Toshiba 'disappointed' over Warner Bros. decision
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The biggest hardware backer of the HD DVD format responds to Warner Bros. recent decision to back Blu-ray exclusively.
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES  - Toshiba Corp  may  not have officially given up on its HD DVD format for high  definition DVDs, but the word on the street on Sunday was that  rival Sony Corp's  Blu-ray had won the war.
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Toshiba Corp says it has won support for the HD DVD optical disc standard from Warner Bros Studios, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures and New Line Cinema, advancing its cause in the battle for the next-generation DVD.
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Toshiba Corp is planning to give up on  its HD DVD format for high-definition video, conceding defeat  to the competing Blu-Ray technology backed by Sony Corp, a  company source said on Saturday.
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Japan&#39;s Toshiba Corp. (6502.T) has  lowered its sales target for high definition DVD players and  recorders on slower-than-expected unit sales in the U.S.,  putting a damper on Toshiba&#39;s prospects in one of its growth  businesses.
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Japan's Toshiba is considering abandoning its HD DVD format for high definition DVDs, as it is losing the battle for market dominance against rival Sony's Blu-ray format, an industry source said Monday.
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Toshiba Corp  is planning to give  up on its HD DVD format for high definition DVDs, conceding  defeat to the competing Blu-Ray technology backed by Sony Corp  , a company source said on Saturday.
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Japan's Toshiba Corp  surrendered  in the high-definition home movie war on Tuesday, giving up on  its HD DVD format after losing the support of key studios and  retailers to the Blu-ray technology backed by Sony Corp  .
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Microsoft Corp  does not  expect sales of its Xbox 360 game console to suffer if Toshiba  Corp  discontinues HD DVD technology, Microsoft said in  a statement on Monday.
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Toshiba Corp. executives had a tough moment Sunday, when they had to face reporters just two days after its HD DVD format was dealt a potentially fatal blow by the defection of Warner Bros. Entertainment to a rival technology.
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The decision by&#160;Warner Bros. to drop HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray Disc&#160;for high-definition movies has set the electronics industry abuzz. Announced on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show, the move put a single question in the minds of thousands of industry-insiders heading to the show in Las Vegas: Could the high-definition format wars be over?Since both formats launched they have been locked in a battle that pitted some of the industry&#39;s biggest consumer electronics companies against each other. Backing Blu-ray Disc has been Sony, Panasonic and Samsung, while HD DVD&#39;s main supporters have been Toshiba, Microsoft and Intel.The battle also divided Hollywood and left consumers with a difficult choice: their favorite movies were likely split between the two formats and there was a risk the player they bought would become irrelevant. As a result consumers kept away from the formats and sales have been sluggish.Warner&#39;s decision will give Blu-ray Disc an advantage in terms of content. With the move, five of the big seven Hollywood studios now back Blu-ray Disc with only two, Paramount and Universal, backing HD DVD.The Warner announcement certainly put the HD DVD Promotion Group&#39;s CES plans in disarray. Within hours of the announcement, the group cancelled its scheduled Sunday-evening news conference and subsequent media interviews at CES.&quot;They&#39;re definitely regrouping and considering their options at the moment, this could be extremely important,&quot; said Tom Coughlin, a storage analyst at Coughlin Associates. &quot;This could be the beginning of a major pivotal turning point in the high-def format war, which if we could define the format which is going to win would be extremely important for the industry because this would free up consumers to start making decisions on the purchase of their systems.&quot;Better sales would help consumer electronics manufacturers increase production and that would in turn lead to lower prices, said Coughlin. Those lower prices would then lead to better sales and that would help the entire industry, he said.Warner touched on the format battle&#39;s impact on the consumer electronics industry in a statement announcing its move.&quot;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,&quot; said Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner&#39;s home entertainment group in a statement.Whether or not the fight is really over remains to be seen.Toshiba said it was &quot;quite surprised&quot; by the announcement from Warner &quot;despite the fact that there are various contracts in place between our companies concerning the support of HD DVD.&quot;&quot;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,&quot; Toshiba said in a statement.For some, the Warner decision marks the end of the format battle.&quot;I think the war is over. HD DVD has lost. It really is game-over for Toshiba and the other vendors,&quot; said Robin Harris, an analyst with Data Mobility Group. &quot;The basic issue is not technology. It&#39;s about distribution, it&#39;s about marketing, it&#39;s about content and Blu-ray has been winning the content war for sometime. I don&#39;t know why [Toshiba] keeps pouring money into it, it&#39;s time to stop.&quot;Harris credited Sony&#39;s inclusion of Blu-ray Disc in the PlayStation 3 with being one of the instrumental moves in winning the fight for Blu-ray Disc.&quot;I think Sony&#39;s brilliant move and one of the few they have made in this effort is putting Blu-ray into PS3,&quot; he said. &quot;Even though PS3 hasn&#39;t sold so well in the console wars, in terms of being a platform for Blu-ray distribution it&#39;s been a success for them and I think that&#39;s what really put Blu-ray over the top.&quot;The praise comes as Sony has finally started to see PlayStation 3 sales pick-up after a year of sluggish sales. Ironically the company has been often criticized by analysts and the media for the inclusion of Blu-ray Disc in the device as that contributed to a high price that put many consumers off buying the high-def games console.&#160;
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Four major movie studios give support to Toshiba's HD DVD format.  Also: Sony gives details on new computer chip & hellip;.  Kazaa adds free internet phone calls to its repetoire & hellip;. and more.
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The high-definition DVD format war has not been won, at least not in the minds of the retailers. Last week, Time Warner Inc's  Warner Bros studio said it would exclusively release high-definition DVDs in Blu-ray format instead of Toshiba Corp's  competing HD DVD technology.
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By Kyodo News International, Tokyo  Jan. 31--TOKYO -- Toshiba Corp. on Wednesday revised downward its group  operating profit for this business year to 250 billion yen, compared with 270  billion yen estimated in October, due to sharp declines in flash memory  prices.
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Japan's Toshiba Corp  waved the  white flag in the home movie war, giving up on its HD DVD  format after losing the support of key studios and retailers to  the Blu-ray technology backed by Sony Corp .
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InfoWorld - The decision byÂ Warner Bros. to drop HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray DiscÂ for high-definition movies has set the electronics industry abuzz. Announced on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show, the move put a single question in the minds of thousands of industry-insiders heading to the show in Las Vegas: Could the high-definition format wars be over?
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More than a week after  being dealt a potentially mortal blow by the defection of  Warner Home Video to the Blu-ray Disc camp, HD DVD developer  Toshiba is striking back.