Toshiba to delay HD DVD launch

[Alex Pallas]

Toshiba said on Tuesday it will delay the year-end Japan launch of its next-generation HD DVD players to address copy protection issues, potentially undermining its advantage as the first supplier to put such machines on the market.

The Japanese company had said in September the domestic launch might be postponed until after December. A spokesman for Toshiba said it would continue to push for a U.S. launch in the first quarter of 2006, most likely some time between February and March.

Toshiba said in a statement it would not launch the products until the last details on copy protection management systems, called AACS, or advanced access content system, were finalized.

"I cannot say when the AACS issues will be resolved,'' the spokeswoman said. "But it's hard to think the launch in Japan will come after the U.S. launch.''

Toshiba and Sony, leading rival camps, have waged a three-year battle to have their different standards adopted for the new DVDs, which promise much greater capacity for high-definition movies. Toshiba, along with NEZCZ and Sanyo Electric, has been promoting HD DVD, while Sony and Matsushita Electric Industrial, the maker of Panasonic brand products, have been developing a technology known as Blu-ray.

The Blu-ray DVD group said in November it planned to roll out a high-definition disc format in spring 2006, and that members of the consortium led by Sony would unveil specific launch plans at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

http://news.com.com/Toshiba%20to%20d...l?tag=nefd.top

i cant tell if this was already talked about here in the forums or if this is another pushback date, but anyway it was just posted at news.com

[Marwin]

The official press release from Toshiba:
Toshiba Updates the Status of HD DVD Products Launch in Japan along with the Progress of Content Protection System for HD DVD (AACS)

Toshiba is currently in the final phase for commercialization of HD DVD players, the highly anticipated next generation optical disc system, and has been targeting a Japanese market launch by the end of this year. We have completed the design of HD DVD players for the U.S. and Japanese market and are ready for volume production at our manufacturing facilities in Japan.

Besides the experience of compelling picture quality, HD DVD offers many advanced features, including the robust copy protection management system of AACS (Advanced Access Content System). AACS is integrated into players and discs to secure content from illegal copying and thereby assure that consumers can enjoy the benefits of the widest possible distribution of high-quality, high value-added content. Various industry participants are in the process of finalizing the last details for implementation of AACS. Because the DVD Forum has adopted AACS as an integral part of the HD DVD format, Toshiba will launch its HD DVD products only after AACS is finalized.

Under these circumstances, Toshiba plans to launch HD DVD players and notebook PCs with HD DVD drives in Japan promptly following the implementation of AACS into hardware and software products, while also taking into consideration the optimum timing for marketing hardware and software. We continue to plan for a first quarter 2006 launch in the U.S.

HD DVD has won broad recognition and support from consumers and the industry as the superior format for next generation optical disc systems, and Toshiba will continue to work with our many industry partners for the early launch of HD DVD products.

[zombie]

Delaying HD-DVD's launch is nice but I long for the day when they just cancel the launch altogether. Gotta happen within the next couple months I'd say.

[thunderhawk]

Another Source: http://www.channelregister.co.uk/200..._hd-dvd_delay/

[Patrick]

"HD DVD has won broad recognition and support from consumers and the industry as the superior format for next generation optical disc systems, and Toshiba will continue to work with our many industry partners for the early launch of HD DVD products."

Ha ha ha, Broad recognition? Our many industry partners? all 5 or 6 of them huh? Seriously, are they smoking something? Blu-ray has 80 to 90% of the electronics industry and Movie industry. Come on....why not admit defeat and bow out gracefully instead of crashing and burning? Toshiba! wake up and smell the losses.

[thunderhawk]

Originally Posted by Patrick

Come on....why not admit defeat and bow out gracefully instead of crashing and burning? Toshiba! wake up and smell the losses.

It's like being burned in the 3rd degree. You can't feel it because the nerves who transmit pain signals are completely gone..