A NEW HOPE for unification

Austan · 06-27-2006, 08:59 AM

Just saw this today:
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsar...BA.xml&src=rss

http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-...yer-183618.php

EricRWem · 06-27-2006, 10:14 AM

Yeah, you beat me to it.

Maybe there is some hope in the universe after all...

Dated June 26, 2006

http://news.com.com/Toshiba+wants+un...3-6088269.html

Quote:

"TOKYO--Toshiba said Tuesday it would still like to develop a unified format for advanced optical DVD discs, but two competing--and incompatible--products are likely to hit the market at first.

Toshiba is a leading proponent of next-generation HD DVD optical disc technology, which competes with the Blu-ray standard promoted by Sony and Matsushita, a maker of Panasonic brand electronics.

"We have not given up on a unified format. We would like to seek ways for unifying the standards if opportunities arise," Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida told an annual shareholders' meeting.

The failure of the two groups to settle on a unified format has resulted in a costly battle similar to the VHS-Betamax war that caused widespread consumer confusion in the late 1970s and mid-1980s.

Toshiba, Japan's second-largest electronics conglomerate behind Hitachi, in March started rolling out the world's first HD DVD players in Japan.

Story Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. "

My response to this:

THEN DO IT!

Why are we even in this format war now, if this is really how they've felt about it? Or did something change?

If they really felt this way, why did they walk away from the negotiating table months ago?

What "oppurtunities" are they looking for? You either make it happen or you don't.

I've said all along: I would have rather not seen SQUAT in the year 2005 or 2006 if it meant a solid, awesome, unfied HD format with 100 percent support that everyone could count on, no questions asked. It would be worth the wait to get it done right, imo.

Even I would (would have) early adopt under that flag at the drop of a hat. And I'm someone who's never early adopted in over 30 years of this game.

THAT is the kind of potential customer this silly format war has turned off and turned away. I KNOW I'm not the only one, by far, that feels this way.

I still would if I see this format war put down and put to bed. If I can get high quality hardware from an A grade CE company with full studio support? No question about it. My money's on the table.

I won't get my hopes up, but damn it all if it doesn't feel kind of good to have some real hope...ANY kind of hope...

Sam Davatchi · 06-27-2006, 10:54 AM

OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! STAR WARS IS COMING OUT TO HD!!!!!!?

Shawn Perron · 06-27-2006, 11:39 AM

What a joke. If Toshiba wanted to do this, they could have last summer.

EricRWem · 06-27-2006, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Davatchi

OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! STAR WARS IS COMING OUT TO HD!!!!!!?

LOL, I wish. That would certainly finish it right there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawn Perron

What a joke. If Toshiba wanted to do this, they could have last summer.

Indeed.

If I recall correctly, weren't they the ones that basically walked away from the negotiating table, saying "no", and assuring us all of the cycle of frustration and futility we're all in now?

To be fair: There's plenty of blame to go all the way around...

**HTF Ads**

Nick · 06-27-2006, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawn Perron

What a joke. If Toshiba wanted to do this, they could have last summer.

Maybe the Sales of the players is not what they (Toshiba) expected.
With Unification they both have a chance to stay afloat for awhile until some new format comes along.

James D S · 06-27-2006, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Davatchi

OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! STAR WARS IS COMING OUT TO HD!!!!!!?

That was my first thought as well. LOL Then I saw how many replies there were, so I knew that couldn't be it.

...I clicked the link anyway.

Austan · 06-27-2006, 12:37 PM

It's the only way I could get people to click the links

Ryan-G · 06-27-2006, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick

Maybe the Sales of the players is not what they (Toshiba) expected.
With Unification they both have a chance to stay afloat for awhile until some new format comes along.

I would guess that Tosh is having a very difficult time manufacturing Players and is finding them extremely costly.

We all know supply is tight, so tight that some Best Buys have sold their display models. We also know that visibility of HD-DVD is dropping now that BR is out, despite HD-DVD having better quality. Several members have reported that the HD-DVD displays at stores have been replaced with BR displays.

Plus, Intel's shifting production to Core processors leaving fewer P4's in the channels, making it harder for Tosh to aquire components if they intended to stay with the Laptop approach.

Tosh's hybrid discs are so expensive that no one will buy them over regular DVD's, they're usefull only to those who've adopted. They're also bumping their heads against the 30 gigabyte limit, and they haven't even done HD extras or one of the 3 hour+ movies yet.

Tosh might be feeling the pinch of trying to fight a format war alone. Components and Visibility could be getting tight, hybrids aren't what they were meant to be, and the space limitations may have studios concerned. They could be deciding it's time to cut losses and convert as gracefully as possible.

Shawn Perron · 06-27-2006, 03:40 PM

Toshiba wants to get 600,000 players into homes this year. At a $200 loss per unit sold that comes toa loss of $120,000,000. Unless they are getting serious support from other HD-DVD members, I'm sure they can't keep that up forever.

Manus · 06-27-2006, 04:39 PM

" Tosh's hybrid discs are so expensive that no one will buy them over regular DVD's, they're usefull only to those who've adopted. They're also bumping their heads against the 30 gigabyte limit, and they haven't even done HD extras or one of the 3 hour+ movies yet.

Tosh might be feeling the pinch of trying to fight a format war alone. Components and Visibility could be getting tight, hybrids aren't what they were meant to be, and the space limitations may have studios concerned. They could be deciding it's time to cut losses and convert as gracefully as possible "

There are an awful lot of ifs,buts and maybes in there

I mean I dont think Bluray have done HD extras or a 3hour+ movie yet either , have they ? Maybe Sony's (tm) rootkit sin has come back to haunt them ? Or the PS3 really is just crap at playing everything else apart from games

Sorry, Im not into either format yet , I think Im suffering from 'speculation hypernausea syndrome' caused by the fact that there really is another treasure chest of gold there for all concerned if they'd just wise-up to a single format ! Hardware manufacturers can plan ahead and focus design energy, studios can make us buy Men in Black and the bloody White Album again, and we consumers can all say 'YES' , We're all in (eventually ) !! Money changes hands, nobody's unhappy !

Rant over ,
~M~