Toshiba #1 in US while Sony set to cut 160 jobs

[vurbano]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10322833#post10322833

HD DVD First to Reach 100K CE Players Sold in the U.S.
Press Release

HD DVD First to Reach 100K CE Players Sold in the U.S.
Apr 17 at 12:26


New $399 price for Toshiba players spark increased sales of dedicated high
definition players

LOS ANGELES, April 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Marking the first anniversary of HD
DVD hardware and movies sold to consumers, the North American HD DVD Promotional
Group announced today that sales of dedicated HD DVD consumer electronics
players reached more than 100K units sold in the United States, ahead of any
other high definition format. This figure does not include sales of HD DVD PC
drives or the Xbox 360 HD DVD player, which are also selling strongly.

As consumers see lower prices for high definition players, the
manufacturing efficiencies of HD DVD are keeping the format one step ahead. As
the first to bring CE player prices down below the $400 mark, Toshiba is
hearing encouraging news from retailers.

"Toshiba remains committed to drive sales with strategic pricing and
marketing to complement the rapid market adoption of HDTVs," said Jodi Sally,
vice president of marketing, Toshiba America Consumer Products. "Retailers are
showing a significant increase in sales volume this month so far. On
Amazon.com, our HD DVD players continue to rank among the top ten best sellers
of all DVD players, which says a lot about how consumers relate to price."

Quality, price and great viewing and listening experiences are recognized
benefits of the HD DVD format. With mandatory features such as a network
connection, picture-in-picture, persistent storage, and decode support for Dolby
True HD, every player can take advantage of new interactive and audio features
as they are introduced. That means a quantum leap for the consumer experience
with minimal investment in new audio equipment and the ability to update any
player on the market as needed. Consumers can also enjoy combo discs that
include a DVD version as well as an HD version on a single disc for playback on
a variety of machines. These are all exclusive features of the HD DVD format.

With titles like The Complete Matrix Trilogy coming in May from Warner
Home Video, and more than 70 new titles expected to be released before the end
of July, HD DVD owners will have more than 300 titles worldwide to choose from
this summer, with more to come in the fall and holiday seasons.

About HD DVD

HD DVD is the next generation, post-DVD standard for high capacity, high
definition optical discs, approved by the DVD Forum, which develops and defines
DVD formats. Its more than 220 strong membership brings together leaders in
movies and entertainment, computing, consumer electronics and software. HD DVD
is fast becoming the primary visual medium for the age of high-definition TV.

The North American HD DVD Promotional Group, Inc. is an organization established
to promote the HD DVD format and educate consumers in North America. For more
information and a complete listing of HD DVD launch titles please visit
http://www.TheLookAndSoundOfPerfect.com .

IMPORTANT NOTES

HD DVD with high-definition content required for HD viewing. Viewing
high-definition content and up-converting DVD content may require an HDCP
capable DVI or HDMI input on your display device. Firmware update may be
required for some interactive features depending on content, which may also
require an always-on broadband internet connection. Some features may require
additional bandwidth. MP3/WMA audio files not supported. Some current DVDs and
CDs may not be compatible. Some Combo Discs and Twin Format Discs may not be
compatible. HDMI audio support for PCM only. Because HD DVD is a new format
that makes use of new technologies, certain disc, digital connection and other
compatibility and/or performance issues are possible. This may, in rare cases,
include disc freezing while accessing certain disc features or functions, or
certain parts of the disc not playing back or operating as fully intended. If
you experience such issues, please refer to the FAQ sections of
http://www.toshibahddvd.com or http://www.tacp.toshiba.com for information on
possible work-around solutions or the availability of firmware updates that may
resolve your problem, or contact Toshiba Customer Solutions. Some features
subject to delayed availability. While Toshiba has made every effort at the
time of publication to ensure the accuracy of the information provided herein,
product specifications, configurations, prices, system/component/options
availability are all subject to change without notice.
SOURCE Toshiba


160 job cuts planned for Sony Europe

The European arm of Sony Computer Entertainment is preparing to lay off around 160 members of staff.

"The business targets that we face make this regrettably unavoidable," said president and CEO David Reeves in an internal email that Next-Gen reports has been leaked.

Apparently every SCEE employee will receive a letter on Wednesday informing him or her if they've been "provisionally selected at being at risk".

http://www.computerandvideogames.co...e.php?id=162101

 

[mike123abc]

The leave out the HD-DVD drives on the Xbox because they do not want to include the PS3 numbers which would make their 100k look pretty tiny.

 

[bchris2597]

We all know that the numbers can show anything we want them to show. With the price dropping on the HD DVD units you are going to have people bite. I have the HD DVD drive for the Xbox and enjoy it. I think that regardless of what articles are published most consumers are going to wait for a winner. I have to admit I like alot of the BD movies that have come. I hope that more dual players hit the market soon at a decent price point (I know wishful thinking).

 

[mrsdrgn]

HEY VURBANO!!!!!!!!!!

I have them both. I hope they both survive. This will make it more competitive and the prices will drop. Look at the DVD's. Even now after all this years a DVD cost approximately $18. What a reap off. How much do you really think it cost to make a DVD? $18? The movie companies have been reaping us off for many years. So is the music companies with their CD's. There is no competition to the DVD's. Instead of you constantley putting down the BR, you should promote them both. This way a competition exists and hopefully the prices will go down. Do you think that if HD DVD or BR was the only one out there, the prices on the Toshiba would have dropped so fast to $299? Also Sony is dropping prices also. SO STOP TALKING CRAP ABOUT BR AND HOPE THAT IT SURVIVES.

I love my PS3 and my Toshiba HD A2.

 

[vurbano]

HEY VURBANO!!!!!!!!!!

I have them both. I hope they both survive. This will make it more competitive and the prices will drop. Look at the DVD's. Even now after all this years a DVD cost approximately $18. What a reap off. How much do you really think it cost to make a DVD? $18? The movie companies have been reaping us off for many years. So is the music companies with their CD's. There is no competition to the DVD's. Instead of you constantley putting down the BR, you should promote them both. This way a competition exists and hopefully the prices will go down. Do you think that if HD DVD or BR was the only one out there, the prices on the Toshiba would have dropped so fast to $299? Also Sony is dropping prices also. SO STOP TALKING CRAP ABOUT BR AND HOPE THAT IT SURVIVES.

I love my PS3 and my Toshiba HD A2.

BD players are horribly over priced for what they can deliver. And lets look at HD DVD players not game systems i.e toys. Let me know when Sony has a new dedicated BD player for $299 instead of $999 I cannot support the raping of the consumer by Sony and its cohorts. It is a major reason why I will not support BD.

 

[tawhite]

HEY VURBANO!!!!!!!!!!

I have them both. I hope they both survive. This will make it more competitive and the prices will drop. Look at the DVD's. Even now after all this years a DVD cost approximately $18. What a reap off. How much do you really think it cost to make a DVD? $18? The movie companies have been reaping us off for many years. So is the music companies with their CD's. There is no competition to the DVD's. Instead of you constantley putting down the BR, you should promote them both. This way a competition exists and hopefully the prices will go down. Do you think that if HD DVD or BR was the only one out there, the prices on the Toshiba would have dropped so fast to $299? Also Sony is dropping prices also. SO STOP TALKING CRAP ABOUT BR AND HOPE THAT IT SURVIVES.

I love my PS3 and my Toshiba HD A2.

One question, what is a reap off???

 

[CochiseGuy]

One question, what is a reap off???

You reap off what you sow.

 

[mrsdrgn]

BD players are horribly over priced for what they can deliver. And lets look at HD DVD players not game systems i.e toys. Let me know when Sony has a new dedicated BD player for $299 instead of $999 I cannot support the raping of the consumer by Sony and its cohorts. It is a major reason why I will not support BD.

Do you have a system? Or you're just talking CRAP!!! Did you ever watched a movie on a PS3? Or HD DVD? That old Toshiba of yours doesn't count. I bet you don't even have a system. The BD quality is much better. But like I said before, I support both players. Any smart consumer will tell you that the PS3 is a better buy than any BD player. I love the fact that I can store my Photos on the PS3.
The PS3 is not just a game unit. It is a complete system. It blows your old Toshiba away. What can you do with your's? Watch a movie in 1080i? WOW.


COMPETITION IS WHAT BRINGS THE PRICE DOWN!!!!!!!!!

 

[JoeSp]

Wow, 100,000 HD-DVD players to what 1.6 million PS3 in the North America alone. Oh wait, its just a toy, right. It is a Blu-Ray player. Does 1080p. Came equiped with DolbyTrueHD decoding. Has the ablility to pass all HD audio codecs thru HDMI1.3 along with a wide colour band. Has absoultely no hiccups when playing BD and is blazingly fast when you want to do something. Has 512k of memory on board and a 60GB hard drive and wireless ethernet connection. Oh yeah, its a toy, that's why there are more PS3's being used as a BD player then the total of all HD-DVD players in the market.

Whine all you want, the PS3 is here to stay, has been rated as one of the best BD players on the market by every reputable Home Theater mag and is the only HD player from either camp with access to 512k of ram a 60GB harddrive and wireless ethernet and bluetooth technology. Let me know when the HD-DVD camp gets to 200,000 units so that we can revisit how HD-DVD will never have more players in homes then BD -- M$ pretty much secured that by omiting HD-DVD from the 360Elite.

So HD-DVD Fanboys, enjoy your anniversery, it just might be your last!

 

[mrsdrgn]

Wow, 100,000 HD-DVD players to what 1.6 million PS3 in the North America alone. Oh wait, its just a toy, right. It is a Blu-Ray player. Does 1080p. Came equiped with DolbyTrueHD decoding. Has the ablility to pass all HD audio codecs thru HDMI1.3 along with a wide colour band. Has absoultely no hiccups when playing BD and is blazingly fast when you want to do something. Has 512k of memory on board and a 60GB hard drive and wireless ethernet connection. Oh yeah, its a toy, that's why there are more PS3's being used as a BD player then the total of all HD-DVD players in the market.

Whine all you want, the PS3 is here to stay, has been rated as one of the best BD players on the market by every reputable Home Theater mag and is the only HD player from either camp with access to 512k of ram a 60GB harddrive and wireless ethernet and bluetooth technology. Let me know when the HD-DVD camp gets to 200,000 units so that we can revisit how HD-DVD will never have more players in homes then BD -- M$ pretty much secured that by omiting HD-DVD from the 360Elite.

So HD-DVD Fanboys, enjoy your anniversery, it just might be your last!

I'm with you. I love my PS3. The ones that whine are the ones that can't afford to have both systems. They got the $499 first generation Toshiba players and now they're stuck with it. Like I said before, I have both systems and I love them both. But, I like BD better.

 

[r.jones1116]

Wow, 100,000 HD-DVD players to what 1.6 million PS3 in the North America alone. Oh wait, its just a toy, right. It is a Blu-Ray player. Does 1080p. Came equiped with DolbyTrueHD decoding. Has the ablility to pass all HD audio codecs thru HDMI1.3 along with a wide colour band. Has absoultely no hiccups when playing BD and is blazingly fast when you want to do something. Has 512k of memory on board and a 60GB hard drive and wireless ethernet connection. Oh yeah, its a toy, that's why there are more PS3's being used as a BD player then the total of all HD-DVD players in the market.

Whine all you want, the PS3 is here to stay, has been rated as one of the best BD players on the market by every reputable Home Theater mag and is the only HD player from either camp with access to 512k of ram a 60GB harddrive and wireless ethernet and bluetooth technology. Let me know when the HD-DVD camp gets to 200,000 units so that we can revisit how HD-DVD will never have more players in homes then BD -- M$ pretty much secured that by omiting HD-DVD from the 360Elite.

So HD-DVD Fanboys, enjoy your anniversery, it just might be your last!

Do your research and quit spewing FUD. 1.6 million units in NA not hardly. Do your research on 1080i vs. 1080p. Do your research on why MS didn't include a HD DVD player in the 360 elite. Your still hanging on to that rediculous conspiracy theory thread you started earlier. It's a toy with BD disc drive

 

[JamesJ]

Do your research and quit spewing FUD. 1.6 million units in NA not hardly. Do your research on 1080i vs. 1080p. Do your research on why MS didn't include a HD DVD player in the 360 elite. Your still hanging on to that rediculous conspiracy theory thread you started earlier. It's a toy with BD disc drive

ummmm Rjones why is it Fud? can you put facts on the table here because right now, everything that Joe said is pretty much spot on...so bring facts against it. you do the research show me what you come up with.

 

[r.jones1116]

ummmm Rjones why is it Fud? can you put facts on the table here because right now, everything that Joe said is pretty much spot on...so bring facts against it. you do the research show me what you come up with.

ummmm stuart628 he posted his claims first, lets see his sources.
But I did and do research. I google for sony's sales figures (actual units sold to consumers) for the PS3 for North America and did not find any indication for 1.6 million. As far as 1080i vs. 1080p here you go.....

http://hometheatermag.com/gearworks/1106gear/

As far as the PS3 is concerned it is still a toy. I don't need any research to figure that one out.

 

[JamesJ]

rough estimate of the 1.6million sure I will give you that, he is PROBABLY going off of sales data and estimating sales, the last sales data I could find for north america was at the end of Feb and the PS3 had sold 1.16 million Ps3's so you have the whole month of march to deal with, plus we are over halfway through april. Also Why did you twist the 1080p thing? No where in Joe's argument did he say 1080p is the next greatest thing for movies, even from your article and I quote
"If you're a gamer, then there is a difference, as 1080p/60 from a computer can be 60 different frames per second (instead of 24 different frames per second doubled and tripled, as with movie content). It is unlikely that native 1080p/60 content will ever be broadcast or distributed in wide numbers. The reasons for this are too numerous to get into here, but I list them in my follow-up blog."

also as far as the Ps3 being a toy, maybe for those that just use it as a game machine, but my dvd player isnt a Toy, and my computer isnt a Toy, and this machine has qualities from each of those.....but if you want to label it as a toy that is fine, but I will tell you this, its an impressive toy (one that helps fight Disease, runs linux, Plays Blu rays, Slideshows, Music, and Plays Videos!)

 

[r.jones1116]

If I could afford it, I'd probably get one too.
The 1080i vs 1080p is a mute point as far as film content goes but the BD people really push this as an advantage over HDDVD when in reality it's not.

 

[navychop]

As far as the PS3 is concerned it is still a toy.

Let's face it- they're all toys!

 

[JamesJ]

If I could afford it, I'd probably get one too.
The 1080i vs 1080p is a mute point as far as film content goes but the BD people really push this as an advantage over HDDVD when in reality it's not.

I agree with you about the whole 1080i thing, too bad for us our hobbies are all expensive and run by companies who are looking for marketing spins to make a few extra bucks

To be honest, Both offerings have pluses and minuses, choose your evil

 

[tonyp56]

OK, just because a bunch of PS3's have been sold, don't mean those numbers should be counted in how many Blu-ray players there are.

I dare Sony to release info about how many PS3 owners actually buy Blu-Ray movies, and out of those how often they buy. Lets see data, not just talk! Just because A happens don't mean B happens or will happen. How many PSP's have been sold--at least 1.6 million, since it has been out for a couple of years? How good is UMD doing? Last I checked, not that good. And, how many in that 1.6 million PS3 number are actually sold, and not sitting on a shelf somewhere, being returned, on E-bay, etc...

I'd bet, majority, if they buy a PS3 won't be buying for Blu-Ray, and even if the majority go out and buy a Blu-Ray movie, that don't mean majority will like Blu-Ray and continue to buy. More of a curiosity than anything else. For one, even great Blu-Ray, has a, well thin selection of movies, and out of those few movies, especially where I am at, you have to look for Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD) movies at different retailers. Additionally, Blu-Ray (even HD-DVD) cost more money than plain old SD DVD's. Now for HD buffs, that have to have the greatest, this higher price isn't an issue, however, the majority of people in this world, don't really care about HD--why are there SD digital TV's?

One only has to look at the numbers, Blu-Ray has the studio support, Blu-Ray has the PS3, Blu-Ray has electronics manufacturers, however, really are they just kicking HD-DVD in the dirt? NO. Blu-Ray has all this going for them and, though Joe likes to talk about 7-1 ratios and stuff, when one looks at the overall numbers, we're talking about a few thousand more Blu-Ray disc compared to HD-DVD. Not to mention, it has been said before, first three months of this year, HD-DVD released nothing (except I guess a few releases). So with all that is going for Blu-Ray, it can only beat HD-DVD when HD-DVD don't release new movies?

Now, does this mean HD-DVD is the winner, no, sorry it isn't. But just because Sony released the PS3 with Blu-Ray built in, don't mean Blu-Ray is doing so good. If you were to say 100% PS3's were being used to play Blu-Ray, don't you think the margin would be much greater than it is now? But it isn't, therefore PS3 numbers mean nothing, and should be left out of the overall numbers. Unless Sony can say X% of PS3's are used to play Blu-Ray movies on a regular basis, then PS3 numbers can't be counted.

 

[mrsdrgn]

OK, just because a bunch of PS3's have been sold, don't mean those numbers should be counted in how many Blu-ray players there are.

I dare Sony to release info about how many PS3 owners actually buy Blu-Ray movies, and out of those how often they buy. Lets see data, not just talk! Just because A happens don't mean B happens or will happen. How many PSP's have been sold--at least 1.6 million, since it has been out for a couple of years? How good is UMD doing? Last I checked, not that good. And, how many in that 1.6 million PS3 number are actually sold, and not sitting on a shelf somewhere, being returned, on E-bay, etc...

I'd bet, majority, if they buy a PS3 won't be buying for Blu-Ray, and even if the majority go out and buy a Blu-Ray movie, that don't mean majority will like Blu-Ray and continue to buy. More of a curiosity than anything else. For one, even great Blu-Ray, has a, well thin selection of movies, and out of those few movies, especially where I am at, you have to look for Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD) movies at different retailers. Additionally, Blu-Ray (even HD-DVD) cost more money than plain old SD DVD's. Now for HD buffs, that have to have the greatest, this higher price isn't an issue, however, the majority of people in this world, don't really care about HD--why are there SD digital TV's?

One only has to look at the numbers, Blu-Ray has the studio support, Blu-Ray has the PS3, Blu-Ray has electronics manufacturers, however, really are they just kicking HD-DVD in the dirt? NO. Blu-Ray has all this going for them and, though Joe likes to talk about 7-1 ratios and stuff, when one looks at the overall numbers, we're talking about a few thousand more Blu-Ray disc compared to HD-DVD. Not to mention, it has been said before, first three months of this year, HD-DVD released nothing (except I guess a few releases). So with all that is going for Blu-Ray, it can only beat HD-DVD when HD-DVD don't release new movies?

Now, does this mean HD-DVD is the winner, no, sorry it isn't. But just because Sony released the PS3 with Blu-Ray built in, don't mean Blu-Ray is doing so good. If you were to say 100% PS3's were being used to play Blu-Ray, don't you think the margin would be much greater than it is now? But it isn't, therefore PS3 numbers mean nothing, and should be left out of the overall numbers. Unless Sony can say X% of PS3's are used to play Blu-Ray movies on a regular basis, then PS3 numbers can't be counted.

I have a PS3 and a HD DVD. I don't buy the movies I RENT THEM FROM NETFLIX. My main reason for buying a PS3 was to watch the movies. And I love the other futures that it comes with. Unless you are a movie collector, why would anyone buy a BD or HD DVD movie? For the amount it costs to buy a movie you can rent all that you want on line. So I think that the majority of the people buy a PS3 because of all the features. And because it is worth more than a regular BD player. Do the math PS3 $599 vs $999 BD player. Who is dumb enough not to take the extra futures.
I like my PS3 better than my Toshiba HD DVD. The Toshiba takes forever to load up a disc. On the Toshiba if you stop the movie while it's playing and you want to restart, you have to start it from the beginning. The PS3 will resume from the point that you stopped it.
To compare the two: Toshiba = Kia
PS3 = Lexus

BEFORE YOU ALL TALK ABOUT ALL THIS PS3 OR HD DVD, DO ANY OF YOU OWN ANY?
OR YOU ALL JUST TALK WHAT YOU READ FROM THE CRITICS.

 

[navychop]

Obviously, some PS3 owners are buying Blu-ray discs, since Blu-ray discs are outselling HD DVD by about 2 to 1 - and there are many more HD DVD dedicated players than BD dedicated players.