HD-DVD: coming soon to a shop near you
By Louisa Hearn
April 3, 2006 - 11:10AM
Toshiba has rolled out the world's first high-definition DVD player in Japan, beating the rival Blu-ray format backed by arch rival Sony into the market.
Toshiba said its new HD DVD machines, released on Friday, would sell for about ¥110,000 ($1300) in Japan.
However, Australian home cinema buffs must sweat it out until the second half of the year to get their hands on the next-generation optical disc technology.
At the core of high definition DVD formats is technology that allows discs to store data at the higher densities needed for high-definition movies and television shows.
Toshiba plans to launch a range of units in the US later this month costing from $US499 ($699) to $US799, depending on the spec.
It is also the only manufacturer with concrete plans to deliver to Australia this year, but, in terms of dates, the most specific estimate from its local distributor is "the mid- to latter half of this year" and no local prices have been set.
The next company scheduled to roll out its hardware is Samsung, which has backed Sony's rival Blu-ray format. It plans to deliver its first machine to the US market in July and anticipates bringing the unit to Australia in January next year. The company said recording features would be bundled in all models, pushing up its price to between $US900 and $US1000.
Sony and Panasonic, also on the Blu-ray side of the format divide, have both also announced their own products but neither yet has any details on when they might land in Australia.
"Why do we need next-generation optical disc players now? Because viewers are increasingly asking for them as HD TVs spread rapidly," said Yoshihide Fujii, Toshiba's senior vice-president, at a news conference.
"The media often describes Blu-ray [discs] as high capacity and HD [DVDs] as low cost. But HD DVD does not fall behind Blu-ray even in capacity," he added.
But the battle between the two formats has divided both Hollywood and the computer industry, as each side jostles for a leadership position in the multibillion-dollar market.
So, even though Japan has got its hands on the hardware before everyone else, content might be a little thin on the ground, at least in the short term.
Warner Home Video recently announced it would launch only three HD DVD titles this month. These will be Million Dollar Baby, The Phantom of the Opera and The Last Samurai.
Universal and Paramount each plan to make 10 titles available initially, but neither has yet given firm dates on their release and neither is expected to support the HD DVD format exclusively.
On the other side of the fence, Disney and 20th Century Fox are expected to line up behind the Blu-ray format, with no current content plans for the HD DVD standard that NEC, Microsoft and Intel have also put their weight behind.
But there are other issues besides rivalry to be considered by those mulling their high-definition futures. It is not yet apparent whether the market can sustain two rival formats and, as with the Betamax v VHS video wars, those that get stuck in the wrong camp will eventually have to bear the cost of replacing both their hardware and content investment.
Sony is hoping the release of the new PlayStation 3 gaming console that includes a Blu-ray player, will help to swing the balance in its favour, but HD DVD units from its rival Toshiba are hitting the shelves first and are expected to be cheaper than the Blu-ray devices.
On top of all of this, new DRM (digital rights management) technologies built into the Blu-ray and HD DVD standards are only believed to support monitors with HD TVs with HDMI or DVI connections, meaning that the early adopters of the technology, that bought into it before such connections were available, might not be able to view their movies in high definition at all.
Business Week reported that at least one of the major studios is planning to downgrade the picture quality unless consumers hook their players through an expensive specialist cable designed to prevent piracy.
With Reuters
Source
By Louisa Hearn
April 3, 2006 - 11:10AM
Toshiba has rolled out the world's first high-definition DVD player in Japan, beating the rival Blu-ray format backed by arch rival Sony into the market.
Toshiba said its new HD DVD machines, released on Friday, would sell for about ¥110,000 ($1300) in Japan.
However, Australian home cinema buffs must sweat it out until the second half of the year to get their hands on the next-generation optical disc technology.
At the core of high definition DVD formats is technology that allows discs to store data at the higher densities needed for high-definition movies and television shows.
Toshiba plans to launch a range of units in the US later this month costing from $US499 ($699) to $US799, depending on the spec.
It is also the only manufacturer with concrete plans to deliver to Australia this year, but, in terms of dates, the most specific estimate from its local distributor is "the mid- to latter half of this year" and no local prices have been set.
The next company scheduled to roll out its hardware is Samsung, which has backed Sony's rival Blu-ray format. It plans to deliver its first machine to the US market in July and anticipates bringing the unit to Australia in January next year. The company said recording features would be bundled in all models, pushing up its price to between $US900 and $US1000.
Sony and Panasonic, also on the Blu-ray side of the format divide, have both also announced their own products but neither yet has any details on when they might land in Australia.
"Why do we need next-generation optical disc players now? Because viewers are increasingly asking for them as HD TVs spread rapidly," said Yoshihide Fujii, Toshiba's senior vice-president, at a news conference.
"The media often describes Blu-ray [discs] as high capacity and HD [DVDs] as low cost. But HD DVD does not fall behind Blu-ray even in capacity," he added.
But the battle between the two formats has divided both Hollywood and the computer industry, as each side jostles for a leadership position in the multibillion-dollar market.
So, even though Japan has got its hands on the hardware before everyone else, content might be a little thin on the ground, at least in the short term.
Warner Home Video recently announced it would launch only three HD DVD titles this month. These will be Million Dollar Baby, The Phantom of the Opera and The Last Samurai.
Universal and Paramount each plan to make 10 titles available initially, but neither has yet given firm dates on their release and neither is expected to support the HD DVD format exclusively.
On the other side of the fence, Disney and 20th Century Fox are expected to line up behind the Blu-ray format, with no current content plans for the HD DVD standard that NEC, Microsoft and Intel have also put their weight behind.
But there are other issues besides rivalry to be considered by those mulling their high-definition futures. It is not yet apparent whether the market can sustain two rival formats and, as with the Betamax v VHS video wars, those that get stuck in the wrong camp will eventually have to bear the cost of replacing both their hardware and content investment.
Sony is hoping the release of the new PlayStation 3 gaming console that includes a Blu-ray player, will help to swing the balance in its favour, but HD DVD units from its rival Toshiba are hitting the shelves first and are expected to be cheaper than the Blu-ray devices.
On top of all of this, new DRM (digital rights management) technologies built into the Blu-ray and HD DVD standards are only believed to support monitors with HD TVs with HDMI or DVI connections, meaning that the early adopters of the technology, that bought into it before such connections were available, might not be able to view their movies in high definition at all.
Business Week reported that at least one of the major studios is planning to downgrade the picture quality unless consumers hook their players through an expensive specialist cable designed to prevent piracy.
With Reuters
Source
