Toshiba knows no shame, plans to release super-resolution DVD player

[Jim L]

Originally Posted by bkbluray

LOL that's what I was thinking about. You can make the picture look almost as good as the Blu-ray, but definitely not the sound.

You can't create information that isn't there to begin with. This is just another name for Super Upconversion (SUC) which is rebadged old technology.

Toshiba has already gotten a bad name with consumers and retailers with their HD DVD ego trip.

Let them just try this stupid launch. I hope they have more money to burn.

[Elandyll]

Toshiba is now betting whatever is left of their credibility in SUC

With the best Fractal conversion in the world (real time no less, 24frames/sec), you will never make 300k pixels magically contain as much infos as 2million.

Now they are betting on this to create a "buzz", and just show some slightly improved (if that) up conversion in 6 months, when Blu Ray will actually become somewhat affordable for the masses.

If anything, I could believe that they received one last check from MS to put one more stick in the BDA's wheel, but that won't work beside some poor saps that will fall for their propaganda.

On the price level, as the Blu Ray get right above the average good DVD with upscale features (in the $200 range), where would these SUC players be?

Under the price of upscale players? Then they'll lose money (yet again some will say). Above that? Then they'll be around the same pricing that the low end Blu Ray players will be at (sigmatek is already anounced at 199euros in France for June, and the Mag will likely be around that price by the end of the year).

There will be no market for something that pretends to be "almost" as good as Blu Ray (even if it clearly won't be, specially on large screen 40" and up) in 6 months.

[aygie]

Originally Posted by ToEhrIsHuman

Let me get this straight:

1) Extension to DVD format. Check.
2) Comparable video quality to Blu-ray. Check.
3) Price point under $200. Check.

Format is: HD DVD.

When all else fails...try, try again.

Lame.

4) Toshiba can't let go of their DVD royalties. Check

[Crème Blu-ray]

Good lord, Toshiba is dishing out more crap these days than Mike Rowe. If I had enough money to follow my principles, I'd sell my Toshiba DLP and buy a replacement.

[MPDIEHL]

Is this a case of my disk is bigger than your disk.....??

[stockstar1138]

its time for sony and disney to drop the dvd format.

kick toshiba where it really hurts: losing dvd royalties. its been over a decade since hdtvs have been introduced, we are going to an all digital standard withing the next 9 months.

its time to get and hdtv people!

tell toshiba to cut the crap and support blu-ray or dvd is getting dropped.

people will move to blu-ray if blu-ray has exclusive content on it, but as long as DVD is around, people will not move in masses.

[JasonR]

I hope the retailers tell them they won't be carrying their SUC player, that would hurt worse than studios IMO.

[stockstar1138]

Originally Posted by JasonR

I hope the retailers tell them they won't be carrying their SUC player, that would hurt worse than studios IMO.

that too, but i think retailers will be carrying them. it would be nice not to give them an endcap though.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

its time for sony and disney to drop the dvd format.

Except that's where the real big money is still. I think they'd be hurting themselves more than anyone else.

[Blu Titan]

This is just a desperate attempt by Tosh to keep DVD revuenues going. If this "technology" is so good, why did it lose hundreds of millions trying to promote HD DED

[Grubert]

Thread title edited. engadget rocks!

[stockstar1138]

Originally Posted by JTK

Except that's where the real big money is still. I think they'd be hurting themselves more than anyone else.

its a short term loss for a long term gain.

look at it this way.

blu-ray still isn't guarenteed to be an overly successful format. by dropping dvd you are basically guarenteeing that blu-ray will be nearly as successful as dvd.

along with blu-ray rapidly becoming the next dvd, the studios will enjoy better margins from there movies, as the blu-rays will be sold 10-20% more than the dvd would of.

they no longer have to PAY toshiba royalties

instead they RECEIVE royalties.

and on top to that, they are producing a better product and showing the MS/Toshiba mentality that if you mess with us, we will screw you over hardcore.

imagine what would happen to toshiba's bottom line and stock price, if 20% of there DVD business just went bye bye, the stock would plummet, the big execs who pull this kind of stuff will lose their jobs, and all because they couldn't just grow up and admit a loss.

all this would happen to toshiba, while disney and especially Sony's price increased. Toshiba would change their tune no doubt if the two companies even threatened this and they would stop the BS.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

its a short term loss for a long term gain.

look at it this way.

blu-ray still isn't guarenteed to be an overly successful format. by dropping dvd you are basically guarenteeing that blu-ray will be nearly as successful as dvd.

along with blu-ray rapidly becoming the next dvd, the studios will enjoy better margins from there movies, as the blu-rays will be sold 10-20% more than the dvd would of.

they no longer have to PAY toshiba royalties

instead they RECEIVE royalties.

and on top to that, they are producing a better product and showing the MS/Toshiba mentality that if you mess with us, we will screw you over hardcore.

imagine what would happen to toshiba's bottom line and stock price, if 20% of there DVD business just went bye bye, the stock would plummet, the big execs who pull this kind of stuff will lose their jobs, and all because they couldn't just grow up and admit a loss.

all this would happen to toshiba, while disney and especially Sony's price increased. Toshiba would change their tune no doubt if the two companies even threatened this and they would stop the BS.

I hear ya.

[davidxiphoid]

why do I get the feeling that Toshiba has employees crammed in warehouses all over the world armed with sandpaper and magic markers, sanding down the HD lettering from all the returned and overstocked HD-DVD players and replacing them with magic markered SV, or whatever the hell they are going to call it, in it's place?

This makes it final I will NEVER buy another toshiba product as long as I breathe.

[ajc68]

What sounds more appealing to the American consumer… Replacing your perfectly good DVD player with a DVD player, or upgrading to a Blu-ray player that plays HD pictures and audio, all while upscaling your DVD collection as well. And by the time they get this on the market, the Blu-ray players will have come down in price.

This is Toshiba’s desperate attempt to keep DVD’s as the primary format. What they should be doing is putting all of their energies into making the best Blu-ray player on the market. Business is not supposed to take things personally, and that’s exactly what Toshiba is mistakenly doing.

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

Originally Posted by mj23007

what they learned was that sony is arrogant to think they can still charge $28 bucks for a movie, and $350 for a player. Toshiba is trying to find a way to under cut them, and blu rays slow adoption rate( b/c of price gouging) might end up costing them millions. Take a note from Micosoft, make it cheap enough and people will buy, then make your money off the software,.i.e xbox 360...18 million units sold.

Consider yourself banned.

[maximiza]

OO NO Jodi Sally is comming to get us!!!!!!!!!

[Vampyre]

A new format inbetween DVD and Blu ray hasn't a chance. DVD is dying. Blu ray is gaining ground as the primary movie format. When HD goes full blown in Feb of 09, Blu ray will sky rocket beyond DVD. Anything less of Blu ray technology will once again be left in the dust. There is no way in the world that retailers will carry three different movie formats. Period. And there is no demand for second best behind BD technology.

If this report is true, Toshiba has quite literally gone insane.

[BoneWSO]

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

its time for sony and disney to drop the dvd format.

kick toshiba where it really hurts: losing dvd royalties. its been over a decade since hdtvs have been introduced, we are going to an all digital standard withing the next 9 months.

its time to get and hdtv people!

tell toshiba to cut the crap and support blu-ray or dvd is getting dropped.

people will move to blu-ray if blu-ray has exclusive content on it, but as long as DVD is around, people will not move in masses.

Agreed. Include a digital copy with every new release from Sony and Disney and I'm sure more people would be compelled to go blu. You have your BD for your home theater and you transport your digital copy anywhere you go. Nightmare Before Christmas will be Disney's first and I hope they continue releasing every movie thereafter with a digital copy.

[Proteus]

I can't help but chuckle.

All of it is only about Toshiba's DVD royalties and doing anything they can to delay BD's inevitable replacement of the DVD down the line.

That's all it is. Anything they can do to confuse the market is a benefit as they see it.

What losers.

There needs to be some BIG stories in top publications pointing this out to the consumer and how Toshiba is trying to mislead them... Again.

Why can't Toshiba just do honest business? What is wrong with these guys? I will never own another of their products again. I won't even buy an Apple laptop unless they replace the Toshiba harddrive in it with another brand not associated with Toshiba. Period. They deserve nothing after all of this.

The BDA needs to get the studios at the table and make one thing _extremely_ clear to all of them. Blu-ray's need to include significantly more content than their counterpart DVD's and they simply must be released at least two weeks prior to the DVD release.

I keep hearing all this crap about 'BD failing and not growing'. That is the biggest BS I've ever heard. There's not a whole lot of businesses that can say they 'grew' more than 1000% in less than six months. Seriously. What are these people smoking? Hell, just last week BD grew 59.4% (if I recall correctly) over the week prior! See it here.

Someone please just shoot the people at Toshiba and do the world a massive favor. Please.