Toshiba HD DVD price cut a swan song?
Toshiba announced yesterday it was slashing prices of its HD DVD format players by up to 50 percent, effective immediately.
Toshiba announced yesterday it was slashing prices of its HD DVD format players by up to 50 percent, effective immediately.
Tis is perceived by many as a strategic move to boost sales in the wake of news that the biggest Hollywood studio, Warner Bros., will be abandoning HD DVD for its high-def disc rival, Blu-ray, joining the likes of Sony, MGM, Fox, Disney and Lionsgate.
Still committed to the HD DVD format, however, is Universal and Paramount/DreamWorks, though the recent Consumer Electronics Show proved Blu-ray has a lot more hardware to support the high-definition discs than the couple of new HD DVD players from Toshiba.
"While price is one of the consideration elements for the early adopter, it is a deal-breaker for the mainstream consumer," said Toshiba executive Yoshi Uchiyama in a statement.
Toshiba’s players will now start as low as US $149 going up to US $399 for the top-of-the-line player. Stay tuned to Sync for new Canadian pricing.
The company says it will also continue with its ongoing promotions, including giving away five HD DVD titles for free with any of its HD DVD player.
Filed Under: Home Entertainment
Strategic move? More like "let's dump our stock before nobody buys it". Face it….it's over. Anyone who spends $150 dollars on an HD DVD player now is an idiot. Let's hope Blu-ray doesn't get cocky and start expecting us to go all goo-goo over the winner. I still won't pay $500 for a stand alone Blu-ray player. Ever. PS3 only at this point.
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I agree with Brian. Buyer Beware but some consumers don't do enough research and that's why I wrote this yesterday just in case.
Toshiba HD-A3 HD DVD player: The New $134 Doorstop?
http://www.mcgrath.ca/2008/01/14/toshiba-hd-a3-hd-dvd-player-the-new-134-doorstop/
We just need the 2 remaining studios to started making Blu-Ray so that we can talk about movies and not war unless it's war movie in HD
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Na-na Na-na Na-na na na He-he hey….. Good bye..
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Hey not-so fast. All of this HD DVD death talk is premature. It is very simple.
If Toshiba also drops the price of the HD DVD movies as well to below twenty bucks, NOBODY is going to buy Blu Ray at $32 when you can get the same quality picture and BETTER sound at $20. If I were Toshiba, that would be my next move.
If they do that, I will buy that $149 door stop and a few of those movie companies will flip to the HD DVD side. It is all about the amount of people who own the players. Blu Ray does not actually have a very big lead. Blu Ray does have the momentum however and if Toshiba counters that by dropping the price on the HD DVD movies, then the momentum will slide back and by the way, Disney has already stated that they would consider either format. (Currently they are Blu Ray)
So although I agree that most of the momentum is on the side of Blu Ray, I would argue that it would take an idiot to buy a PS3 for substandard games. (XBox 360 has 45 games rated 80 or higher, PS3 only 4!) Or buy a PS3 for Blu Ray movies which would be $12 overpriced, with the same picture quality and have lesser audio quality than HD DVD. But the move by Toshiba has to continue and the drop in HD DVD movies must happen. If not, Blu Ray will win.
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I agree wholeheartedly with you DrVex007. People better hope that HD DVD continues, cause if it doesn't, prices for Blu Ray will go up and up…If HD discs go below $20, people will buy it, and studios will follow where the money is going. It's not over, not even close
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It's over!!! plain and simple!!! The consumers are choosing blu-ray for a reason…and now it's because as of may 75% of the movies being released will be blu-ray only. I think that says it all!!
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Uh, Toshiba doesn't make the movies. And the disks cost next to nothing vs a DVD disk already. Blame the movie companies for the price of the movies, not Toshiba. I for one was rooting all the way for HD DVD…why not it was region free and had the ability to make 1 legal copy for back-up. Blu-ray isn't region free(we are used to it) and initially didn't support the back-up. Quality was the same if not better since not all BD players were 1.1 compatible. Oh well digital distribution is here anyhow. I have a $99 500GB portable HDD that has close to 100 HDef movies on it, and I see that as the future…just need the internet backbone to flex a bit more.
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hey, here's a thought. Now that Blu-Ray has taken the step forward. Wouldn't you expect BETTER Blu-Ray machines in the future and possible DUAL machines that will play HD DVD's too. Do you recall machines now that play VHS and DVD movies. it's too early to assume a winner here. Think about it.
I won't buy either right now. I will wait for BETTER Blu-Ray machines. The PS3 will be old news when it comes to BLU-RAY machines in a year or 2. technology changes fast…Better Machines and hopefully BETTER sound from Blu-Ray. You can buy all the DEALS you want on HD DVD's movie and machines, but in 2yrs you might not be able to watch ANY new movie out there.
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DrVex007 I would just like to say that HD-DVD does not have better audio. The audio and video quality on the discs are identical. The only real difference between the two is an HD-DVD is 30GB and a Blu-Ray is 50GB.
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I predicted this scenario a cpl weeks ago but predicted an entry price of less than $100.00 ,.. ask the guys at work.. lol.(go hd-dvd) As i see it the only reason that blu ray is a slight leader with `average' consumers that dont realize the eventual cost and present audio differences between the 2 formats is it just sounds way cooler to tell yer buds that you have a `Blu Ray' dvd player as compared to a `hd-dvd'. From what i understand, it is more cost effective to use the hd dvd format, you would think that this alone would be enough to sway the argument towards hd dvd.
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This is no deal, it's a fire sale.
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Remember Beta and VHS. Beta was the better format, but was more expensive. VHS won out because of the cost.
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I agree with DrVex007 comments above very much.
Money talks. Consumer chooses, Movie studio provide.
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People should learn from the past. What happened to Beta & VHS? They both lost out to DVD.
If blu-ray wins they will have cornered the market and we will be stuck to pay what they ask or do without.
Personally, I am fed up with being ripped off in the name technological advancement by the studios and the manufacturers.
It seems you spend a fortune converting from one format (VHS to DVD) and find out that eventually you will have to convert again to blu-ray etc. Most consumers don't have money to burn to keep replacing the formats. Then the manufacturers wonder why piracy is so rampant.
I'd like to be able to buy a player that can play all formats and studios that would make all formats so that consumers could finally be the winners. But that is just a pipe dream.
No matter which way it ends up we will all have our bloody pockets picked again by these insatiable money grabbers.
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Blu Ray will probably destroy itself if it continues to produce newer versions 1.1, and later this year 2.0, without the possibility to upgrade via firmware. PS3 is the only Blu Ray device that will allow an upgrade to 2.0 and further up. Allthough I agree with DrvEx007 that I would not purchase a PS3 for gameing nor for blu ray movies alone.
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Wow! I go to sleep and 11 new comments
1.HD-DVD main advantage was price yet you pay the same price for the movie as Blu-Ray? Amazon do BOGO often so people can buy movies for $16 if they are patient. I paid $20 for a movie(Futureshop) and it was in sale(reg. $32). You could rent a HD movie too.
2. Toshiba is the only major manufacturer of HD-DVD. The others don't believed in HD-DVD or they would had make players. By "fire selling" their players, it's a last ditch effort to clear out stock. Those with already a HD-DVD player may buy one for backup while you can to watch your precious HD-DVD movies.
3. Disney/Fox waited for the copy protection of Blu-Ray. They don't want to loose money on HD-DVD because of it's lack of protection. Also, region free media is not argument for them. That is why HD-DVD comes later than Blu-Ray because it still at theater elsewhere in the world.
4. The Xbox 360 has more games because it's been out for 1 more year. Yes, the PS3 do need more games in this second year. But Microsoft did not believed in HD-DVD or they would had make one with an internal model by now. Of course, it would not be able to use the extra space for games.
5.Blu-Ray will NOT come up in price. It may just slowdown the rate of lower prices but then again with more demand, it will also increase production thus savings and competition by other manufacturers. It's called economy of scales. Also, electronics is the rare industry that is costing less for more.
6. Digital Distribution is less than perfect. Can you loan your movie to friend? Not easy like a DVD. I do agree that it will be in our future but to many problems ahead for the "general public" and companies. Btw, you better backup that 500GB HD. I had a 300GB crashed on me loosing all on it. Learn from me
7. PS3 will be able to be upgraded to Profile 2.0 so not so old news for an affordable media player/game console even in 2 years. Future Blu-Ray players also. Profile 1.0 can still play a Blu-Ray movie which is the main goal of most people. The extra are nice but not a must. I would still buy a PS3(40GB) because it's a multi purpose machine. Oh wait, I just deed on Dec. 30.
8. HD-DVD has 51GB(official) but not movie out in the market so far. Unfortunately, we won't be able to compare quality of audio/video. Technically is should be the same using the same codec and space. For example, does "300" encoded for only 30GB to match the less space than HD-DVD or they reencoded to fit the 50GB of Blu-Ray?
9. Dual machine will be a "niche" player unless Toshiba give up royalties to lower the price more. That would be great for current HD-DVD owners.
10. Blu-Ray is not "cooler" because it not well known by most. It raise question. HD-DVD is a better selling name because most people know about DVD. HD, not so much but more and more. Talk to non techie unlike us.
11. Going from VHS(analog) to DVD(digital) was great because HD players can still play DVD movies. Who said you have to buy again all your movies? Me, I will however buy some of my favorite movies again in HD. A DVD comedy don't need to be in HD but an Action/Scifi would. Waiting for ID4
12. Here is why I choose Blu-Ray even before I bought my PS3 a few weeks ago. I looked at my small DVD collection and selected the movies that I would buy again in HD. Result: The majority(90%) are from Blu-Ray studio in my case. Do the same with your own collection.
That's it for now
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News flash… Sony Blu Ray is free (essentially)!! My husband and I have been watching this debate for some time and with more than 500 DVDs in our current collection we had been quite concerned. However, Best Buy had sale where you received 10 blu rays when you purchase a Sony Blu Ray player. This makes the player essentially free. When we got it home we first played regular DVDs and the picture/sound was wonderful. When you pop in a Blu Ray is was even better. Blu Ray is the smart choice.
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Question ? If we all go to blu-ray now , at what point in time will this new format start to affect our personal computers. You know the part where you buy computer games , new programs etc.
Is that upgrade going to cost an arm and leg also ?
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LG GGC-H20L BLU-RAY HD-DVD Reader BD-ROM is $280. That's if you want to play movies on your computer. Expect more for a burner.
I would not recommend it and to stick with DVD burners for now unless you have some cash to burn.
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I have been really hoping for Blu-ray since the beginning of this little fight. For me it's all about the capacity. The not so far future of Blu-ray will have 100GB triple layer dics. HD-DVD can't even come close to touching that with 60GB. There are even talks about Blu-ray storing as much as 200GB which almost makes HD-DVD look like a CD-R. Even if it's true that HD-DVD has better audio (which I seriously doubt) that's just a codec technicality. What we are talking about here is a storage media that extends far beyond just movies. I know I would love to be able to use 100GB of space to put files on. I use DVD today for far more than just movies. Although movies is the first real need for this due to the size of HD movies. Yes it is annoying switching standards all the time but that only really happens every 10-15 years. The only reason why Blu-ray is more expensive is because it's a brand new technology. HD-DVD is merely an extention of DVD technology. The prices will come down. The fact still remains I am not willing to buy either right now. Toshiba could show up at my door with a free HD-DVD player and I would not invest a dime of my money in either side until this is sorted out. Remember we still learned from VHS/BETA. It's still too early. Until then the HDMI port in the back of my TV tingles in anticipation.
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