Toshiba defiant after HD DVD setback
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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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A group of movie studios threw support Monday behind Toshiba Corp.&#39;s high-definition HD-DVD format and, thereby, drew a line in the sand against Sony Corp.
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Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.T) said on  Tuesday it would stop promoting its HD DVD format for the  next-generation DVD after losing the support of key studios and  retailers to the Blu-ray technology backed by Sony Corp  (6758.T).
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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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Toshiba will discontinue its HD DVD products, it said Tuesday, handing victory to rival high definition disc format Blu-ray Disc.The company will no longer develop, manufacture, and market HD DVD players and recorders.It will reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail markets and aims to cease the businesses altogether by the end of March.But the Japanese electronics giant pledged to provide full product support and after-sales service for owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.Recent changes in the market prompted the decision, Toshiba said. Early this year,&#160;Warner Bros. said it would stop issuing movies on HD DVD&#160;in the coming months and rely exclusively on Blu-ray Disc. The Hollywood studio was one of three major studios remaining in the HD DVD camp, and its defection created widespread belief that the battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc was now over.More recently, major U.S. retail chain&#160;Wal-Mart announced it would phase out the sale of HD DVD products, moving to exclusivity with Blu-ray Disc. Electronics retailer Best Buy also said it would back Blu-ray Disc, but it did not say it would stop offering HD DVD.Warner made its decision based on consumer confusion and indifference to high definition movies, an indifference that cost Hollywood in lost revenue, it said. Wal-Mart said U.S. customers preferred Blu-ray Disc movies and hardware. Blu-ray Disc is the high definition disc format championed by Sony.&quot;This once again shows why incompatible and mutually exclusive formats should be avoided at all cost by the industry,&quot; said Carl Gressum, a senior analyst at Ovum. &quot;It reduces profitability and delays customer adoption.&quot;&quot;The big question is, however, the impacts on Toshiba as an electronics company,&quot; he added. &quot;It has after all bet its disc media business on HD DVD, as well as gone for HD DVD integration into some of its laptop PCs. The channel has inventory to clear, and demands from owners of HD DVD players.&quot;Toshiba said its decision came after careful analysis of the long-term impact of continuing the format war, and said a swift decision was called for to help the high definition market develop.The company also pledged to remain a player in the high definition market. Developing HD DVD created many assets for Toshiba and its partners, which include Microsoft, Intel, HP, and Universal Studios, the company said. Toshiba plans to work with these companies to seek future business opportunities.&#160;&#160;
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November 29, 2004 - After months of momentum for Blu-ray, HD-DVD has shot back with a big gain - studio support. Toshiba Corp., which has been developing the HD-DVD format, announced it has lined up Warner Bros.
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The Toshiba Corporation is planning to give up on its HD DVD format, formally conceding defeat to the competing Blu-ray technology backed by Sony.
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While the format war rages, movies must still be watched Review The HD format wars may be inching forward on the content front, but on the hardware side Toshiba has made a very aggressive move with the HD-EP30 - an HD DVD player which could be yours for less than Â£200. Not only that, but if you buy one now youâll get seven HD DVD discs thrown in for free.â¦
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So why buy HD DVD discs then? A week after the battle with Blu-ray Disc swung further toward that rival format, Toshiba said it will promote its players on their ability to upscale standard-definition content for HDTVs.â¦
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Toshiba said four major Hollywood studios had thrown their crucial weight behind High Definition DVD (HD-DVD), one of two disc formats contending to be the standard in next-generation DVDs.
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Troubled format doomed, claim Japanese moles Toshiba's board of directors will this week meet to put and end to the company's production of HD DVD machines, it has been claimed.â¦
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Demise could be 'a matter of weeks' away Is Toshiba about to fall on its sword and announce the demise of HD DVD? That's certainly what one report citing an unnamed mole within the HD DVD camp is claiming, even though Toshiba itself - surprise, surprise - is having none of it.â¦
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Japan's Toshiba Corp.  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'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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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 announced this week that it is aiming to sell laptop computers loaded with its next generation DVD drive by next year. Toshiba&#39;s next generation standard, called HD DVD, is in competition with the
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Shares surge on claim it'll ditch format Toshiba shares jumped today more six per cent today as investors voiced their approval of the company's alleged decision to abandon the HD DVD optical disc format.â¦