Ask the Insiders: Putting the Last Nails in the Coffin

[TheRealBob]

Originally Posted by scott1256ca

How can Toshiba force manufacturers of BD players to include HD DVD support? Do you mean by saying "dvd players may not play BD's"? If so, I can see some lawsuits coming out of that.

No, he means Toshiba hopes to move enough HD DVD hardware and software in the next few months that BD player manufacturers feel it would be in their best interest to include the ability to play back HD DVDs, and thus forcing them to pay Toshiba royalties on the hardware.

With all the reports of stacks of returned HD DVD players appearing in stores all over the country, I don't think this scheme is going to work. The word is out that HD DVD is dead, and if you still have a library of HD DVD titles, there are players to be had for cheap all over eBay and at your local retailer, so there's no need for all players to be dual-format.