DailyTech - Toshiba Launches First HD-DVD Player

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Gadgets Toshiba Launches First HD-DVD Player
Tuan Nguyen (Blog) - March 31, 2006 6:43 PM

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16 comment(s) - last by masher2.. on Apr 3 at 3:17 PM

HD-DVD players and movies will be available in April

Toshiba today announced that it has launched the world's first commercially available HD-DVD player, the HD-XA1. The company said that the demand for high-definition content has grown significantly, and thus consumers are demanding HD players now more than ever. Interestingly, it was just last week that Toshiba said it would be holding off the launch of the new players because it felt that the market was just not ready for HD-DVD.

In a recent report, we indicated that movies on HD-DVD discs would start to become available to consumers by mid-April of this year. Despite how close the time frame is, Toshiba is insisting that its launch of the HD-XA1 in the United States should coincide with movies being available. Toshiba also plans to equip PCs with HD-DVD drives at a later date.

The new players are immediately available for purchase in Japan. The HD-XA1 will launch with a price tag of $799 USD.

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who cares?

By acejj26 on 3/31/2006 10:05:55 PM , Rating: 3

They waited for market saturation...until enough people had HDTV's to warrant making a high definition optical disc. And then they made it so that you can only watch the HD-DVD's using an HDMI connection, of which an overwhelming majority of HDTV's currently in consumers' homes did not have. So now, people who do go out and buy it are going to get home and either not be able to watch the movie or are going to see a downsampled 480p version of the movie, and they're going to take it back, claiming it is no better than their current DVD player. Good move, movie studios.

At least it seems that with Blu-Ray, Sony realized this before launch and they may enable the high-definition signal to be carried via component video, a connection I believe every HDTV sold has.

RE: who cares?

By retrospooty on 3/31/2006 11:28:30 PM , Rating: 2

Thats not it at all... They didnt wait. It was delayed for years, because a standard could not be agreed upon to produce the media. This is the HD-DVD vs Blue Ray war. If not for all that politcal BS, HD-DVD's and players would have been available years ago

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RE: who cares?

By mechwarrior1989 on 4/1/2006 1:31:18 AM , Rating: 2

I doubt they'd have been avalible years ago, there'd have been no point to release somethign like this years ago. The only reason I can see anyone needing HD-DVD's is for the capacity but that's about it. HD content just wasn't necessary when there were barely anyone with HD TV's. I think the market is still too small now but I'm sure it'll eventually grow into HD.

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RE: who cares?

By Wwhat on 4/1/2006 6:37:57 AM , Rating: 2

Years ago? I think they STILL didn't invent a longlasting blue laser and these units will probably even burn out in a year.
You should not buy into all the smoke of their blamegame.

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RE: who cares?

By MrPickins on 4/1/2006 11:27:40 AM , Rating: 2

I think you are confused about HDMI/HDCP .

HDCP (High-bandwith Digital Content Protection)is the copy protection standard required to play HD content from these drives (or any other type of protected content). HDCP has been around since 2003 or earlier, as my Sony HDTV purchased eary in that year supports HDCP over a DVI connection, and many other models I looked at at the time also featured this. And if you did any research around that time (I did :P ), most people in the know were recommending getting a HDCP compliant tv to be sure it's futureproof.

HDMI (High Definition Media Interface) is just a type of connector. Nothing more. It's also electrically compatible with DVI, with the addition of audio being included in the connection. It is not hard to find HDMI to DVI cords, and this is exactly what I plan to do when I finally have a device requiring a HDCP interface.

Also the chances of Blu-Ray allowing HD content over component is slim. The MPAA would have a fit.

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RE: who cares?

By Wwhat on 4/2/2006 5:28:58 PM , Rating: 2

I read the other day that HDMI doesn't support 10bit output so for hardware that supports something better than the HDMI standard you have to return to DVI, seems HDMI is not only just a way to make money on licenses but not even that technologically advanced, I guess that later they can bring out HDMI-2 and you can all buy new tv's and players and the manufacturers can pay a new license fee.
It's a win/win (NB. only for the people that own the HDMI group)

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RE: who cares?

By masher2

(blog) on 4/2/2006 11:35:38 PM , Rating: 2

> "Also the chances of Blu-Ray allowing HD content over component is slim. The MPAA would have a fit. "

Oops, all but one of the major studios has already announced they WILL allow this. Google "Image Constraint Token" for some references.

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RE: who cares?

By bjorn47 on 4/1/2006 10:19:12 PM , Rating: 2

So if you can only watch HD-DVD on HDCP connections, which afaik limits it to DVI/HDMI, and there's a HD-DVD addon coming for the Xbox 360, which at best have analog component connectors for HD... Who shot who in the foot here? Or is Microsoft actually prepared to break the copy-protection? I still don't get this.

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RE: who cares?

By Wwhat on 4/2/2006 5:33:32 PM , Rating: 2

The protection is at the discretion of the ones that bring out the media, so I guess you could play movies so old that they don't bother with that silly protection and chinese HDTV rips on your x360 then.
(Unless the x360 has HDCP support and licensekeys in its bios that I didn't hear about.)

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Market - what market?

By Haggar on 3/31/2006 8:32:35 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
it felt that the market was just not ready for HD-DVD

It never will be, those who spent $$$ on a new DVD player when it was first released with a top of a ranger plasma, aren't exactly going to purchase another DVD player and another Plasma which supports HDTV.

The market is screwed, only good for first time buyers...which are probably those who never thought it was worth it when plasma and DVD recorders came out...

$799 for a HD-DVD player, BARGAIN!!!

RE: Market - what market?

By masher2

(blog) on 3/31/2006 9:53:34 PM , Rating: 3

> "$799 for a HD-DVD player, BARGAIN!!!"

Toshiba's releasing both the HD-XA1, and HD-A1, a cheaper version that will be around $500.

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RE: Market - what market?

By Wwhat on 3/31/2006 9:55:12 PM , Rating: 2

I guess you could just burn the $299 difference in the garden.

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RE: Market - what market?

By braytonak on 4/1/2006 5:04:13 AM , Rating: 2

Hmm, I could be wrong, but anyone who bought a DVD player when they first came out would not have been able to purchase a plasma set because they weren't on the market back then. :-\

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RE: Market - what market?

By masher2

(blog) on 4/3/2006 2:05:03 AM , Rating: 2

In the US market at least, DVDs and Plasma TVs were released within a few months of each other.

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too early

By HardwareD00d on 4/3/2006 3:12:00 PM , Rating: 2

Methinks it is way too early to buy a HD-DVD player. With the relatively small amount of people with HDTVs, I can't imagine there will be much of a push by the movie industry to release HD discs. With the format war still underway, it is better to wait. HD-DVD may well go the way of BetaMax. We shall see.

RE: too early

By masher2

(blog) on 4/3/2006 3:17:30 PM , Rating: 2

> "I can't imagine there will be much of a push by the movie industry to release HD discs"

There's quite a few already announced and-- since HD players will play standard DVDs as well-- no real reason not to upgrade, given the low cost of the players.

> "With the format war still underway, it is better to wait. HD-DVD may well go the way of BetaMax"

I'll make a prediction here that HD-DVD will persist regardless. Either it'll supplant Blu Ray entirely, or dual-format players will allow HD-DVD and Blu Ray to both flourish...with most consumers rarely knowing the difference when they buy a disc. HD-DVD has just too much of an advantage in media price to lose out entirely.

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"When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song." -- Sony BMG attorney Jennifer Pariser