Reload this Page Toshiba to have access to Blu-Ray Tech (1 Viewer)

[EricRWem]

http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/01/21/to...ss_to_blu_ray/

Looks like that back door just cracked open a little bit...

 

[Greg T]

Toshiba knows a winner when it sees it....in the other camp

Maybe not having studio from all of these studios...has them thinking Blu.
MGM
Miramax
Sony Pictures
Fox
Disney
Pixar
Lions Gate
Columbia Tri Star

 

[Ken_F]

What the article doesn't mention...

Is that Sony has a similar partnership with NEC.

The HD-DVD drives in the Toshiba HD-DVD players are manufactured by the Sony/NEC joint company.

 

[EricRWem]

Ken F wrote:


I really can't disagree with any of that. Perception IS reality, and the PERCEPTION is clearly: Toshiba is cracking the back door open.

What format war?

 

[Don Solosan]

It's like Pearl Harbor all over again -- except the Japanese are bombing themselves!

 

[Greg T]

I agree that Toshiba shows more weakness in this scenario.
I believe what it comes down to is the huge studio support advantage by BD, and the fact the there will be more BD players installed in homes by the PS3, than all other players from both formats combined.

The ps3, as well as the tighter security measures by BD are why the studios will stick with BD.
I don't believe hd dvd will be around much past 07 at this point.

 

[Ryan-G]

IMO, the driving force behind this "format war" and the only reason it hasn't ended before it started is Microsoft.

Toshiba and Sony could've negotiated some comprimise that would've benefited them both. Probably would have were it not for MS.

MS has the most to gain from this, and has risked the least. If MS could have engineered Blu-Ray's downfall, they could have seriously impacted both Sony and the PS3 as competitors. Blu-Ray losing would have a huge impact for them. So, they keep pushing it. Sure, Toshiba would've made a good deal of money from winning the "Format war", but what MS is playing for is worth a vastly larger amount of money than even DVD. So they take a risk and try to undermine their competitor. Again.

Microsoft's the only major major name touting HD-DVD now, they're also key on the whole digital protection scheme, as they're building it straight into Vista.

As always, Microsoft's got it's fingers in the pot and are trying to manipulate the game to work out best for them.

 

[EricRWem]

^^ You got it!

If MS weren't backing HD-DVD right now (Along with tag along Intel)...we wouldn't even be having this discussion right now and I think things on the HD-DVD side would already be wrapped up for the most part.

 

[Greg T]

M/S vs the world = an M/S loss imo.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

FYI, Sony broke away from the HD Forum, not MS.
Now if your saying MS threw its considerable weight around to bring Sony back into the fold, that's a fact, Jack!

Well, this news tells me one format has a chance to survive and both formats have a chance to survive. It's no longer an "all or nothing" battle for the two contesting companies.
I see it as good news, although a little underhanded as well!
Hope this leaves the slightist opening for a uni player.

 

[ChristopherDAC]

Well, since layer depth is the real breakthrough with Blu-Ray, the one thing which distinguishes it definitively from other LaserDisc-based technologies, and which gives it a big part of its technical superiority [5 to 3 data storage ratio over HD-DVD], I'd say they kind of had a point. I wouldn't have been willing to compromise that either. Why not fault Toshiba for insisting on retaining an outdated, counter-productive layer-depth spec? You'd be exactly as just, no more, no less.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Christopher,
Tosh was not "insisting on retaining an outdated, counter-productive layer-depth spec". Tosh's compromise (Sony did not have one) was to meet half way between the layer depth of BD & HD-DVD. This would have been a completely new layer depth, not based on LD. Sony refused. Thus, killing the last chance for the two A/V companies to not have a format war.

Granted, BD's layer is the reason for greater compression on data on the disc. Yet, this war could have been diverted if Tosh's compromise was accepted. With both companies then having to split the HD pie. Which if Sony truly believed they indeed had a "winner" would be a tough thing to do (no matter what pain this decision may infect on the public). The compromise would have lead to lower storage. While movie playback capabilities would not have suffered.
It would have been a step back (tech wise) to make a leap forward (eliminating the format war).
Twenty years from now, 'nobody' will care. However, its a big deal for all of us going though these HD on disc birthing pains now!

 

[ChristopherDAC]

The thing is, the reason why Toshiba wanted to keep the DVD layer depth was, ostensibly, so that they could use DVD tooling and machinery. If they had changed it even a little bit, the change in tooling and machinery would have been the same as if they had changed it all the way. In this case our variable is not a continuous function, "layer depth" in microns: it is a two-valued function, "change" vs. "no change".

Toshiba would have been giving up all the advantages of their plan, without getting any of the advantages of Sony's -- I wouldn't have proposed it if I were serious, so I doubt they were. It's a Japanese thing, about giving your opponent a chance to reject an alternative which is unacceptable to you too.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Sounds like you believe those meeting were a complete waste of time, as neither party was serious about not getting into a format war.
I thought neither side wanted (or was for) a format war, just neither side was willing to give up its position of strength.
The only hope I saw was the layer compromise or a universal player. Neither of which has come to pass. So, I guess it does not even really count if Tosh's offer was real or not. Cause in the end, it doesn't even matter!