Toshiba boss: Company not going Blu

" Toshiba boss: Company not going Blu.

Blu-ray and DVD news

By Henning Molbaek
First published Feb 19, 2008
Story last updated Feb 19, 2008

Update: More details.

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Todays press conference in Japan had Toshiba CEO comment on possible Blu-ray products now that they have discontinued HD DVD.

Toshiba CEO Nishida said Toshiba has "absolutely no plans" to make or sell Blu-ray players.

Wall Street Journal also writes, "Though the latest development is a huge setback, Mr. Nishida said Toshiba was still committed to electronics and it planned to rethink its vision for the business. In a hint of the direction the company might take, he said Toshiba might think about its role in the online video-downloading market more seriously. Toshiba has no plans to start selling Blu-ray players, he said."

As written in their press release, "Toshiba also intends to maintain collaborative relations with the companies who joined with Toshiba in working to build up the HD DVD market, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks Animation and major Japanese and European content providers on the entertainment side, as well as leaders in the IT industry, including Microsoft, Intel, and HP. Toshiba will study possible collaboration with these companies for future business opportunities, utilizing the many assets generated through the development of HD DVD."

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Onyxx

Feb 19, 2008 - CST 6:16 AM

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Good, they should stick to making refrigerators!

[Post edited by Onyxx on Feb 19, 2008 - CST 6:17 AM]

chesterchan2005

Feb 19, 2008 - CST 6:42 AM

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Hope Toshiba make something new to beat Blu ray! may be HD DVD 2?

ReaggieP

Feb 19, 2008 - CST 6:45 AM

says... Still dislikes Sony...

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Now that's ignorant.

Anyways, I think we will not hear from Toshiba for quite some time again. They may announce ground breaking breakthroughs on those other technologies, but I have a feeling it will be two years or more before a Blu-Ray deck comes out. Reason why, 90% of the market is still on DVD. Blu-Ray may be the Winner today, but over 240 million alone still own DVD, and there are only 9 million BR users. HD may or may not grow as quickly as they had hoped...

If anything, the next generation Upconversion DVD players are going to be revolutionary...

StevePro

Feb 19, 2008 - CST 6:55 AM

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I agree. For now, they will probably concentrate on producing superior upconverting players for the masses perhaps porting technology over from the HD DVD players. They won't dive into BD until the format gains a more widespread consumer base, if that ever happens. Having said that, I would not be suprised if there was not already a prototype Toshiba BD player locked away in some product development lab ready to go...

TheFatty

Feb 19, 2008 - CST 7:18 AM

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It’s a sad day,
The rose petals fall,
The sky turns black,
The people call out in the streets,
A man holds a disc,
Standing in his office,
A tear falls from his face,
The disc drops to the floor,
And what of paramount and universal,
Now HD DVD is no more...
The 19th of Feb,
The day Sony won a war,
First of their own,
But we have seen this evil before
RIP HD DVD

el_terrible

Feb 19, 2008 - CST 7:29 AM

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ReaggieP,

That brings up a good point... Toshiba could just say, "Why go Blu-Ray, try OUR Up-Converting DVD Player!" After all, what consumer wants to keep buying the same movies over and over again? The reality is that for many Blu-Ray would be relegated to new movie releases only and many might just say, "Hey, I'm not paying $25 - $30 for the BD version when the DVD is only $14 and my Toshiba Up-Convert works perfectly fine".

Could Toshiba stop the adoption of Blu-Ray with this approach? Nope, but they could significantly slow the media adoption if their player is cheap enough.

Skyhawk

Feb 19, 2008 - CST 7:35 AM

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Quote:
Could Toshiba stop the adoption of Blu-Ray with this approach? Nope, but they could significantly slow the media adoption if their player is cheap enough.

The market is already flooded with less than $100 standard DVD upconverting players. They are commodities. The DVD market has been diminishing. Toshiba may say they don't have plans to get into the Blu market right now, but I can't see how they could avoid not doing so eventually.

And why would you, or Toshiba for that matter, want to slow down high definition media adoption? Besides, you nor Toshiba can. Technological progress and its consumer adoption moves forward - not backward. Whether they make it public or not, it's in Toshiba's best interest to get on the Blu-wagon now and come out with a cheaper alternative.

markleville01

Feb 19, 2008 - CST 8:16 AM

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We will see how long that statement holds up. My guess probably not more than a year depending on how soon the player prices drop.

It will be in the best interests of all partys for toshiba to get in on blu. I personally would love to see toshiba enter in with a player of their own.

UjnHunter

Feb 19, 2008 - CST 8:49 AM

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guess I won't be buying movies anymore...

wii-lite

Feb 19, 2008 - CST 9:07 AM

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I don't blame Toshiba for not going Blu, after all it would be a case of the bully not only beating you up but also getting your lunch money as well (literally

). As I said before, the HD battle is over but the real war beggins, and Toshiba knows this. That's why they'll put their resources into further develop DVD technologies.