CES: Toshiba says HD DVD format isn't dead yet
It lost an important ally, Time Warner, in the hi-def format war
http://www.computerworld.com/action..._and_wireless&articleId=9055682&taxonomyId=15
January 06, 2008 (IDG News Service) -- Two days after it lost an important ally in the high-definition format battle, Toshiba put on a defiant face at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and declared the HD DVD format is a long way from being dead.
"We remain firm in the belief that HD DVD is the format best suited to the wants and needs of consumers," said Akio Ozaka, head of Toshiba America Consumer Products, at a news conference. He said Toshiba was surprised by the announcement, which came on Friday.
"We are especially surprised that this decision was made in spite of the significant momentum that HD DVD has gained in the U.S. market and other regions," he said.
Warner was the only major Hollywood studio releasing movies on both formats and the decision to go with Blu-ray Disc meant Toshiba has only two major studios, Paramount and Universal, backing its technology.
The decision also left Toshiba with a potential public relations disaster as it came just days before CES, the annual North American gathering of the consumer electronics industry that kicks off officially here on Monday. In response to the Warner news, the HD DVD Promotion Group canceled its news conference, leaving some to conclude that backers of the format were ready to concede defeat.
"As you can imagine this is a tough day for me," said Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing for digital audio and video products at Toshiba America Consumer Products. "It's difficult for me to read all the pundits declare that HD DVD is dead. Clearly the events of the last few days have led you to that conclusion but we've been declared dead before."
Toshiba said a million HD DVD players are currently in the market in North America.
In a statement Saturday, the company also expressed surprise over Warner's move "despite the fact that there are various contracts in place between our companies concerning the support of HD DVD." On Sunday it didn't elaborate on those contracts or what its next move may be in the march to make HD DVD the de facto replacement for DVD for high-definition content.
Toshiba Defiant After HD DVD Setback
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iA0y8iwFYWXZBt84MP_jrLjyVCsgD8U0JK4O0
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Toshiba Corp. executives had a tough moment Sunday, when they had to face reporters just two days after its HD DVD movie disc format was dealt a potentially fatal blow by the defection of Warner Bros. Entertainment to a rival technology.
"It's difficult for me to read the comments of the pundits that HD is dead," said Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing for digital audio and video at Toshiba America Consumer Products. She was speaking at a news conference ahead of the International Consumer Electronics Show, which starts here Monday.
Sally indicated that Toshiba would continue its fight with a Sony Corp.-led group to dominate the market for a replacement to the DVD.
"We've been declared dead before," Sally said.
Only two major U.S. studios now support HD DVD, while five support Sony's Blu-ray disc. Warner is the last studio to put out movies in both formats, but will stop publishing HD DVDs in May.
Akio Ozaka, head of Toshiba America Consumer Products, said the company was surprised by Warner's announcement Friday.
"We were particularly disappointed that the decision was made in spite of the significant momentum HD DVD has gained," Ozaka said.
HD DVD players, practically all of which are made by Toshiba, had their best sales ever in the fourth quarter of last year, Ozaka said.
Sally said HD DVD players represented 49.3 percent of the players for high definition discs sold as of Dec. 22, quoting figures from market research firm NPD. However, the figures don't include sales of Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 game console, which plays Blu-ray discs. The format also has consistently beaten HD DVD in the number of discs sold.
While Toshiba sounded a defiant note, a media event scheduled for Sunday evening by the North American HD DVD Promotional Group, which includes Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp., was canceled because of Warner's defection.
"We are currently discussing the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps," the group said in a statement.
Warner said its decision to drop HD DVD was based on consumers' preference for Blu-ray.
The availability of two competing formats, and the confusion and uncertainty it's sowed among buyers, has been widely blamed for the slow adoption of high-definition players in general.
Warner Bros. Entertainment is owned by Time Warner Inc.
CES: HD DVD ain't dead yet, supporters say
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=19&entry_id=23211
One of the big questions at CES is how the HD DVD camp would respond to Warner Bros.' decision to throw what most thought was the decisive vote behind Blu-ray DVD. As the largest studio accounting for about 20 percent of movies, the general wisdom was that HD DVD was dead. Long live HD DVD. No more next generation DVD format war.
But the early word from companies like Toshiba, LG and Pinoeer is that the struggle ain't over.
Akio Ozaka, president and CEO of Toshiba America, made no sign the company, which has most driven the HD DVD format, is ready to give up. He said in the Toshiba press conference at CES that HD DVD is still the best format for consumers.
"We are firm in the belief that HD DVD best suits the needs and wants of consumers," he said.
That's not to say the news didn't totally blind side Toshiba. "We are surprised by Warner Bros. announcing its plans to abandon HD DVD later this year," said Ozaka. "We are particularly disappointed that this decision was made despite the momentum HD DVD has gained in the US market and other markets in 2007."
In a somewhat emotional address, Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing digital a/v at Toshiba, said the news had forced her to shift her comments Sunday, giving her a "tough day." But she was still upbeat on HD DVD players, which she said have sold more than 1 million units in North America.
Allan Jason, vice president of marketing for LG said the company will continue to make HD DVD players, like its combo Blu-ray/HD DVD player, as long as Universal and Paramount, the remaining two studios in the HD DVD camp, continue to make movies in that format. Ultimately, LG will wait until there are no more HD DVD movies, it appears.
So, while the Warner Bros. announcement has shaken the HD DVD camp, it's too early to see any white flags. It might be all over but the shouting but we'll have to wait to see when the HD DVD guys actually throws in the towel.
Toshiba HD DVD sales hit 1 mln in North America
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0636863720080106
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Japan's Toshiba Corp said on Sunday it sold 1 million HD DVD digital video recorders in North America last year, driven by demand for Internet-delivered content.
Toshiba, reeling from Warner Bros studio's announcement that it would exclusively release high-definition DVDs using the rival Blu-ray format instead of Toshiba's HD DVD technology, sought to stress instead the potential of its recent alliance with Sharp Corp on TV panels.
Toshiba executives made the comments at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The high-stakes DVD format battle has made consumers hesitant about buying DVD players and has acted as a damper on an industry now hit by declining sales of traditional DVDs.
(Reporting by Mayumi Negishi, editing by Phil Berlowitz)
Toshiba Third Generation Players Deliver on the Promise of the HD DVD Format
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS54176+06-Jan-2008+PRN20080106
Toshiba says HD DVD "has not lost" despite Warner move
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0633094620080107
It lost an important ally, Time Warner, in the hi-def format war
http://www.computerworld.com/action..._and_wireless&articleId=9055682&taxonomyId=15
January 06, 2008 (IDG News Service) -- Two days after it lost an important ally in the high-definition format battle, Toshiba put on a defiant face at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and declared the HD DVD format is a long way from being dead.
"We remain firm in the belief that HD DVD is the format best suited to the wants and needs of consumers," said Akio Ozaka, head of Toshiba America Consumer Products, at a news conference. He said Toshiba was surprised by the announcement, which came on Friday.
"We are especially surprised that this decision was made in spite of the significant momentum that HD DVD has gained in the U.S. market and other regions," he said.
Warner was the only major Hollywood studio releasing movies on both formats and the decision to go with Blu-ray Disc meant Toshiba has only two major studios, Paramount and Universal, backing its technology.
The decision also left Toshiba with a potential public relations disaster as it came just days before CES, the annual North American gathering of the consumer electronics industry that kicks off officially here on Monday. In response to the Warner news, the HD DVD Promotion Group canceled its news conference, leaving some to conclude that backers of the format were ready to concede defeat.
"As you can imagine this is a tough day for me," said Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing for digital audio and video products at Toshiba America Consumer Products. "It's difficult for me to read all the pundits declare that HD DVD is dead. Clearly the events of the last few days have led you to that conclusion but we've been declared dead before."
Toshiba said a million HD DVD players are currently in the market in North America.
In a statement Saturday, the company also expressed surprise over Warner's move "despite the fact that there are various contracts in place between our companies concerning the support of HD DVD." On Sunday it didn't elaborate on those contracts or what its next move may be in the march to make HD DVD the de facto replacement for DVD for high-definition content.
Toshiba Defiant After HD DVD Setback
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iA0y8iwFYWXZBt84MP_jrLjyVCsgD8U0JK4O0
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Toshiba Corp. executives had a tough moment Sunday, when they had to face reporters just two days after its HD DVD movie disc format was dealt a potentially fatal blow by the defection of Warner Bros. Entertainment to a rival technology.
"It's difficult for me to read the comments of the pundits that HD is dead," said Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing for digital audio and video at Toshiba America Consumer Products. She was speaking at a news conference ahead of the International Consumer Electronics Show, which starts here Monday.
Sally indicated that Toshiba would continue its fight with a Sony Corp.-led group to dominate the market for a replacement to the DVD.
"We've been declared dead before," Sally said.
Only two major U.S. studios now support HD DVD, while five support Sony's Blu-ray disc. Warner is the last studio to put out movies in both formats, but will stop publishing HD DVDs in May.
Akio Ozaka, head of Toshiba America Consumer Products, said the company was surprised by Warner's announcement Friday.
"We were particularly disappointed that the decision was made in spite of the significant momentum HD DVD has gained," Ozaka said.
HD DVD players, practically all of which are made by Toshiba, had their best sales ever in the fourth quarter of last year, Ozaka said.
Sally said HD DVD players represented 49.3 percent of the players for high definition discs sold as of Dec. 22, quoting figures from market research firm NPD. However, the figures don't include sales of Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 game console, which plays Blu-ray discs. The format also has consistently beaten HD DVD in the number of discs sold.
While Toshiba sounded a defiant note, a media event scheduled for Sunday evening by the North American HD DVD Promotional Group, which includes Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp., was canceled because of Warner's defection.
"We are currently discussing the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps," the group said in a statement.
Warner said its decision to drop HD DVD was based on consumers' preference for Blu-ray.
The availability of two competing formats, and the confusion and uncertainty it's sowed among buyers, has been widely blamed for the slow adoption of high-definition players in general.
Warner Bros. Entertainment is owned by Time Warner Inc.
CES: HD DVD ain't dead yet, supporters say
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=19&entry_id=23211
One of the big questions at CES is how the HD DVD camp would respond to Warner Bros.' decision to throw what most thought was the decisive vote behind Blu-ray DVD. As the largest studio accounting for about 20 percent of movies, the general wisdom was that HD DVD was dead. Long live HD DVD. No more next generation DVD format war.
But the early word from companies like Toshiba, LG and Pinoeer is that the struggle ain't over.
Akio Ozaka, president and CEO of Toshiba America, made no sign the company, which has most driven the HD DVD format, is ready to give up. He said in the Toshiba press conference at CES that HD DVD is still the best format for consumers.
"We are firm in the belief that HD DVD best suits the needs and wants of consumers," he said.
That's not to say the news didn't totally blind side Toshiba. "We are surprised by Warner Bros. announcing its plans to abandon HD DVD later this year," said Ozaka. "We are particularly disappointed that this decision was made despite the momentum HD DVD has gained in the US market and other markets in 2007."
In a somewhat emotional address, Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing digital a/v at Toshiba, said the news had forced her to shift her comments Sunday, giving her a "tough day." But she was still upbeat on HD DVD players, which she said have sold more than 1 million units in North America.
Allan Jason, vice president of marketing for LG said the company will continue to make HD DVD players, like its combo Blu-ray/HD DVD player, as long as Universal and Paramount, the remaining two studios in the HD DVD camp, continue to make movies in that format. Ultimately, LG will wait until there are no more HD DVD movies, it appears.
So, while the Warner Bros. announcement has shaken the HD DVD camp, it's too early to see any white flags. It might be all over but the shouting but we'll have to wait to see when the HD DVD guys actually throws in the towel.
Toshiba HD DVD sales hit 1 mln in North America
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0636863720080106
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Japan's Toshiba Corp said on Sunday it sold 1 million HD DVD digital video recorders in North America last year, driven by demand for Internet-delivered content.
Toshiba, reeling from Warner Bros studio's announcement that it would exclusively release high-definition DVDs using the rival Blu-ray format instead of Toshiba's HD DVD technology, sought to stress instead the potential of its recent alliance with Sharp Corp on TV panels.
Toshiba executives made the comments at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The high-stakes DVD format battle has made consumers hesitant about buying DVD players and has acted as a damper on an industry now hit by declining sales of traditional DVDs.
(Reporting by Mayumi Negishi, editing by Phil Berlowitz)
Toshiba Third Generation Players Deliver on the Promise of the HD DVD Format
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS54176+06-Jan-2008+PRN20080106
Toshiba says HD DVD "has not lost" despite Warner move
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0633094620080107
