Toshiba releases statement about WB announcement to go Blu

[Fettastic]

This is better than I could have ever imagined! Instead of admitting defeat and bowing out gracefully, they're going to pitch a fit and threaten lawsuits! Toshiba, you just made a great day even better!

[bluskiessmingatme]

You know what sucks? In Japanese culture, it's the WORST thing to lose in ANY way possible. I feel sorry for Toshiba. For a while, I thought they had the format war in their hands.

Um, hello, Sony is a Japanese company, too. So feel good for them that they won.

[MikeAK]

Toshiba may bail in a sense that they just don't fight anymore. They just keep making players but ride it out. If they just dropped everything HD DVD on Monday then maybe you could somehow conjure up something to sue them over. But what? The product you bought from them still works and there was no guarantee or contract that it would be supported.

Was any other format subjected to class action lawsuits from its consumers like Beta, MD, SACD, DVD Audio, Laserdisc, etc?

I agree with you. People are dreaming if they believe they could get a class action going over this. I also believe that Toshiba will do what you suggested in that they will stop fighting and ride it out for the rest of the year. Any one who thinks or wants to start a class action just because they are invested in a format that may or may not be dieing is in dream land. This is what happends when you're an "early adopter".

[hellgrammite00]

This is better than I could have ever imagined! Instead of admitting defeat and bowing out gracefully, they're going to pitch a fit and threaten lawsuits! Toshiba, you just made a great day even better!

Well if there were any break in contractual obligations, then legal matters may be at hand.

Now we are left with the evil empire in charge. HD-DVD isnt dead though from this, but it will take a hit.

But if toshiba makes dual players....I would get into that.

[bluskiessmingatme]

How does the press release lead to the conclusion "Toshiba has issued a statement in response to Warner's announcement that it plans to drop HD DVD support, and back Blu-ray exclusively."

It doesn't say that in the press release, it says "
We will assess the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluate potential next steps. We remain firm in our belief that HD DVD is the format best suited to the wants and needs of the consumer."


It seems to me they are saying they are not giving up...

airwedge, the title is a little confusing and I think you are misreading it. It is not saying that Toshiba has issued a statement that it plans to drop HD DVD support etc. It is saying it has issued a statement about WARNER's announcement to drop HD DVD.

[cyberlaz]

Well if there were any break in contractual obligations, then legal matters may be at hand.

Now we are left with the evil empire in charge. HD-DVD isnt dead though from this, but it will take a hit.

But if toshiba makes dual players....I would get into that.

I am thinking that the only reason Warner is going to continue to release on HD DVD until the end of May is because of some sort of contract obligations.

You are naive if you think that they are doing it to be nice. They could give a rat's ass about people's feelings. They want your money. Nothing more. I am not singleing out Warner either. This is true for GE, Sony, Microsoft, Paramount, Disney, Fox, Toshiba, Panasonic, etc.

[daryle]

I do feel bad for Toshiba, they are a decent company who gave us DVD. I have a feeling they got suckered in to supporting HD DVD instead of compromising with the BDA by Microsoft. I hope this sells millions of PS3's and while Sony and Toshiba make money off of it, MS loses many more billions for its crap software and hardware.

I'd rather an American company made billions of dollars rather than a Japanese company. Good thing you don't live in America because if Microsoft ever went broke and most of their business went to a country outside, you (and your family / friends) would feel the economic impact. But since you don't live in America, god bless your opinion.

[Fettastic]

Unlike the Warner decision, the Paramount decision made logical sense. HD DVD is the only format ready for mass production and also the only one with a complete player at affordable prices for the consumer.

Warner's move is anti-consumer, the Paramount move was not.

So hilarious that some of you are still clinging to the BS talking points of HD DVD!

Blu-ray Has:

More capacity
More bitrate
More memory cache
More lossless
More studios
More CE companies
More flexible menus/games

But because Toshiba put out a bunch of cheap-assed players that glitched and couldn't even output waht was on the disc (1080p), HD DVD was better for the consumer?

You don't have to carry Toshiba's water anymore. You have been freed, embrace it.

[mrkbevan]

Um, hello, Sony is a Japanese company, too. So feel good for them that they won.

Well if Sony won, it is the consumer that is the real loser. Are people dumb enough to think the blu-ray is going to continue bogo sales? Do you see any reason for downward pressure (read competition) on the price of players? If you look at the suggested retail price of Fox and Sony, you will see that their disks are priced pretty high, do you think that there will be any drop.

Warner only screwed themselves from my perspective, Since I honestly believe that both my sony (PS3 and stand alone) pq is not on the same level as the HD-DVD players, I will not replace any of my 500 standard dvd movies for a format that isn't on the same level as HD-DVD. If it does die, I'll grab a couple players on clearance and sit back until Blu gets it's act together, and produces something worth seeing.

[Gordon Werner]

please provide a link to anything official that says WB was paid anything to switch to BD exclusively

[Brahma]

You know what sucks?

In Japanese culture, it's the WORST thing to lose in ANY way possible. I feel sorry for Toshiba. For a while, I thought they had the format war in their hands.

Do you think harikari is in order?

[pjarvi]

You know what sucks?

In Japanese culture, it's the WORST thing to lose in ANY way possible. I feel sorry for Toshiba. For a while, I thought they had the format war in their hands.

Exactly, one can only imagine how suicidal execs at Sony must be over the abysmal sales of the PS3.

[Gutter21]

WTF they talking about contracts and being suprised for
Didnt act suprised when they bought paramount and signed the contracts

[Gordon Werner]

I think this quote from Warner Bros. says it all

“Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and drive down hardware prices,” said Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros. Entertainment. “Today’s decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner.”

“A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry,” said Tsujihara. “Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience. Warner Bros. has worked very closely with the Toshiba Corporation in promoting high definition media and we have enormous respect for their efforts. We look forward to working with them on other projects in the future.”

[irrob]

At this point, I could care less what Toshiba and any Red fanboy has to say. Lets hope for the final demise of HD DVD sooner rather than later.