CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-14-2008/0004735440&EDATE=

Toshiba Deploys New HD DVD Marketing Initiatives Based on Strong Fourth Quarter Unit Sales

Mass Market Acceptance Confirms that HD DVD is the Consumer's Choice for
Next Generation High Def Entertainment

WAYNE, N.J., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Toshiba America Consumer Products,
L.L.C. ("Toshiba") today announced that it is stepping up its successful
marketing campaign for HD DVD as it experienced record-breaking unit sales
in the fourth quarter of 2007. Major initiatives, including joint
advertising campaigns with studios and extended pricing strategies will
begin in mid- January and are designed to spotlight the superior benefits
of HD DVD as well as the benefits HD DVD brings to a consumer's current DVD
library by upconverting standard DVDs via the HDMI(TM) output to near high
definition picture quality.

As Toshiba achieved the #1 sales volume in the next generation DVD
category with an approximately 50 percent market share in 2007, HD DVD is
proven to be the format of choice for consumers. Coupled with an 80 percent
plus market share of all next generation DVD equipped notebooks for the 4th
quarter 2007, the HD DVD format has already paved the way to a high
definition digital AV solution by eliminating the boundaries between the
consumer's living room and on the go.

HD DVD not only creates the ultimate high definition entertainment
experience, leveraging all of the promise of the format such as superior
audio/video performance, Web-enabled network capabilities and advanced
interactive features - it also has a high-level of compatibility with DVD.
With DVD upconversion via the HDMI output, HD DVD players instantly make a
movie lover's existing DVD library look better than ever.

"HD DVD is the best way to watch movies in high definition," said Jodi
Sally, Vice President of Marketing, Toshiba's Digital A/V Group. "Our HD
DVD players not only play back approximately 800 HD DVD titles available
worldwide and deliver an entirely new level of entertainment but also
enhance the picture quality to near high definition on legacy DVD titles by
all studios. In short, we added high def to DVD which already is the de
facto standard format created and approved by the DVD Forum that consists
of more than two hundred companies."

New Marketing Strategy for Mass Market Adoption

Taking the holiday season sales based on promotional prices into full
consideration, these new manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRP) are
designed to meet the potential demand for HD DVD players in the U.S.
market. Effective on January 13, 2008 the MSRP of the entry-model HD-A3
will be $149.99, the HD-A30, with 1080p output, $199.99, and the high-end
HD-A35, $299.99.
"While price is one of the consideration elements for the early
adopter, it is a deal-breaker for the mainstream consumer," said Yoshi
Uchiyama, Group Vice President Digital A/V Group. "Consumer sales this
holiday season have proven that the consumer awareness of the HD DVD format
has been elevated and pricing is the most critical determinant in
consumers' purchase decision of

the next generation HD DVD technology. The value HD DVD provides to the
consumer simply cannot be ignored."

Extended Advertising Campaign

Toshiba plans to execute an extended advertising campaign that will
further enhance consumer awareness of the benefits of HD DVD and drive
sales to retail among potential consumers. Advertising strategies will
include television, print and online media channels. Toshiba will also work
with its dealers and studio partners on joint marketing and promotional
initiatives to promote HD DVD. Current promotions include "The Perfect HD
Offer" - a mail-in offer allowing consumers to select five HD DVD titles
for free from a selection of 15 with the purchase of any Toshiba HD DVD
player.

Consistent Viewing Experience and More

With advanced interactivity and Web-enabled network capabilities built
into every HD DVD player through a dedicated Ethernet port as mandated by
the specifications approved by the DVD Forum, Toshiba delivers on the
promise of a consistent entertainment experience through firmware updates
as studios launch new applications. HD DVD allows studios to flex their
creative muscle in ways never before seen. The latest of these new
experiences is online streaming. Now, when consumers connect their HD DVD
player to the Internet, they can stream new content or trailers, as
available, directly from a movie studio's server.

Universal Home Video, Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG
have reported that an average of 30 percent of HD DVD owners have accessed
Web- enabled network features and continue to do so regularly.

Ongoing Customer Commitment

In order to ensure that its customers will receive complete
satisfaction from their new players, Toshiba introduced the "HD DVD
Concierge" earlier this month. Consumers can now call 1-888-MY HDDVD
(1-888-694-3383) for answers to general questions about HD DVD, for
operational assistance or for assistance with various promotions.

About Toshiba HD DVD Players

With the HD DVD format, select HD DVD players allow consumers to
experience true high def 1080p for extraordinary resolution that matches
the latest state of the art 1080p HDTVs. These same players display images
at 24 frames per second, the same frame rate used by directors when using
film to create motion pictures, for a smoother, more film-like, viewing
experience.

Important Notes:

HD DVD with high-definition content required for HD viewing. Up-
conversion of DVD content will result in near HD picture quality. Viewing
high-definition content and up-converting DVD content may require an HDCP
capable DVI or HDMI input on your display device. 1080p capable display
required for viewing content in 1080p. 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. To take advantage of web-enabled network content,
installing the latest firmware (ver.2.4 for HD DVD player models HD-XA1,
HD-A1, and HD-D1; ver.2.7 for HD-XA2, HD-A2, HD-A2W, HD-D2, HD-A2C, and
HD-A20; and ver.1.3 for HD-A35, HD-A30, and HD-A3) is required. Web-enabled
network features require an always on broadband connection along with
specific movie titles that include this form of content. For 24p output,
content that was created in 1080p/24 frames/sec is required. Viewing 24p
output requires an HD display capable of accepting a 1080p/24Hz signal. Use
of REGZA Link, which is a feature based on HDMI-CEC, requires an HDMI-CEC
compatible display device. Depending on the specifications of your TV, some
or all REGZA Link functions may not work even if your TV is HDMI-CEC
compatible. Dolby(R) Digital Plus, Dolby(R) TrueHD and DTS(R) support for
up to 5.1 channels (DTS HD(R) support for DTS(R) core only). MP3/WMA audio
files not supported. HDMI audio output requires connection to a PCM capable
device. 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 every effort has been made at the time of publication
to ensure the accuracy of the information provided herein, product
specifications, configurations, system/component/options availability are
all subject to change without notice.

About Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C.

Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. is owned by Toshiba America,
Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, a world leader in high
technology products with subsidiaries worldwide. Toshiba is a pioneer in HD
DVD, DVD and DVD Recorder technology and a leading manufacturer of a full
line of home entertainment products, including flat panel TV, combination
products and portable devices. Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. is
headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey. For additional information, please
visit http://www.tacp.toshiba.com.

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

Amazon price drops on A3

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

Amazon price drop on A30

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

Best Buy:

oliverg · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 1:33 pm Post subject:

The dying gasp of a dying format Wink

emdawgz1 · Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 7949

WAR????

Sounds like surrender to me...

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

I wonder if this will cause BD players to go back up?

MikeEby · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 5238 Location: Osceola, Indiana

Nothing about lowering the price of the disks. The killer for me is the cost of the disks (Movies). The SD/HD combo packs are a wait of time and cost WAY TO MUCH, and I simply won't buy them. I cannot see paying $10 more for a disk that contains a useless SD version of the same movie. Who in the hell thought of that!

Mike

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12026 Location: Fort Collins, CO

They're claiming 50% share in 2007. Assuming that's correct, I wonder what it would have been if more studios supported the format? Given how few movies are available in HDDVD vs. BD, it seems clear to me that the consumers would overwhelmingly go with HDDVD given the choice. It's only Sony's strongarm tactics that are giving BD the upper hand.

But given Sony's strongarm tactics, I really doubt HDDVD will see 50% in 2008. Not with only 20% of the available movies.

papalek · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 1537 Location: Longs SC

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:31 pm Post subject:

I'm buying an A3 this week for the bench. If I buy 10 movies off eBay and use it for 2 years before it dies, I've more than got my money out of it.

ecrabb · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:41 pm Post subject:

I for one, LOVE the combo discs... as long as I don't have to pay much extra for them. It gives you the flexibility to rip/burn, put it on an iPod, watch it on the laptop. Hell, I have no less than 5 computers in my house that have DVD players in them with no HD-DVD playback capability. I have a portable player for the car, and the iPhone that's awesome when I fly. I can't do any of that with an HD-DVD without a SHITLOAD of time and effort.

Still, I won't pay much for the option. A few bucks would be OK. But, $35 vs. $25 - forget it. They should have used it for a competitive advantage over BD in this all-important adoption period. It's not like all the SD authoring isn't already all done. Instead, they made the acquisition of the HD version even MORE expensive than it already was. Big mistake, IMHO.

I agree with Gary. Toshiba can make the players practically free (they're getting there already), but if there's no movie selection they're dead in the water.

SC

Welwynnick · Joined: 04 May 2006 Posts: 229 Location: Welwyn, Herts, UK

MYoung · Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 369 Location: Madison, WI

As of November 25, 2007, there are 344 HD DVD titles and 415 Blu-ray titles out in the US, according to Wikipedia. 49 HD DVD titles will be released between now and May 6th, according to highdefdigest.com. 65 Blu-ray titles will be released between now and May 6th, according to highdefdigest.com. The huge shift in title availability might be coming, but it's not here yet. I have to wonder if HD DVD player sales continue, helped by this continued price slashing, and if Paramount and Universal can pick up some slack, maybe Warner would switch back support of HD DVD.

I agree that the media prices need to come down. I've also said in another thread that Paramount and Universal might be able to benefit from Warner leaving the HD DVD picture. There are lots of HD DVD players out there and with continued player cost slashing, those sales may continue. All those HD DVD player owners will be looking for content and with Warner out of the picture, Paramount and Universal will be getting more of their HD media dollars. Paramount and Universal need to start releasing more classic titles from their catalog and do more advertising. In addition, the HD DVD camp needs to do more advertising. It will be interesting to see what kind of advertising takes place.

benareeno · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 1614 Location: ottawa, canada

I really hope HD-DVD can make a comeback and perhaps even win!!

I still will not support Blu-ray...until HD-DVD is dead.

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

rabies_70 · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:52 pm Post subject:

HD DVD is dying Question

As a gesture of kindness I will offer to buy, at a substantially discounted rate of course all HD DVD's from those jumping ship to go to the obviously better BluRay ship...PM with your list and prices

rabies_70 · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:53 pm Post subject:

BluRay DVD is dying Question

As a gesture of kindness I will offer to buy, at a substantially discounted rate of course all BluRay DVD's from those jumping ship to go to the obviously better HD DVD ship...PM with your list and prices

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

Actually, with the ship sunk I would like to keep my HD DVD movies and sell them +10 years from now as collector's items. (Or coasters for the coffee table)