Dave's Download

Blu-ray Faces New Toshiba Competitor, Despite Denials

By David LaGesse

Posted: August 18, 2008

Having lost a format war to Sony and its Blu-ray disks, Toshiba made good on a promise to emphasize "near-HD" players for standard DVDs. The new "upconverting" players start with the $150 XD-E500 that Toshiba says will push boring ol' DVDs closer to a high-definition image.

Now, Toshiba execs are quick to say the new drives are not meant to "replace, kill, or compete with" Blu-ray.

Right. Who believes that?

Maybe Toshiba gave up partly because it realized that new upconverting drives would dilute sales of new and more expensive HD players. The long, expensive battle it faced just wasn't worth it.

Either way, Toshiba would clearly prefer consumers stick with DVDs rather than sink money into Sony's pockets.

Laughable

Yep. Tosh is SOOOO confident in this technology that they are not showing demos compared to a blu-ray player (not even upconversion comparisons).

All the blu-hating pundits talk about how J6P won't buy blu because they don't need or get it. Well, the electronic-buying masses aren't going to pay $150 or $200 for an upconverting player when you can buy them for under $50, either.

So I'm curious, for those who were into it then: Did Sony act like a little b!+ch when VHS beat beta? I only ask because this just doesn't make good business sense to me, at all.

Robert of GA @ Aug 19, 2008 14:42:53 PM

Makes sense

I have a PS3 and a 52" 1080p TV. Yet I've only actually watched two Blu-ray movies on it; upconverted DVDs look just fine for dramas or comedies or just about anything except special-effect-heavy blockbusters. (I don't generally <i>need</i> to see every pore on the skin of most actresses, let alone actors.) I can't really hear much of a difference in the sound, though we don't have a higher-end sound system.

We can watch DVDs almost anywhere in the house, including in bed upstairs; we can only watch Blu-ray in one room. More people are getting TVs that can actually display in HD, but they are still going to be the minority for some time to come. Even then, once people have spent hundreds of dollars (minimum) for an HD display, they're not usually terribly willing to part with more hundreds of dollars for a Blu-ray player. DVDs will be around for a long time to come.

Then there's the looming arrival of downloadable movies - physical media like discs may not be around forever. I expect Blu-ray's peak is still a few years away, but then the decline will set in not long after.

Ray Ingles of MI @ Aug 19, 2008 11:38:31 AM

Blu-ray is already extending beyond niche

Laserdisc was niche.

A niche market means a small distinct market with little growth potential.

Blu-ray still has a tremendous upswing potential. All I hear are a few die-hard HD DVD fanantics who can't accept that the better format won. Players are no longer $1000. Disc prices are still a little high, but Blu-rays are easily available for rental through Blockbuster's online program and at many of their local stores. Blu-ray rental options are far beyond what DVD was at this point in its lifecycle.

Watch out! With the huge summer blockbuster hitting the Blu-ray format before the holiday we could very well see the first 1M selling title. My money is on THE DARK KNIGHT.

Toshiba's new system is just marketing hype. Any consumer who truly wants HD content should realize nothing is going to magically turn standard definition content into HD content.

CaW of MN @ Aug 19, 2008 11:19:28 AM

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Our in-house gadget guru, Senior Writer David LaGesse, checks out the latest technologies and gizmos, from computer software to GPS systems -- and reports back to you in plain English.


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