HD DVD Nearing End?

Could it be game over for HD DVD? We here at HDDVDFreak feel like of late it has been nothing but negative news to report. Now comes word from industry sources Toshiba could be killing the format altogether some time shortly.

The Hollywood Reporter, citing sources, said Toshiba is "widely expected to pull the plug on its HD DVD format sometime in the coming weeks...after a rash of retail defections that followed Warner Home Video's announcement in early January that it would support only the rival Blu-ray Disc format after May."

Speculation suggests substantial losses related to HD DVD hardware production, dips in HD DVD disc sales and defects from the HD DVD camp may have made Toshiba finally cash in its chips. Toshiba denied it was planning to end HD DVD, but did say it is continuing  "to study the market impact."

Microsoft Cuts Xbox 360 HD DVD Player Price

It looks as if Microsoft has shaved a little off of the price tag for its Xbox 360 HD DVD Player accessory. It was reported this morning by Major Nelson, aka Larry Hryb of Microsoft, the company was dropping the retail price from $179.99 to $129.99 and that the drop was immediately effective in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

There was no immediate word on why the price drop was made, but one has to think with the recent Toshiba HD DVD player price drops Microsoft is just trying to stay up with the pack.

HD DVD Sales Regain Ground

HD DVD continues to see a slow rebound in the public spotlight as new sales figures from NPD Group show a rebound in sales following a bad week immediately after CES. This is according to a news report published in Video Business.

The report shows HD DVD hardware sales totals accounted for around a third of HD set-top unit sales for the week ending Jan. 19, according to Video Business. This is a sharp upkick from the previous week, when HD DVD player sales only amounted to seven percent.

An NPD analyst told Video Business he felt the change in position was likely due to "sensitivity to pricing". This would tie in with a recent move Toshiba made to cut prices of its HD DVD players.

Samsung Reveals New Dual Format Player

Samsung is betting not everyone is ready to go one next generation optical disc format over the other yet so it is showing off at CES a new dual format disc player called the BD-UP5500. It is slated to be available sometime in the latter part of the year.

This disc player is noted by Samsung for its ability to support "the latest BD-Java and HD DVD interactivity available." You'll find the BD-UP5500 is HDMI 1.3 compliant, looks pretty sharp and is quite slim (2.3 inches).

Get more details on this dual format playback Samsung player after the jump.

Toshiba Pushes Ahead with New HD DVD Players

Toshiba is proceeding with the roll out of its next generation of HD DVD players even as it struggles to deal with the news of Warner Bros. fazing out production of HD DVD videos. The CE manufacturer unveiled at CES four new third generation HD DVD players, all available now and ranging in price from around $300 to around $800.

Toshiba said its third generation family "starts with the entry level HD-A3 player featuring 1080i output capability. The other two new models, Toshiba's HD-A30 and HD-A35, output 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080p), the highest HD signal currently available. Both models are capable of outputting signals at 1080p/24 frames per second so consumers can enjoy movies in their native frame rate. The HD-A30 and HD-A35 models also feature "REGZA® Link" (HDMI™-CEC), allowing two-way control between the HD DVD player and a TV through an HDMI connection.

All Toshiba HD DVD players also feature twin video processors and advanced audio to deliver an immersive home theater experience with features such as picture-in-picture video and audio commentary. Thanks to the Ethernet port and flash memory built into every Toshiba HD DVD player, movie lovers also can enjoy the benefits of Web-enabled network connectivity. Plus, Toshiba's third generation players have a new slim design cabinet that is approximately ¼-inch slimmer than second generation models."

Catch the full Toshiba press release after the jump.

Toshiba Release 3rd Generation of HD DVD Players

Toshiba officially release their 3^rd generation HD DVD player lineup at Cedia. The new models, the HD-A3, HD-A30 and HD-A35 are bit thinner than their predecessors and support 1080p24, except for the A3 that is limited to 1080i.

The A30 and A35 will also support CE-Link (HDMI-CEC), allowing two-way control between the HD DVD player and a TV using a simple HDMI connection.

The A3 ($299.99) and A35 ($499.99) are expected in October and the A30 ($399.99) is expected this month.

Source

Onkyo to Release an HD DVD Player this Fall

Onkyo will release their first HD DVD player in the US this fall. The DV-HD805 has an HDMI1.3a connection and support TrueHD and DTS-HD. The player can also do a full HD 1080p24.

An Ethernet port is also provided to download firmware updates and internet content from movies.

With an $899 pricetag, the DV-HD805 won't be the top seller compared to low budget Toshiba players.

Source

New HD DVD Recorder From Toshiba

It looks like Toshiba is full of energy when it's time to think about new HD DVD products. The company just unleashed a new VARDIA hybrid HD DVD / HDD recorder in Japan. The new 600GB RD-A600 and 300GB RD-A300 feature a pair of digital hi-vision HD tuners, Firewire, and HDMI and can write to HD DVD-R and DVD-RAM/R/RW media in addition to their respective hard disks. Impressive? Sony, Panasonic and Samsung should be looking at this product.

How much would you be ready to pay for a product like this? What about ¥200,000 (about $1,643) for the RD-A600? That sounds like a reasonable price for a first generation recorder like this one. The North American model will probably be even lower. The RD-A300 costs $199 less and the only difference is the hard disk size.

Availabilty: Later this year…

No Cheap HD DVD Player From WalMart

The Taiwan based company, Fuh Yuan, which said last week they were going to manufacture 2 Million HD DVD players for WalMart had to make a retraction. They are now saying that Walmart inquired about their ability to "provide a schedule" along with "cost and quantity" details for us to evaluate.

Source

Cheap HD Player From Walmart on its Way

Walmart recently pass an order for 2 million Chinese made HD players. The manufacturer will be a Taiwan based company called Fuh Yuan in cooperation with TDK.

The problem? No one can tell right now if they are going to be a Blu-ray or HD DVD player. According to Akihabaranews, the press release says Blu-ray HD DVD!?! Will keep you posted when more information is available.

The players have an expected retail price of $299 and should be available before the end of 2008.