HD DVD Rising From The Dead Thanks To Crap Economy
You have to admit, this is hilarious. Back at the end of 2007, we wrongly predicted that HD DVD would win the format war with Blu-ray based on price alone. We were wrong as all the major Hollywood studios threw backing behind Blu-ray killing HD DVD in the process...or did they. Thanks to an economic recession, not only in the United States but globally, HD DVD is rising from the dead. Sure, Blu-ray disc sales have increased 53% since HD DVD's demise but with Blu-ray prices still ridiculously expensive and HD DVD player prices dropping as low as $60, people are buying HD DVD again.
In fact Buy.com has sold 1 million HD DVD players since the format officially packed 'er in and expects to sell 2-3 million from now until Christmas. Okay, sure HD DVD doesn't have the recent title releases that Blu-ray does but the players still playback DVD's and until Blu-ray prices decrease the majority of us are happy with good ol' standard def.
Even though Toshiba's HD DVD died earlier this year after a futile format war with HD competitor Blu-ray, the company remains true to its HD DVD fans with a firmware 4.0 update. Devoted to solving playback issues such as 1080/24p jaggies with MPEG-4 AVC-encoded titles and basic operational issues such as fast forward and rewind halting, firmware 4.0 applies to HD DVD's entire lineup. Included models: HD-A1, HD-XA1, HD-D1, HD-A35, HD-A2, HD-A2W, HD-A2C, HD-D2, HD-A20, HD-XA2, HD-A3, HD-D3, and the HD-A30 and believe it or not, if you have any compatibility problems with the update you can always contact HD DVD Concierge for assistance at 1-888-MYHDDVD.
Last HD DVD Flicks Hit US Shelves Today: Who Cares?
Although HD DVD died as a format earlier this year, today it'll officially see the end as the last HD DVD's will hit shelves in the US. Disco Pigs, an Irish flick, and Freedom: 6, an anime collection will hit shelves today; the last HD DVD's you'll ever see released in the US. If you're looking for a couple extra high-def DVD's to stick with your Beta collection, head over to Amazon where you'll find Disco Pigs for $21. The real question now is whether or not Blu-ray will ever hit the mainstream?
Toshiba's Bank Account Takes Massive Hit: Thanks HD DVD
Toshiba's Q1 numbers for 2008 are in, and not only did they face big losses from eliminating the HD disc format, they've taken big losses again. A 95% year-over-year profit loss is sure to send shareholders running for the hills and that's exactly what happened when Toshiba announced profits of only 1.25 billion yen ($12 million) at the end of Q1, as compared to 26.17 billion yen last year. Shares in Toshiba were down 2% at market close yesterday, and much thanks to HD DVD, quarterly revenue dropped 3%, net profit dropped 7% and the company suffered a 60.2 billion yen ($580 million US) operating loss. The only consolation to Toshiba is a forecasted 2% increase in net profits by this time next year. I gotta say, Toshiba really looks to be playing it safe with such a conservative number.
We missed this a couple days back, but in case you haven't heard yet, the HD DVD Promotion Group officially dissolved and removed their website March 28. Navigating to their homepage now will only net you this letter:
1975 Betamax Promotional Video Profiles The TiVo Of The 1970's
With so much talk about Blu-ray's defeat of HD DVD in the HD disc format war lately, we just had to show you this cool 1975 promotional video for Sony's Betamax. If you're a hardcore videophile that can remember back to the 1970's and 1980's you'll remember the Betamax/VHS format war from which VHS emerged victorious. The only remnant left of Betamax now is the slang term "betamaxed" referring to a product with a relatively short shelf life. I guess HD DVD was betamaxed.
Interesting how Betamax marketed its product as a kind of TiVo of its generation.
The cost of the death of HD DVD to Toshiba isn't as high as the $986 million originally reported. Toshiba has announced officially that the expected HD DVD loss will be $665.5 million for the 2007 fiscal year ending March 31. This is close to double Toshiba's 2006 fiscal year loss from HD DVD of $348.1 million.
HD DVD isn't the only consumer electronics business from which Toshiba will take a hit. The company's projected operating loss from LCD is $122.8 million. Across all company units, the revised net income projection for the 2007 year ending March 31 is $1.28 billion, down from the original forecast of 1.84 billion, a 30.6% decrease.
Best Buy will be sending out $50 gift cards to the poor souls who were duped into buying the now-defunct HD DVD player before February 23, 2008. Of course, this only applies to HD DVD owners who bought the merchandise at Best Buy. If this describes you, you should be receiving the gift card automatically in the mail within the next few weeks, but if you haven't received your pity money by May 1 just call 1-888-BEST-BUY with your receipt or credit card statement.
This Friday you'll also be able to trade in your used HD DVD player at BestBuyTradeIn.com, probably netting you another $50 or so.
Toshiba v2.0 Firmware Update Brings Jaggies To MPEG4/AVC Disc Playback
Toshiba's v2.0 firmware update, which enables 1080p24 output on the company's HD-A30 and HD-A35 HD DVD players, apparently causes jaggies when MPEG4/AVC discs are played in 1080p24. This is the same problem Toshiba had with the HD-XA2 update last September, but this time we're wondering if a fix will be provided. With HD DVD's demise, it may not be worth the time and money to develop and provide a patch for the flawed update-on Toshiba's part anyway. The company is already lost close to $1 billion to the failed HD disc format, so pissing off its remaining customers probably isn't in the company's best interests. A fix from Toshiba might not be completely necessary though, as the HD enthusiasts at the AVS Forum have already came up with a couple of workarounds for the problem.
Samsung BD-UP5000 HD DVD/Blu-ray Combo Player Gets v1.2 Firmware Update
Samsung still seems to be trying to revive their ailing BD-UP5000 HD DVD/Blu-ray combo player, even after the BD-UP5500 was canceled in part because of chronic compatibility issues and customer complaints with the BD-UP5000. With firmware update v1.2, Samsung aims to "fix the network connection error" inherent in the BD-UP5000 (if you own the model, give us some details in the comments). Samsung seems to be spending a lot of time and money doting of the player's fragile nature with firmware update v1.2 the second update in as many months. We just wonder if its worth it with HD DVD out of the picture.
The Cost Of Losing The HD Disc Format War? $986 Million, Says Toshiba
Toshiba will post a loss of $986 million this year thanks to the discontinuation of HD DVD, doubling the expected losses from the HD disc format before the electronics company announced its decision to nix the format. The added loss is thanks to production line changes as Toshiba moves its core business focus to flash memory cards. A Toshiba spokesperson refused to comment on the numbers as they haven't been officially announced by the company, but were reported by Japanese news source Nikkei.
Gizmodo has done some remarkable detective work and uncovered Circuit City's clandestine attempt to allow trade-ins for deadpool HD DVD players. Those who have bought HD DVD players can bring them back to Circuit City and trade them in for a Blu-ray player or a gift card refund for the original purchase price. Apparently Circuit City wanted to offer world-class customer service to their valued customers by not telling anyone about the return policy. Some employees are still denying that it exists. Here's an internal memo from a Circuit City employee forum that says otherwise...
Samsung's BD-UP5500 Blu-ray/HD DVD Player Canceled
If you've been waiting for the release of the second-generation Samsung BD-UP5500 Blu-ray/HD DVD hybrid player, you can wait no more. That's because it will never be released. With Blu-ray winning the 2-year-long battle with HD DVD in combination with the compatibility issues with Samsung's first generation BD-UP5000, Samsung looks to have exited the hybrid market.
The Real Reason HD DVD Is Dead: It Wasn't Warner Or A $400 Million Payoff
While the general consensus is that Warner Bros. decision to release their movie titles exclusively on Blu-ray was the last straw in the format war, sealing the fate of HD DVD, general manager of storage device strategy for Matsushita, Masayuki Kozuka says otherwise.
Remember the hoopla surrounding the $99 (and in some places cheaper) Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player available from Wal-mart and Best Buy just before Black Friday? According to Kozuka, this pricing strategy was the worst thing Toshiba could have done for HD DVD. By introducing such low prices, Toshiba effectively discouraged new manufacturers from producing HD DVD players. For the most part, Toshiba had the only established series of HD DVD players on the market. Up until this point, standalone HD DVD players were actually outselling standalone Blu-ray players, but by Christmas Blu-ray had a clear lead. So it turns out that maybe Warner Bros. never killed HD DVD, nor did any backroom $400 million payoff, a pre-Black Friday sale did.
Now that HD DVD is dead, movie studios will aim to move the DVD market to Blu-ray, expecting movie titles sales to increase from 7 million last year to 50 million this year. And what about the meme floating around the web stating that Blu-ray will be the next format to go at the hands of digital downloads. Not going to happen anytime soon, says Kozuka, adding that 7-8 years from now could be a totally different story.
HD DVD Rising From The Dead Thanks To Crap Economy
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