung Player- $999
The Sony BD player $999
compared to $799 and $499 options from HD DVD. I don't know where you get the backing to talk about price parity but maybe you want to consult the manufacturers first.
You've forgotten LG who's likely to make a Universal Player. RCA is also making a player and soon enough China will be making players.
I can't see this war as being winnable by either, I surely do not share your myopic view nor outdated information.
What's the difference between the HD-XA1 and the HD-A1? The X version must do SOMETHING to justify its extra price.
Also, the PS2 did wonders for DVD proliferation.
AMAZON.COM COMPARISON:
$499.99
Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD Player
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E1PTGK/sr=8-1/qid=1143752305/ref...
$999.00
Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc Player
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000DZS0G8/sr=8-3/qid=1143752305/ref...
AMAZON HD-DVD STORE
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/16297241/sr=53-1/sr=53-...
AMAZON HD-DVD 'COMING SOON'
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/16295741/ref=amb_left-2...
U2 - Rattle & Hum [HD DVD]
The Italian Job (2003) [HD DVD]
Four Brothers [HD DVD]
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider [HD DVD]
Sahara [HD DVD]
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow [HD DVD]
Aeon Flux (2005) [HD DVD]
The Manchurian Candidate (2004) [HD DVD]
* Braveheart [HD DVD]
* The Ultimate Star Trek Movie Collection [HD DVD]
The Bourne Supremacy [HD DVD]
We Were Soldiers [HD DVD]
* Band of Brothers [HD DVD]
Seven [HD DVD]
* The Lord of the Rings Trilogy [HD DVD]
* Batman Begins [HD DVD]
* Friends [HD DVD]
* Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire [HD DVD]
* Terminator 3 [HD DVD]
The Aviator [HD DVD]
* The Matrix Trilogy [HD DVD]
Doom [HD DVD]
Jarhead [HD DVD]
Serenity [HD DVD]
The 40 Year Old Virgin [HD DVD]
Cinderella Man [HD DVD]
The Chronicles of Riddick [HD DVD]
Van Helsing [HD DVD]
U-571 [HD DVD]
Apollo 13 [HD DVD]
* = Ones that I imagine will sell a lot of copies.
I think it's accurate to call Toshiba the first high definition PLAYER, as the Sony BDZ-S77 is the first Blu-Ray RECORDER released, but only in Japan and designed to work with Japan's direct to home satellite broadcasting network. There's no Blu-Ray movies available to my knowledge, although you can certainly purchase blank Blu-Ray media and record your own. At roughly $3800, I doubt many have Sony's recorder. It's also safe to say that Toshiba will be the first company to release a high defintion player globally.
Blu-Ray movies are expected to hit the shelves in May, and according to imdb.com yesterday, Blu-Ray players are expected in November (?!)
http://imdb.com/news/sb/2006-03-30
Jebus Christ! I can't beleive no one caught Homer Simpson's saying at the top...
A friend and I dismantled an HD-A1 in order to find out what made it tick, and were intrigued to learn that inside the drive is a standard IDE unit. Also inside is a USB flash drive on a daughter card:
http://geekswithblogs.net/lorint/archive/2006/04/21/75795.aspx