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Washington, D.C. (December 8, 2011) -- Verizon may be planning to launch a service next spring that would compete directly with Netflix and could involve a partnership with Redbox, according to several news reports. Reuters reported Tuesday that Verizon was negotiating agreements with media companies for the right to stream their content. The wire service added that Verizon was interested in launching a streaming offering in areas outside of its FiOS TV markets. For instance, if you could not subscribe to FiOS where you live, you could subscribe to Verizon's Netflix-like streaming service. And TechCrunch, the AOL tech site, reports...

Toshiba America Consumer Products has announced a new technology to upconvert standard DVDs to high-definition quality, according to the company. The XDE (eXtended Detail Enhancement) upconfirts from 480i/p to 1080p and also offers several picture enhancement modes that allow for greater detail, more vivid colors and stronger contrast, according to the Fort Wayne, N.J.-based subsidiary of Toshiba. "Consumers have embraced the DVD format like no other technology and invested in large libraries of their favorite movies. As the market moves towards high definition, XDE lets them experience their existing DVD library and the tens of thousands of DVD titles in...

Washington, D.C. (March 5, 2008) -- Last week, I took some heat from readers for saying here that Toshiba should offer company discounts to HD DVD owners after announcing it was exiting the business. I reasoned that it would be good business for Toshiba to send a signal to its customers that it appreciated their commitment to HD DVD. Now that the format is going out of business, the HD DVD player will be nearly obsolete. So, an offer, let's say, of 20 percent off a Toshiba LCD HDTV would make people feel better about their investment in not only...

Washington, D.C. (February 29, 2008) -- Sony, the leading supporter of Blu-ray, has said the new high-def disc will replace the standard-def DVD in the next several years. Is that possible? After all, standard-def DVD players are in nearly every American home and many people have built up impressive collections of DVD film libraries. However, now that Toshiba has pulled the plug on HD DVD, it's my view that Blu-ray has an opportunity to become the leading home video format. So, how can Blu-ray replace the DVD? Here are five steps: 1. Lower Player Prices to Under $200 Blu-ray players...

Toshiba finally mercy-killed its HD-DVD format last week, ending a drawn-out fight with Sony's Blu-ray for high-definition disc supremacy. The format's demise has brought HD-DVD owners untold humiliation: reams of newspaper stories comparing them to the losers of yore who bought into Betamax and LaserDisc, the sad sight of desperate early adopters peddling brand-new players on Craigslist, and, worst of all, a Web site celebrating the similarities between HD-DVD and Hillary Clinton. I'm sick of the mockery and abuse. You see, I'm one of the morons who bought an HD-DVD player. While I freely admit my moronitude, I still believe...

Blu-ray Disc may have beaten out HD DVD as the high-definition optical disc format to replace DVDs, but it now faces a new test against Internet downloads, market researchers Gartner and iSuppli said. The two high-definition disc formats had battled for the past few years until Toshiba last week handed victory to Blu-ray Disc by announcing an end to its support of HD DVD. The company's decision came after a major Hollywood film studio and several retailers, including Wal-Mart, said they would back Blu-ray Disc exclusively. But the victory for Blu-ray Disc may be short-lived if consumers choose to download...

The first factor that needs to be put completely to one side is picture quality. Unless you are a technology geek with a television the size of a multiplex cinema screen, there is no difference between the output of HD DVD and Blu-ray machines. Both offer high definition DVD playback superior to standard DVD players. Where Sony had the killer edge is that its Playstation 3 (PS3) computer games console comes pre-fitted with a Blu-ray player. So as Sony has sold 10.5 million PS3 consoles since it was launched in late 2006, that is 10.5 million Blu-ray machines already in...

Company Remains Focused on Championing Consumer Access to High Definition Content TOKYO--Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has undertaken a thorough review of its overall strategy for HD DVD and has decided it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders. This decision has been made following recent major changes in the market. Toshiba will continue, however, to provide full product support and after-sales service for all owners of Toshiba HD DVD products. HD DVD was developed to offer consumers access at an affordable price to high-quality, high definition content and prepare them for the digital...

Japanese corporation Toshiba surrendered to Sony’s Blu-Ray technology and released a statement announcing the end of the road for the HD DVD. Toshiba says however that HD DVD consumers will continue to have full product support despite the decision not to develop and manufacture HD DVD players anymore. Toshiba Corp. will put an end to the HD DVD business by the end of March 2008, which includes besides players and recorders, HD DVD disk drives for PC applications and games. However, the company will continue to support and develop the standard DVD format, regardless of what is going to happen...

Washington, D.C. (February 18, 2008) -- Toshiba is likely to hold a board meeting as early as tomorrow to discuss dropping its HD DVD business. That's according to a report by the Associated Press. Various news reports over the weekend said Toshiba, the main backer of HD DVD, was planning to end its high-def disc format battle against Blu-ray. In recent weeks, Blu-ray player and disc sales have far outpaced HD DVD and Warner Bros. and several retailers have decided to endorse Blu-ray in the war. Toshiba publicly said Monday that it has started a review of the HD DVD...

NEWS: 15 February 2008 8:57 GMT - A movie news site is reporting that Toshiba is a matter of weeks away from conceding defeat of its HD DVD format in the next-gen high-def disc format war, giving in to Blu-ray's market dominance. The Hollywood Reporter states: "Toshiba is widely expected to pull the plug on its HD DVD format sometime in the coming weeks, reliable industry sources say, after a rash of retail defections that followed Warner Home Video's announcement in early January that it would support only the rival Blu-ray Disc format after May". "An announcement is coming soon",...

Washington, D.C. (February 11, 2008) -- NetFlix today drove another nail in HD DVD's coffin by announcing it will support Blu-ray exclusively in the high-def disc format war. The by-mail DVD rental service, which has more than six million subscribers, has offered movies in both HD DVD and Blu-ray. However, the company today said the industry has "picked a winner" in Blu-ray. NetFlix noted that the majority of the major Hollywood studios have decided to support Blu-ray exclusively, with Warner Bros. last month the most recent one to do so. "As of now (NetFlix) will purchase only Blu-ray discs and...

Warner Home Video's defection from the HD DVD camp may have put a damper on hardware sales (see " Warner's Blu-ray Disc move has industry buzzing"). In the week since the studio's surprise early-January announcement that after May it will support only the rival Blu-ray Disc format, sales of HD DVD players ground to a virtual halt, giving Blu-ray hardware a whopping 93% sales advantage, according to data from the NPD Group. According to raw retail data collected by NPD, consumers bought just 1,758 HD DVD players the week of January 12, down from 14,558 players the week before. In...

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan 23, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- AMD () today announced the introduction and availability of the ATI Radeon(TM) HD 3400 and ATI Radeon(TM) HD 3600 series, the leading-edge entry-level and mainstream graphics processors (GPU) in the ATI Radeon(TM) HD 3000 series. Ranging in price from USD $49-$65 suggested e-tail pricing (SEP) for the ATI Radeon HD 3400 series and USD $79-$99 SEP for the ATI Radeon HD 3600 series(1), the new graphics solutions deliver unmatched value to the consumer. Both series continue to advance AMD's leadership by delivering display connectivity through DisplayPort(TM) integrated into the GPU(2), allowing AMD...

Washington, D.C. (January 4, 2008) -- Warner Bros. today said it will endorse Blu-ray exclusively in the high-def format war against HD DVD. (See commentary below.) The move, which was predicted last month by this web site, now gives Blu-ray the exclusive backing of five major studios while HD DVD has just two. Worse news for HD DVD: Warner releases have been among the format's top sellers. However, the studio said that it will stop releasing films in HD DVD this May. Until now, Warner released movies in both formats. (Until May, Warner says it will release HD DVD titles...

BOOST FOR BLU-RAY! Warner Bros Will Release High-Def Titles Exclusively In That Format This is a huge development in the Blu-ray versus HD-DVD format war currently raging on. Warner Bros, which had been producing its high-def DVD titles in both formats, will start the Blu-ray exclusive later this year. The decision was made in response to stroing consumer preference for the Blu-Ray format, according to WB's announcement. I'd been hearing rumors for months that Warner Bros had been offered in the neighborhood of $250 million to go exclusively with HD-DVD. Less lavish but still big payments already had been offered...

More than 750,000 HD DVD high-def disc players have now been sold, according to the North American HD DVD Promotional Group. The group said the number includes standalone HD DVD players from Toshiba and the XBox 360 HD DVD player attachment. HD DVD and Blu-ray are rival formats competing for the new high-def disc audience. While HD DVD's 750,000 mark is impressive, it still falls far short of Blu-ray's overall home penetration total. Standalone HD DVD players are outselling standalone Blu-ray players, but Sony's Play Station 3, which has a Blu-ray player inside, has sold millions of units. The exact...

[Wal-Mart] Wednesday said it would start its Black Friday and holiday pricing early on some items, in a move to drive sales during the increasingly competitive holiday shopping season. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, said it will offer Black-Friday prices three weeks early by unveiling "secret" in-store specials. The company said it will offer discounts on five popular gift items. Wal-Mart plans to reveal discounts on its Web site on Thursday. The items will be available in stores beginning Friday morning, Nov. 2 as it officially opens its special Christmas shops. The day after Thanksgiving is one of the biggest...

Washington, D.C. (October 18, 2007) -- An HD DVD player could be available for the new low price of $199 this holiday season. Internet message boards are buzzing with the possibility after a Wal-Mart employee posted an upcoming store notice about a $199 Toshiba HD DVD player. The price has not been confirmed by Wal-Mart or Toshiba, but the drop would not be surprising. Toshiba's entry-level player is now $299, but industry analysts have forecast that a sub-$200 player is likely for the holidays. Additionally, Blu-ray manufacturers are expected to lower the price on its players. Sony's Blu-ray player is...

Warner Bros. Weighing HD DVD Offer? The Los Angeles Times says so, quoting "Hollywood insiders." By Swanni Washington, D.C. (September 10, 2007) -- Warner Bros is considering a "lucrative offer" to back HD DVD exclusively in the high-def disc format war. That's according to an article in today's Los Angeles Times. Warner Bros. is now releasing titles in both Blu-ray and HD DVD and the studio has preached that the two-format approach has led to increased sales of such titles as The Departed. But the surprise departure last month of Steve Nickerson, Warner Home Video's senior vice president for High-Definition,...