Scoop’s Views

Toshiba yesterday surrendered, saying it willingly giving up future sales and profits in the lucrative high-definition DVD market.

In giving up its fight for the HD DVD format as the next-generation HD DVD, Toshiba has conceded that Blu-ray will be the standard format. Blu-ray is backed by Sony, Matsushita Electric (which makes Panasonic-brand products), and five Hollywood studios.

For the past several years, Toshiba has been pushing its version of high-def DVD format, HD DVD players and recorders, while Sony has been pushing the Blu-ray disc.

"We concluded that a swift decision would be best," Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida told reporters at his company’s Tokyo offices.

Now the market is set since the battle over which HD DVD format is the accepted standard. Since Toshiba has backed out, it’s going to be interesting to see how soon — or how long — it will be before prices begin dropping in the consumer market, as well as on computer sales sites, primarily Dell and HP.

With Toshiba bowing out of the competition for the market on next-generation HD DVD format, it makes me wonder quickly just what the estimated one million consumers — an estimated 600,000 in North America alone according to Toshiba — will do with their now-outdated devices.

In making his announcement that Toshiba will discontinue the HD DVD format, Nishida tried promising the existing customers that Toshiba will continue to provide product support for the technology. That certainly can’t go on for too long, can it?

The move would make Blu-ray — backed by Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic brand products, and five major Hollywood movie studios — the winner in the battle over high-definition DVD formatting that began several years ago.

After Toshiba’s announcement, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) was quick to make a victory announcement.

Andy Parsons, chairman of the BDA U.S. Promotions Committee, said, "The Blu-ray Disc Association [is] very happy that this long format war is officially over. Now the task ahead for our member companies is to promote the Blu-ray Disc format as the best way to bring premier quality high definition content into consumers’ lives."