CEDIA 2007 - Day 1: Us vs. Monster Cable, Sony's New Projectors and Toshiba on HD-DVD
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Manveer Wasson on September 5, 2007 11:45 PM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
Toshiba's HD-DVD Players and Tons of Free HD-DVDs
Now we'll go into the new HD DVD products being released by Toshiba for 2008. The new models are the HD-A35, HD-A30, and HD-A3. All three models are part of Toshiba's third generation of HD-DVD players and are about ¼" slimmer than their predecessors.
The HD-A3 is the entry level model which has an MSRP of $299 and will ship in October. This model only features 1080i output and no other bells and whistles.
The HD-A30 is the successor to last years HD-A20. The unit is capable of outputting 1080p/24 frames per second as well as "CE-Link." Almost all moves are recorded at a rate of 24 frames per second. Having a player that can output at that rate removes the need for extra post processing which can have adverse affects on picture quality. CE-Link allows two-way communications between devices over HDMI. The player can then be controlled by compatible equipment (such as A/V receivers) for a more seamless integration of home theater components. The HD-A30 will have an MSRP of $399 and should begin shipping this month.
The HD-A35 will have the same features as the HD-A30 but will also include deep color support, PCM analog audio out, and high bit rate audio. Deep color support is a new addition to the HDMI 1.3 standard which allows for up to 48-bit color depth. PCM analog audio out allows you to output the uncompressed PCM audio channels used in many HD movies directly out of the player without the need to decode them using a receiver. High bit rate audio simply refers to the latest HD audio standards including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. The HD-A35 will have and MSRP of $499 and should begin shipping by October.
Toshiba also announced that they will be releasing an firmware update for the 2nd generation HD DVD players to add support for 1080p/24 frames per second.
Toshiba has made a name for themselves in the HD DVD arena with their gratuitous movie giveaways when purchasing a new HD DVD player. They are continuing this tradition will all new promotions starting immediately. First they will be giving away a copy of "300" and "Bourne Identity" with the purchase of a new Toshiba HD DVD player. These movies will be included right out of the box so there's no waiting for the movies in the mail.
In addition to this bundle, Toshiba announced "The Perfect HD Offer," which will begin on October 1st 2007 and end February 28th 2008. This offer is similar to earlier offers this year where Toshiba will allow you to chose 5 free HD DVD movies with the purchase of an HD DVD player. However this time Toshiba as upped the ante and will extend this offer to not only Toshiba HD DVD drives, but also all HD DVD capable Toshiba PCs as well as the Microsoft XBOX 360 HD DVD add-on. The only downside is that the movies will still be mailed to the consumer after purchase.
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leexgx - Friday, September 7, 2007 - link
my higher end pcs i sell come fitted with conbo BD Reader and an dvd-Rw buner and an 24" Wide monitor to support that as well (1920x1200 screen/1080p/HDCP)combo BD Read/dvd-RW drives are £140 (not looked at hd-dvd prices) once thay get to better price i fit them as standered on my med range pcs
burner for BD or HD are like £300
considering the buner but depends on customer
leexgx - Friday, September 7, 2007 - link
online stores only seem to have BD/dvd combo and BD buners so hd-dvd cant realy be pushed yet on the PC side if there is lack of an drive (good for BD then)compareing them disk size HD-dvd 15gb/30gb and BD 25gb/50gb, i not buy an HD-dvd buner
Locutus465 - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
By focusing on laptops you have the advanatage that it becomes more likely users will look their laptop up to their TV... After being wowed by the quality of HD off their laptop, they might start considering also investing in a stand alone player so they can forgo the inconvinience of having to mess around with wires and cables all the time just to watch HD movie content.Owls - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
to use adult titles as a selling point.. I don't know if that's a joke or something sad.mcnabney - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
The argument is valid. The marketing of adult content (previously only available on film) for home viewing on the VHS standard is considered one of the contributors to the victory of VHS over Beta. Recording time length and cheaper players also had an impact.Locutus465 - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
Perhaps it's just me but I think the confidence sony is showing right now is the first step in their down fall... HD is still very much an up and coming market, just getting ready to make it down to regular consumers (i.e. to the point that single guys like me who aren't rich are finally getting HD-TVs, families are next). Here is where price/quality really matters, and that is where HD-DVD is delivering compared to blueray. Sony is completely off their rocker to think they've any where near won.AlexWade - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
HD DVD won CEDIA with the announcement that HD DVD will be pushed by Sunday Night Football. Monster is right about consumer ignorance (but wrong about their overpriced cables). Most consumers still have little clue about HD DVD and Blu-Ray. A lot of people watch football. And it comes at a time when a sub $200 HD DVD will be entering the market. Blu-Ray better counter, or else Blu-Ray will become What?-Ray.AlexWade - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
Oh, and one more thing. Neither side has won the MAJORITY of average consumers. Blu-Ray, according to Sony, has won the enthusiasts. But those are the vast vast minority. The winner of this format war is the one that gets the majority.Locutus465 - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
Blueray has won the segment of customers that think higher price tag some how means better HD quality from your DVD player... It won't take the average consumer long to figure out that HD-DVD gives you the same quality at a much lower price point...tuteja1986 - Thursday, September 6, 2007 - link
Well i bought a 360 external drive and removed it from its casing and installed it on pc via mini ATAPI to IDE cable ;)A cheap $150 HD-DVD drive that works great on my PC.