CES 2008: HD DVD standalones hit 1 million mark

On Sunday, the electronics giant Toshiba revealed that sales of HD DVD standalone players had reached 1 million units sold in North America for 2007. Sales included all HD DVD branded drives and players, not only Toshiba's.

The company said sales will continue to flourish thanks to high demand for Internet-delivered content. Toshiba also took time to stress the potential of its recent alliance with Sharp in the highly competitive LCD market.

So far the high stakes next gen "format war" has caused confusion among would-be consumers and put a damper on what has the potential to be the next DVD. After a decade of growth the industry is finally seeing little to no growth in the standard DVD market.

View all HD DVD player models in the AfterDawn Hardware Section

Source:
Reuters

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 8 Jan 2008 15:41

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21 comments

vinny13

Lol I guess those guys don't know what's goin' on :P

8.1.2008 15:58 #1

iamgq

Bohooo, Warner doesnt care

8.1.2008 15:59 #2

spydah

Originally posted by vinny13: Lol I guess those guys don't know what's goin' on :P
Yeah thats what make that a sad situation. People are spending more money on a very unsure product that could be gone within a year. I would hate to be that miss informed. But im certain all the retailers are pissed especially if they paid xxxxxx amount for a hugh shipment that they would be able to get rid of.

8.1.2008 16:16 #3

elfman12

Wow, looks like we've got a lot of Monday Morning Quarterbacks here. Up until last Friday, there was a good chance the format war could go either way. In fact, as of a week before that, Warner was set to go HD-DVD only ALONG WITH FOX.

So don't act like anyone who was siding with HD-DVD were stupid or "mis-informed". It makes you look silly, actually.

8.1.2008 17:28 #4

DjDanio

Originally posted by elfman12: Wow, looks like we've got a lot of Monday Morning Quarterbacks here. Up until last Friday, there was a good chance the format war could go either way. In fact, as of a week before that, Warner was set to go HD-DVD only ALONG WITH FOX.

So don't act like anyone who was siding with HD-DVD were stupid or "mis-informed". It makes you look silly, actually.And you look clever?

8.1.2008 17:54 #5

Spartan28

Paramount studios is poised to drop its support of the high-definition DVD (HD DVD) format after Warner Bros studio said it would back the competing Blu-ray format, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.The loss of support from Paramount, which is owned by Viacom Inc, would likely deal the final blow to the HD DVD format backed by Toshiba Corp and put an end to the format war, the newspaper said on its Web site. Time Warner Inc�s Warner Bros studio on Friday said it would exclusively release high-definition DVDs in Sony Corp�s Blu-ray format, marking a major setback to the HD DVD camp.

Blu-ray discs outsold HD DVD by nearly two-to-one in the United States last year, but HD DVD had secured major allies in August when Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc said they would go exclusively with HD DVD. But Paramount is understood to have a clause in its contract with the HD DVD camp that would allow it to change sides if Warner Bros backed Blu-ray, the Financial Times said, citing people familiar with the situation. However, Paramount spokeswoman denied this news as speculative with �Paramount�s current plan is to continue to support the HD DVD format�.

Source: Forbes, FT, Bloomberg

8.1.2008 18:18 #6

hughjars

There are 64 studios worldwide supporting HD DVD.

People are buying into HD DVD and have access (at least until half way through this year) to the largest high def library and the most high def exclusive content (thanks to importing).

That is not changing any time soon.

They not only get all of that but they also get a player with an excellent and high spec at a great price which is 2nd to none at upscaling the vast SD DVD library.
The HD A/EP30 & HD A/EP35 are compared very favourably to Denon SD DVD player which are several times their price.

The claims that it is all over are just wishful thinking and shouts from the insecure.

This isn't done yet.

Those millions of sub $100 Chinese upscaling DVD players that currently outsell (massively) both high def formats combined are still a couple of months off of being replaced by sub $100 Chinese upscaling DVD players that also happen to play HD DVD very well.

There's plenty of scope to see things working out a lot differently than the gloating BD fanboys dream of.

(and Blu-ray is still as far off of replacing SD DVD as it ever was.....in fact as they have another $1 billion + in costs to recover probably further away than ever.
There will be no low priced full spec Blu-ray players or movies for a long time.)

8.1.2008 18:23 #7

hughjars

Originally posted by Spartan28: Paramount studios is poised to drop its support of the high-definition DVD (HD DVD) format after Warner Bros studio said it would back the competing Blu-ray format, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. - No.

Quote:Jan 8 2008: Paramount Denies Report It Will Drop Toshiba's HD DVD
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=2...heBc&refer=asia

8.1.2008 18:24 #8

emugamer

Quote:Originally posted by elfman12: Wow, looks like we've got a lot of Monday Morning Quarterbacks here. Up until last Friday, there was a good chance the format war could go either way. In fact, as of a week before that, Warner was set to go HD-DVD only ALONG WITH FOX.

So don't act like anyone who was siding with HD-DVD were stupid or "mis-informed". It makes you look silly, actually.And you look clever????
Where in that post does elfman12 say that he thinks he looks clever? Up until now, many have felt that they were supporting the winning format. And for good reason. Both camps had massive media campaigns. Those who invested so much in HD may have just picked the wrong side, not because they were misinformed, but because there is no way of knowing what secret deals are being made behind closed doors. Which CEO is being paid under the table, etc. This entire war has done nothing but confuse millions of people. Heck it could have gone either way. 50/50 chance.

8.1.2008 19:19 #9

error5

Originally posted by hughjars: Those millions of sub $100 Chinese upscaling DVD players that currently outsell (massively) both high def formats combined are still a couple of months off of being replaced by sub $100 Chinese upscaling DVD players that also happen to play HD DVD very well.Any new adopter who does minimal research will most likely think twice before buying into HD DVD at this time. The only market for cheap HD DVD players at this time would be current owners who want a back-up machine to play their current collection.

So when exactly will we start seeing these sub-$100 HD DVD players on US shelves? I'd love a link to your source that we'll have these in "a couple of months." The Venturer doesn't count - it's $190 at my local Walmart and online.

Consider also that Funai of Japan is coming out Q2 with a BluRay player. Funai is Walmart's main CE manufacturer. Walmart's Sylvania, Symphonic and Emerson brands are all made by Funai. The MSRP is "sub $300" so expect street prices to be much lower especially if Walmart starts to stock these.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/F...ray_Player/1341

8.1.2008 19:48 #10

juankerr

Originally posted by error5: Any new adopter who does minimal research will most likely think twice before buying into HD DVD at this time. The only market for cheap HD DVD players at this time would be current owners who want a back-up machine to play their current collection.I know this is anecdotal and only my own personal experience but here goes:

I went to the Magnolia Home Theater section of my local Best Buy today. I pretended to be interested in buying an HD DVD player although I already own a Toshiba HD-A30. I was able to engage a sales rep in a very interesting conversation. He actually gave me a good run-down as to the current situation after Blu Friday and the Warner announcement. Bottom line is he told me that I would be taking a very big risk if I bought an HD DVD player at this time and instead persuaded me to look at the Panasonic BD30 BluRay player instead. I told him thanks for the information and that I'll think about it.

I have a feeling that this is what's going to happen at most retailers in the next few months and will result in slowed hardware sales for HD DVD.

To be fair to the consumer and new adopter as you put it, I think there should be a disclaimer on each and every HD DVD player on store shelves that explains clearly the current studio situation.

8.1.2008 23:07 #11

CaLiMaCk

i actually feel sorry for hughjars at this point, i mean dude, you deserve an A for effort at least. all this viral marketing for hd dvd the past year or so you have been doing, and all for nothing, a dead format. i told you it would be over by the end of this year, i guess i was a year off lol!!! still i think it will hobble around till summer maybe, then the other studios will wake up, then jump off, then game over.

you know its sad when he has to inevitably change the subject to some other thing like they still have to recover costs and thus far wont drop player prices because of it. sad logic, everyone knows they will make all the money they lose on players back on the software and licensing, etc.

i once saw a list of the studios supporting hd dvd, most of em i never heard of and i bet most people havent either, back lot companies in england and whatnot.

i also saw an article that said blu ray standalones sold more over the holidays than hd dvd ones as well, i didnt want to click on it and read it cus it was just too sad and funny all at the same time, especially considering the 99$ hd dvd player fire sales.

9.1.2008 08:40 #12

HughFart

Originally posted by CaLiMaCk: i actually feel sorry for hughjars at this point, i mean dude, you deserve an A for effort at least. all this viral marketing for hd dvd the past year or so you have been doing, and all for nothing, a dead format. i told you it would be over by the end of this year, i guess i was a year off lol!!! still i think it will hobble around till summer maybe, then the other studios will wake up, then jump off, then game over.

you know its sad when he has to inevitably change the subject to some other thing like they still have to recover costs and thus far wont drop player prices because of it. sad logic, everyone knows they will make all the money they lose on players back on the software and licensing, etc.

i once saw a list of the studios supporting hd dvd, most of em i never heard of and i bet most people havent either, back lot companies in england and whatnot.

i also saw an article that said blu ray standalones sold more over the holidays than hd dvd ones as well, i didnt want to click on it and read it cus it was just too sad and funny all at the same time, especially considering the 99$ hd dvd player fire sales.

As is perfectly clear by now HD DVD did indeed have this in the bag (like I said) right up until the start of last week (including Warner signing exclusively for them).

Unfortunately a small mountain of Sony cash changed their minds.
It doesn't matter what accounting slight-of-hand they use to disguise it we all know Warner did not do this for free.

The Sony fanclub - whether they are honest enough to admit even to themselves or not - know that this could so easily have gone the other way - and very nearly almost did.

Meanwhile those that genuinely did buy HD DVD still have the largest catalogue of available content and the most exclusive content to select from - and will have probably for most of this year
(unless Warner are going to suddenly churn out a few dozen titles in the 6mths of the year left when they change, which is highly unlikely).

We also have a high spec high end HD DVD player and SD DVD player (the HD A/EP30 & A/EP35 compares very nicely to Denon SD DVD players many times their price in fact and the HD A2/3/E1 compare extremely well with any similarly priced SD DVD player too).

HD DVD players and content will be around for a long time to come, as will the vast SD DVD catalogue they can upscale (very very well).

In fact with Blu-ray spending a huge fortune on Warner & Fox you can forget inexpensive BD players or BD movies for some time as they try and claw back their huge outlay.

Whether this is a case of winning the battle only to lose the war is a very valid question.

Between upscaled SD DVD, satellite/cable HD TV set-top boxes and downloads there is little reason to expect Blu-ray to simply replace DVD and 'win' anything much.

The market has changed enormously and will continue to change.

Sony may well have torched it's game console brand to 'win' something of much less value now that content delivery has changed so much since DVD began.

Still, if that turns out to be the case you can always go whine at all the Sony/PS3 fanboys who helped talk you into low-spec, DRM infested & short-lived Blu-ray players, can't you, huh?

9.1.2008 15:13 #13

eatsushi

Originally posted by error5: Consider also that Funai of Japan is coming out Q2 with a BluRay player. Funai is Walmart's main CE manufacturer. Walmart's Sylvania, Symphonic and Emerson brands are all made by Funai. The MSRP is "sub $300" so expect street prices to be much lower especially if Walmart starts to stock these.News from CES 2008 - The low-cost Chinese BluRay players are also coming. From formatwarcentral.com:

http://formatwarcentral.com/index.php/20...r-in-the-works/

Quote:Chinese Blu-ray Player in the Works
Posted on January 8, 2008 by Dave Cowl

While I can�t release any details, today I was �leaked� a brochure for a Chinese manufactured Blu-ray Disc player. The player is currently being demonstrated to invited guests at the company�s suite at CES.

According to the tentative specifications, this player will be HDMI 1.3 and 1080p capable. While it features 5.1 analogue outputs, it appears to decode Dolby Digital and DTS only - no advanced codecs are mentioned. The player is apparently based on a Sigma Designs core.

Sorry that I can�t be more specific, I don�t want to upset my source on this one. I will attempt to get in the loop regarding any formal press information on this unit.

One thing I can assure you - the cheaper price point players are coming.Also just in from CES 2008 - Danish CE manufacturer Bang & Olufsen has ditched plans for a combo player and will instead release a BluRay player for 2009:

See post #95

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthrea...34#post12749834

9.1.2008 15:46 #14

sgriesch

That is a good landmark to hit. It's a shame that all of the recent news is going against HD DVD. I am responsible for 2 of the 1 million. I wonder where the total is on Blue-Ray stand-alone players.

9.1.2008 19:20 #15

borhan9

They are not going to win soo i dont know what he point of all this is going to be.

9.1.2008 20:49 #16

error5

Originally posted by juankerr: I have a feeling that this is what's going to happen at most retailers in the next few months and will result in slowed hardware sales for HD DVD.

To be fair to the consumer and new adopter as you put it, I think there should be a disclaimer on each and every HD DVD player on store shelves that explains clearly the current studio situation.It's starting already at amazon. The Panasonic BD30 has overtaken the Toshiba A3 as the bestselling overall DVD player:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/ele...ref=pd_ts_e_nav

This updates hourly so we may see some changes today. However, there were hardly any BluRay players in the top 25 in the last few months. Now the Panny, the Sony S500 and the Samsung 1400 are in the top 10.

We see a similar trend on the software side:

http://charts.highdefdigest.com/history.aspx

11.1.2008 08:35 #17

juankerr

The A3 is back up to #1 but I get your point. Three BD players in the top ten has been unheard of until now.

11.1.2008 09:13 #18

glasssd

Paramont and Universal both now say that they are not dropping HD DVD. Both have taken "EXCLUSIVE HD DVD" out of their official statement.

And dude, I can not beleive that you are still trying to sell people on HD DVD. That is wrong. You can dog DRM and talk about how digital downloads will take over but dont keep trying to trick people into buying HD DVD as a movie player. 64 studios on your side, even the HD DVD supporter see past that.

11.1.2008 13:59 #19

hughjars

Paramount & universal in fact have said they are not dropping HD DVD.

11.1.2008 17:11 #20

vinny13

Originally posted by hughjars: Paramount & universal in fact have said they are not dropping HD DVD.For now anyways... I'm predicting around June once Warner has gone full exclusive for a while.

11.1.2008 17:34 #21

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