Toshiba to launch Blu-Ray rival in 6mths

[CorCentral]

Link


This new DVD format will offer video quality comparable to that produced by Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs according to Toshiba.

Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Toshiba plans to begin selling a DVD player based on the new technology within six months and will be backwards-compatible with standard DVD discs. Its price will be lower than Blu-ray sources said.

 

[BassBomb]

wtf

 

[vi edit]

Obviously the billion dollar lesson called HD-DVD didn't teach them much.

 

[cubby1223]

There's a reason why none of the major news outlets have picked up on this story.

I'll bet dollars to pennies this never reaches retail shelves. Nor will it be able to match Blu-ray, or even HD DVD quality.

 

[Shawn]

I don't think so. They are coming out with a new upconverting player that is supposed to have superior upconversion to even a Reon. But that's about it. It's still 480p.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Shawn
I don't think so. They are coming out with a new upconverting player that is supposed to have superior upconversion to even a Reon. But that's about it. It's still 480p.

And no improvements in colors or sound.

 

[krotchy]

Sounds like this is the Cell Processor based DVD player they have been talking about, not necessarily a brand new format.

 

[dwell]

The press won't be as kind to them this time around.

 

[cubby1223]

Nor retailers after handing out all the $100 refunds few months ago.

 

[Shawn]

There is a reason they say it's fully backwards compatible... it's just a dvd player folks. Nothing to see here. Move along.

 

[cubby1223]

Just from what's been put out in other tid-bits around the net, it's supposed to be kind of a whole new format, kind of like the hybrid HD DVD discs. Backwards compatible with dvd players, but with extra information packed in somewhere for the new players to read and make use of. In other words, it's more than just a upscaling player.

Unless the unlikely event that Blu-ray tanks badly this year, such a product from Toshiba will never sit on any retailer's shelf.

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/n...ed-dvd-compete-blu-ray

 

[BurnItDwn]

If it really does upscale DVDs significantly better than all the existing upscaling DVD players, then there will be a nice niche market for it. There are lots of us out there who own 500+ DVDs and we do not plan on re-buying movies in Bluray or whatever the next generation is after that....

 

[erwos]

If it's just an extension to the DVD format, this actually sounds like a good idea. Most DVDs aren't taking up the full space on the disc, and if you can get better upscaling by slapping some extra information onto the disc, it sounds like a winner. Like it or not, BR-Ds just aren't available for every new DVD release, especially when it comes to TV on DVD.

 

[Slick5150]

Yeah, there is potential here. Superbit DVDs gained popularity for awhile, but they just used higher sample rates. If you could instead use the extra space for extra color depth or better audio, then you might be onto something.

 

[cubby1223]

There's potential, but there are also logistical issues getting a new product out. HD DVD was in development for ~4 years before retail release. Blu-ray ~7 years before retail release. Companies don't just roll out new products with the snap of a finger. Then after all that is done, a company still has to convince retailers to carry and market the product. Less than a year removed from the hi-def format war, not going to happen.

At best these rumors are nothing more than a stall tactic to protect dvd royalty payments for a little while longer. I don't care if any of you stick to your dvd collections and upconverting players, just use a little common sense when these reports come out.


And we haven't even discussed pricing yet. Cheaper than the $300 Blu-ray players already out now? Their strategy once again would be to completely skip over the early adopter phase - you know, the people who actually spend the big $$...

 

[jtvang125]

Upscaled or not, dvds look horrible to me now. Unless it can improve detail and color to the level of BR, I'll stick with BR.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: cubby1223
There's potential, but there are also logistical issues getting a new product out. HD DVD was in development for ~4 years before retail release. Blu-ray ~7 years before retail release. Companies don't just roll out new products with the snap of a finger. Then after all that is done, a company still has to convince retailers to carry and market the product. Less than a year removed from the hi-def format war, not going to happen.

If it wasn't compatible with existing DVD players, you'd be right. But the infrastructure is all there - the studios just need to make some minor changes to how they author DVDs. It's in no way comparable to HD-DVD or BR-D.

At best these rumors are nothing more than a stall tactic to protect dvd royalty payments for a little while longer. I don't care if any of you stick to your dvd collections and upconverting players, just use a little common sense when these reports come out.

Considering how badly BR-D is being beaten by regular DVDs, I have no idea how you would classify this as a stall tactic.

And we haven't even discussed pricing yet. Cheaper than the $300 Blu-ray players already out now? Their strategy once again would be to completely skip over the early adopter phase - you know, the people who actually spend the big $$...

I wouldn't be shocked to hear that the players only go for $100. We're talking about minor changes to a DVD decoding/upscaling chip. I think you are greatly over-estimating the extent of the changes being promoted.

Originally posted by: jtvang125
Upscaled or not, dvds look horrible to me now. Unless it can improve detail and color to the level of BR, I'll stick with BR.

That's a very narrow view of the market. What if you could get them looking like one of those "HD" movies you download off iTunes or Xbox Live Video Marketplace? There's obviously a lot of demand for those. Look at the market as a spectrum of desires, values, and needs, rather than just being "it'll be a smash hit or it'll be a total flop".

 

[pennylane]

This seems rather sudden.

I probably wouldn't be that interested because I want 1080p plus high-res audio formats.

 

[KeithP]

The idea that a highly compressed format like this would have the same quality of a BD movie is just silly. It won't. The bigger issue though is content support. After fighting the last war, I just don't see studios releasing any content in this format.

-KeithP

 

[DaveSimmons]

This new format still has a few problems to overcome:

- the cost will be based on how much you weigh
- it only plays video blogs of a "16-year-old" YouTube girl
- it must be assembled by grey aliens in low-light conditions
- it will only be built into new xbox 360 models

Other than that, it's a promising new hoax--uh, format.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: erwos

That's a very narrow view of the market. What if you could get them looking like one of those "HD" movies you download off iTunes or Xbox Live Video Marketplace? There's obviously a lot of demand for those. Look at the market as a spectrum of desires, values, and needs, rather than just being "it'll be a smash hit or it'll be a total flop".

They will never look or sound like a Blu-Ray. End of discussion

 

[Capt Caveman]

Based on the WWIII poll to the left of the article, I'm not going to consider this a good source for information.

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: erwos

That's a very narrow view of the market. What if you could get them looking like one of those "HD" movies you download off iTunes or Xbox Live Video Marketplace? There's obviously a lot of demand for those. Look at the market as a spectrum of desires, values, and needs, rather than just being "it'll be a smash hit or it'll be a total flop".

They will never look or sound like a Blu-Ray. End of discussion

99% of people don't have DTS-HD or DD+ receivers and couldn't tell the difference if they did. They're also not as anal about visual quality as the typical person in this forum so will snap up these players like hotcakes rather than paying $400 + $30/movie for b-ray.

 

[Genx87]

Funny part is if they sell these things in the sub 100 range they will most likely outsell stand alone Blu-Ray players within 6 months. Probably outsell the PS3 within a couple of years. Even if the actual format never takes off.

 

[cliftonite]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Funny part is if they sell these things in the sub 100 range they will most likely outsell stand alone Blu-Ray players within 6 months. Probably outsell the PS3 within a couple of years. Even if the actual format never takes off.

Whats even funnier is that it still wont be as good as Blu-ray.