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Toshiba reportedly set to lose nearly $1 billion in wake of HD-DVD format death
In order to truly enter a format war, one must possess a number of things. The first, of course, is a viable format, unique from all others currently on the market. The second is the persistence to constantly push your format on as many film companies and consumer electronics producers as you possibly can, to ensure your victory. Finally, should said victory never come, you must possess a strong stomach and a wide wallet -- as losing a format war is a costly and heartbreaking endeavor. According to the Nikkea Business Daily, Toshiba is learning this lesson to the tune of a ¥100 billion loss in revenue this year (to grasp the magnitude of this loss, here it is in numeric form: ¥100,000,000,000) or roughly $986 million in U.S. cash. We usually leave the economic speculation to the experts, but we're pretty sure that's a large sum of money that Toshiba would rather not part with. But as they say, in order to make an omelet, you've got to break a few eggs; though sometimes, you have to break 100 billion eggs, only to find that nobody wants to eat your omelet. Okay, nobody says that.
Blu-ray on Xbox 360? Microsoft hasn't heard about it
Those hot/cold "Blu-ray coming to Xbox 360" rumors just cooled off a bit again, with product manager Aaron Greenberg telling Reuters "Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience". Clear enough? He also dropped the nugget that Microsoft expects to trail the PS3 in sales again in February, but should have things turned around by April, just in time for the GTA IV launch, which should also be right around the time this rumor rears its head again. In the meantime, digital distribution anyone?
Toshiba swallows a billion dollars on HD DVD
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]
HD DVD and Blu-ray releases on March 11th, 2008
HD DVD had quite a run there for the past three weeks, but now it's over as Blu-ray has an impressive list of new releases and catalog titles. The biggest title this week is easily No Country for Old Men, with its impressive 8.5 IMDB score, and sweeping the Academy Awards a few weeks ago taking just about everything including Best Picture. From our perspective this is one of the best weeks for catalog titles Blu-ray has had in some time, with classics like Gattaca, Dogma and Independence Day. But HD DVD fans do get a good catalog title this week as well, as the hilarious Fletch is released from Universal. This is Universal's second to last title, with Atonement coming out next week. HD DVD was supposed to also get the Bee Movie today, but we know how Dreamworks rolls. Warner, who is the exact opposite continues its red-delay, but like we saw in last week's Nielsen numbers, not many are rewarding Warner for its dedication. We'll have to wait until the Friday after next to see how this slate does, but we'd bet it'll break all the records as Blu might get it's first +90 percent share. HD DVD 407 vs Blu-ray 471*Blu-ray Appleseed Ex Machina (Warner) August Rush (Warner) Dan in Real Life (Walt Disney) Dogma (Sony) Gattaca (Sony) Hitman (Fox) I, Robot (Fox) Independence Day (Fox) No Country for Old Men (Walt Disney) Sleuth (2007) (Sony) HD DVD Fletch (Universal) In the Valley of Elah (Warner) Michael Clayton (Warner) * Blu-ray total does not reflect 32 Paramount titles that were previously officially available.
Circuit City triples return time window for HD DVD player purchases
Hot on the heels of news that Circuit City may in fact be offering up a hush-hush trade-in program for HD DVD purchasers comes official word that said retailer is tripling its standard return window in order to appease early adopters. According to company spokesman Jim Babb, it's looking to "take care of [its] customers" by lengthening the return window from 30 to 90 days for all HD DVD player purchases. When returning the unit, users are given store credit, and while we are told that HD DVD movies are omitted from the policy, we've no idea if combo players are included. We're guessing no, but then again, it's not like those purchasers have nearly as much to worry about.[Thanks, Killer]
Future Shop offers trade-in credit for HD DVD players, will donate old decks to charity
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]
Samsung kills BD-UP5500 combo player before it ever truly lived
Given the finality of the format war, we can't say we're totally shocked to hear that Samsung will be pulling the plug on its recently announced BD-UP5500 HD DVD / Blu-ray combo player, but still, it's not good news for folks planning to pick it up for kicks (or watching their library of HD DVDs). Interestingly enough, Sammy had already planned to axe its current flagship hybrid player -- the BD-UP5000 -- this May, just months after it went on sale and began taking heat for not meeting expectations. On the plus side, the firm's latest BD-only player was a real gem, so hopefully we'll see lots more where that came from in the future. Oh, and if you're weeping this very moment at the thought of never getting to see one in person, feel free to click here and live vicariously through us.
Rock officially offering Blu-ray (and HD DVD, still) drives on laptops
Although Rock began offering a Blu-ray option on its pricey gaming rigs soon after Toshiba threw in the HD DVD towel, prospective buyers were forced to specifically inquire in order to get one. Now, however, the company has finally bit the bullet and began offering internal BD drives as an option on its gamut of gaming laptops. Reportedly, Rock's CEO Nick Boardman proclaimed that he was "disappointed that HD DVD didn't make it," but noted that even if you have a machine on order right now, you can "stick with HD DVD, downgrade to DVD-RW or upgrade to Blu-ray" sans issue. Interestingly, the company is still offering up HD DVD drives as "standard," but we suppose it has to move that suddenly worthless inventory somehow, eh?[Via Tech Digest]
Toshiba CEO: HD DVD didn't stand a chance after Warner left
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]
HD DVD and Blu-ray releases on March 4th, 2008
Despite HD DVD imminent demise, things are going pretty good. For the third week in a row the Red camp has the hottest title of the week; Into The Wild (IMDB 8.3). But considering this is Paramount's last week, and there is only one remaining exclusive new release left (Atonement 3/18/08), we're getting closer to the end of the road. The biggest title for Blu-ray this week is Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, but the biggest news is Disney's non-release of 101 Dalmatians. Disney did promise to take a classic out of the vault for Blu-ray this year, evidently just not this one. With only 31 titles left on the calendar for HD DVD, it appears the count will end at 435, but only 15 of those titles are from studios you've heard of and only two are HD DVD exclusives from Universal. The rest are Warner titles which will be delayed three weeks after the Blu version, and we'd be willing to bet they won't be hot sellers. HD DVD 404 vs Blu-ray 461*Blu-ray Ice Age (Fox) Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (Fox) The Rookie (2002) (Walt Disney) HD DVD Aquarium Impressions (Navarre Corporation) Fireplace Impressions (Navarre Corporation) Into the Wild (Paramount) Mystic Forests (Navarre Corporation) No Reservations (Warner) Things We Lost in the Fire (DreamWorks) * Blu-ray total does not reflect 32 Paramount titles that were previously officially available.
NME says format war still on, it totally made out with a girl last summer in Niagara Falls
Just when the members of the Blu-ray Disc Association were settling down to enjoy the fruits of victory, another challenger has entered the ring -- oh wait, it's just NME, makers of VMD, so it's really more like "remained in the ring and basically ignored." The company just issued a press release saying "All indications are that VMD can fill the void left by HD DVD," and that "The way is now clear for VMD to be embraced by the industry." We suppose that's true -- the Asian bootlegging industry really hasn't weighed in with a format choice yet, has it? In any event, VMD players have apparently been shipping to the US for a month now, so all you HD DVD fans out there looking to back yet another losing horse can probably find one -- start at the shadiest retailer you can think of, and then move downwards.[Thanks, Chris]
Chip makers rise and fall with format war conclusion
Though the clear winner and loser in the format war was Sony and Toshiba, respectively, quite a few behind the scenes supporters are now facing similar celebrations / dilemmas in dealing with the fallout. A new report takes an in-depth look at how chip makers are faring, and while not surprising, we are told that both NEC and Broadcom are reeling after HD DVD went under, and will have to "absorb software R&D costs that can't be recouped." On the flip side, parties such as Sigma Designs and IBM have their lucky stars to thank, as the former even attempted to ally with Toshiba but were spurned in favor of Broadcom. Interestingly, the article also notes that many fencesitters are now looking to jump in, which could hopefully lead to increased competition and lower overall prices for those anxious to snap up a Blu-ray player in short order.[Thanks, Daniel H.]
Paramount & Dreamworks HD DVD support ends March 4
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.Read - Video BusinessRead - High-Def Digest
HD DVD's last hurrah: Terminator 2: Ultimate HD-Edition due March 20
HD DVD fans have at least one more high profile release to look forward to, as German distributor Kinowelt is prepared to release Terminator 2: Ultimate HD-Edition (region free of course) March 20th. Produced by HDi (and Blu-ray) pioneers Imagion AG this release includes the directors cut of the film, with DTS-HD 7.1 audio and more than four hours of bonus material in a high quality SteelBook case. Expect this to be the triumphant example of HD DVD's advanced features and capabilities that American Gangster so sadly wasn't. Check out a list of features after the break or our hands-on from CES to learn more about the disc's interactive and online capabilities, and maybe a peek at the future of BD Live.
A comprehensive list of present and future Blu-ray players
Now that Toshiba has officially thrown in the towel, the Red and Blu camp can set aside its differences and get behind a single HD format. The first step for those from the Red camp is finding the right Blu-ray player. We've covered some pretty good resources for this before, but we noticed today that Blu-ray.com updated its list and while it's not the easiest to glance over to find your must have feature, it does include just about everything you need and has some nice pictures of each player. [Via TiVoLovers]
Sony Centre UK celebrates Blu-ray's victory
Engadget reader Raheem spotted this cheap shot on the door of Sony Centre in London, just in case anyone's not sure of the latest developments in the high definition format war. Ouch, still, they may want to fax that over to Dreamworks Animation, cc: Jeffrey Katzenberg. Check after the break for another pic of the atrocity..
Dreamworks Animation isn't ready to quit HD DVD yet
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 to turn Shrek Blu.
Netflix switching queued HD DVDs to DVDs?
Granted, Netflix did warn us that renting HD DVDs from it would become a lesson in futility in due time, but we're receiving multiple reports that the company has already began switching queued HD DVD titles to vanilla DVDs. If this is going on en masse, that's a pretty quick changeover, to say the least. So, dear readers, have any of your HD DVDs mysteriously morphed into regular DVDs overnight? Sound off below![Thanks, Chris and Aaron]
Switched On: Blu-ray had friends in high def places
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment.
