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HdDvd posts

Toshiba adopts Blu-ray for laptops, completes shame circle

by Joshua Topolsky posted Sep 3rd 2009 at 2:52PM

First Toshiba caved on Blu-ray for the home, and now they're taking the sad show portable. The once-great defender of the HD-DVD crown has begun adopting the format for its laptops, bringing the discs to the P500 (a member of the Satellite family). The system -- which was released originally in June sans Blu-ray -- sports an 18.4 inch (1920 x 1080) display, HDMI REGZA link, a Core 2 Duo CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and a slew of the standard ports and wireless radios. The laptop will be available in October, irony comes standard on all models. [Warning: read link is a PDF]

[Via Pocket-lint]

Blu-ray reportedly trailing CBHD in China, the second theater of the format war begins

by Richard Lawler posted Jul 25th 2009 at 6:03PM

Just because Toshiba has given up on HD DVD and moved on, doesn't mean the format war is totally over for red. According to a report by a Japanese TV station, its successor, China Blue HD is actually leading Blu-ray in marketshare in that country. Of course, based on the article found by our friends at FormatWarCentral, all we have to go on is a machine translated description of a video in a language we don't speak describing the apparent initial success of the government backed format in a socialist republic. If you need more evidence than that to declare the format war officially restarted, you're probably a communist, but before we drag you in front of the Un-American activities committee check out the video for a peek at the slick new CBHD cases that The Onion will surely be shipping its videos in very soon.

[Via FormatWarCentral]

Toshiba launching Blu-ray player by year's end

by Darren Murph posted Jul 18th 2009 at 3:50PM

Need a little something to get you over the Saturday lull? Gnaw on this. Japan's own Yomiuri is reporting today that Toshiba is expected to finally admit defeat and enter the dark, devious world of Blu-ray later this year. For those keeping tabs, we've heard both confirmations and denials about the outfit finally caving and supporting the format it once battled so valiantly, but this seems to solidify it. If machine translation is to be believed, the company's first DVD / Blu-ray deck is slated for release somewhere in the world by the year's end. The article also mentions that Tosh is strongly considering a Blu-ray recorder for the Japanese market, though no further details on that are available. C'mon Toshiba -- get this bad boy to the States before Christmas. We're anxious for a BD price war.

[Thanks, Rata]

China Blue HD players revealed, second stage of the format war is officially on

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 24th 2009 at 7:27AM

China's alternative to Blu-ray finally has some hardware to show off, with players from TCL and Shinco making their debut this week. Priced at less than 2,000 yuan ($292) they're reportedly 40% cheaper than the competition, and while the promised support from Warner Bros. has yet to materialize it plans to release 100 movies on the CBHD format by the end of the year. That's about all the machine translation could help us make out beyond the usual promise of lower licensing fees for Chinese manufacturers, but a better look at the latest (and by far most legit, although that's not saying much) Blu-ray fighter is beyond the read link.

[Via CDR Info]

Warner reintegrates HD DVD faithful with Red2Blu trade-in program

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 22nd 2009 at 10:28AM

U.S. HD DVD fans that passed up Best Buy's offer of $3 per disc, or just those who stocked up on cheap movies after the format gave up the fight have another option coming from Warner Bros. Send in the cover art sleeve (keep the disc) including UPC from your HD DVD case (plus $4.95 per movie and $6.95 / $8.95 per order S&H) and it will send you back a brand new Blu-ray copy. There's a few other restrictions, like 1 copy per movie and 25 different movies per household, but the biggest decision is likely to be whether giving up your precious I Am Legend sleeve is worth the trade, hit up Red2Blu.com for all the details and necessary forms. It seems to us like a decent offer to make HD DVD owners whole, we'd be surprised if Paramount and Universal came through with similar plans.

[Via DVDTown]

HD DVD sales apparently still going strong

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 30th 2008 at 1:47PM

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.

DVD Download DL logo sparks wonder over Toshiba's super-resolution DVD player

by Darren Murph posted Jul 1st 2008 at 5:33PM

We keep hoping that Toshiba will come to its senses and just let this whole thing die, but no. Apparently insistent on keeping the last-generation format alive for as long as it possibly can, it seems the outfit is getting ever-closer to a super-resolution DVD player that would reportedly upscale DVD content like nothing we've ever seen. The latest tidbit in this woefully depressing saga is a newly approved DVD Download DL logo, which was given the final thumbs-up by the DVD Forum Steering Committee last month. In reality, no one outside of Tosh's headquarters has any idea if this development is indeed intrinsically related, but at this point, we wouldn't be shocked one bit to find that it was. Then again, the June 11th meeting also saw specifications for CH-DVD approved, so here's to hoping Toshiba isn't jumping on that ~~bandwagon~~ fiery wreck.

[Via TG Daily]

Read - DVD Forum approval
Read - Discussion / rumors

Toshiba knows no shame, plans to release super-resolution DVD player

by Darren Murph posted May 30th 2008 at 3:25PM

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]

Xbox 360 HD DVD drives going for ?9.99 in Ireland

by Darren Murph posted May 6th 2008 at 5:04AM

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 at GameStop (among other locales). For those not savvy on the absurd depreciation 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]

Yowza: Toshiba's net profits plunge 95% thanks to HD DVD, flash prices

by Thomas Ricker posted Apr 25th 2008 at 4:59AM

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.

Toshiba's Brazil unit peddling Blu-ray hardware?

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 24th 2008 at 12:41PM

While Toshiba still hasn't announced any new HD moves since withdrawing from the format war earlier this year, its Brazilian arm may be moving on with a hybrid HTPC. Powered by a Core Duo 6300 and Vista Home Premium, Semp Toshiba's Spectra packs a TV tuner and an optical drive ready for Blu-ray and HD DVD and should be available later this month. Society Eletromercantil Paulista merged with Toshiba in 1977 and has operated as Semp Toshiba in Brazil ever since, but it might be working a little more independently of its parent company than usual on this project, unless there are more Toshiba-branded Blu-ray products on the way. We'll keep this one on rumor status pending a more official announcement (or a significant improvement in our Portuguese skills.) Check out another image after the break.

Continue reading Toshiba's Brazil unit peddling Blu-ray hardware?

Shuttle's AMD-powered XPC G5 6801M loves Blu-ray and HD DVD

by Darren Murph posted Apr 11th 2008 at 8:59AM

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]

Okoro's OMS-ZX100 Media PC does Blu-ray, HD DVD and SSD

by Darren Murph posted Mar 31st 2008 at 10:44AM

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.

HD DVD Promotion Group officially dissolves in a high-res burst of tears

by Nilay Patel posted Mar 28th 2008 at 9:19PM

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.

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

by Richard Lawler posted Mar 19th 2008 at 5:47AM

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 it's 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