LAS VEGAS, 8 January 2008 — Toshiba Corp said on Sunday its HD DVD high-definition video format is not dead despite being dealt a big setback by Warner Bros studio’s decision to exclusively back Sony Corp’s rival Blu-Ray technology.
Akiyo Ozaka, president of Toshiba America Consumer Products, told a briefing at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that HD DVD “has not lost.”
Ozaka declined to comment on Toshiba’s next steps, which he said Toshiba’s HD DVD partners would have to discuss, after Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros, one of the world’s largest film studios, said it would back Blu-Ray, an optical disk format for storing high-definition video.
Toshiba official’s remarks were the latest salvo in a long-running battle over which format will dominate the next generation of technology for delivering high-definition movies to consumers.
Warner Brothers studio pulled out of an alliance with Toshiba’s HD DVD camp and switched sides, announcing on Friday that Hollywood’s largest distributor of DVDs will do so exclusively in Sony’s Blu-Ray format.
HD DVD Promotion Group canceled a press conference it had planned for the eve of yesterday’s formal start of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Warner Home Video executives were to have joined those from Toshiba, Microsoft, Intel, Universal Home Studios, and Paramount Home Entertainment at a press conference in the Wynn hotel and casino.
“Based on the timing of the Warner announcement, we decided to postpone our CES 2008 press conference,” the promotion group said in an e-mail to news reporters.
“We are discussing the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps.” Toshiba America Consumer Products Chief Executive Akio Ozaka said on Sunday the Japanese electronics giant is “surprised and particularly disappointed” by Warner’s decision but remains committed to the HD DVD format. Toshiba rolled out the third-generation of its HD DVD players on Sunday in a preview to news reporters attending CES.
“As you can imagine, this is a tough day for me,” Toshiba Vice President of Marketing Jodi Sally said while unveiling the possibly endangered DVD player product line.
“It is difficult for me to read all the pundits declaring HD DVD dead. But, we have been declared dead before. We firmly believe HD DVD is the best format for consumers.” Toshiba reported that its HD DVD player sales were the best ever in its last financial quarter.
Sony gleefully seized the momentum, unveiling a $200 Blu-Ray disk drive that enables personal computers to play the disks. “As you can guess, all of us at Sony are feeling blue today,” Sony of America Chief Executive Sir Howard Stringer quipped during the press conference.
“But, that’s a good thing. We thank Warner for their decision.” Sony introduced a line of Vaio laptop computers with built in Blu-Ray players. Sony said it expects a Blu-Ray win to bolster sales of its PlayStation 3 video game console, which doubles as a DVD player.
Blu-Ray movie DVDs outsold HD DVD disks two to one in 2007, according to Sony Senior Vice President of Home Products Randy Waynick.
“Blu-Ray has made incredible strides this past year,” Waynick said at a press conference in the Las Vegas Convention Center. “The Warner announcement is in response to consumer demand. We believe this decision will further strengthen and accelerate the adoption of the Blu-Ray format.”
Industry analysts and electronics makers maintain the format war has stifled sales of high-density DVD players because consumers are waiting for a victor before plunking down money for the expensive new technology.
Warner’s decision to switch to the Blu-Ray camp is seen by industry insiders at CES as a fatal blow to Toshiba’s HD DVD format, which has vied for years with Blu-Ray to win a battle to become the industry standard.
The loser of the battle will become a mere footnote in consumer electronics history, much the way Betamax was forgotten after VHS became the technology of choice for home video players, according to industry analysts.
“The decision by Warner will finally resolve the issue,” Panasonic chief operating officer Joseph Taylor told AFP.
“The war is over, and this will speed things up. A lot of people have been standing on the sidelines and now it is clear where the future lies.” Taylor agrees with analysts that say if Paramount and Universal also abandon HD DVD, the format is doomed.
Panasonic executives say they aim to be the “industry leader in Blu-Ray.” Silicon Valley analysts feel HD DVD will die a quick death, but wonder whether the outcome will be rendered moot because people are shifting to downloading movies from the Internet instead of buying DVDs.
