Toshiba may be getting rid of HD DVDs for good
Issue date: 2/18/08 Section: Business
Toshiba has waved the proverbial white flag in the DVD format war with Sony's Blu-ray format.
Over the last week, several reports out of Japan have stated that Toshiba is in the process of analyzing its high definition DVD division and is expected to cease development and production within this division.
Toshiba; however, has not officially announced what their intentions are. No decision has been made regarding the division, but they have acknowledged it's being reviewed.
The official statement may change as early as today because the company's board of directors will meet and discuss the division.
This news has had a positive effect on Toshiba's stock, and may be due to traders wanting to put a quick end to a war that has done nothing but hurt Sony and Toshiba.
Even without this review from Toshiba, the end of the format war has been in view as more and more corporations and movie studios move to Blu-ray exclusively.
Wal-Mart, within the last week, decided to follow Blockbuster's lead and will sell only Blu-ray players and hardware.
Sony will greatly benefit from this decision. However, the need for a cheaper Blu-ray player is still needed on the market since one of the most popular and best selling players remains the PS3 gaming console.
Microsoft has already enacted an initial plan to develop a Blu-ray player for its Xbox 360 console, which already has an HD DVD player for its system.
Toshiba is expected to focus its resources on its other businesses, including computer chip productions, such as flash-memory, which are used in digital cameras and cell phones.
Patrick Comer
Over the last week, several reports out of Japan have stated that Toshiba is in the process of analyzing its high definition DVD division and is expected to cease development and production within this division.
Toshiba; however, has not officially announced what their intentions are. No decision has been made regarding the division, but they have acknowledged it's being reviewed.
The official statement may change as early as today because the company's board of directors will meet and discuss the division.
This news has had a positive effect on Toshiba's stock, and may be due to traders wanting to put a quick end to a war that has done nothing but hurt Sony and Toshiba.
Even without this review from Toshiba, the end of the format war has been in view as more and more corporations and movie studios move to Blu-ray exclusively.
Wal-Mart, within the last week, decided to follow Blockbuster's lead and will sell only Blu-ray players and hardware.
Sony will greatly benefit from this decision. However, the need for a cheaper Blu-ray player is still needed on the market since one of the most popular and best selling players remains the PS3 gaming console.
Microsoft has already enacted an initial plan to develop a Blu-ray player for its Xbox 360 console, which already has an HD DVD player for its system.
Toshiba is expected to focus its resources on its other businesses, including computer chip productions, such as flash-memory, which are used in digital cameras and cell phones.
Patrick Comer
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