Toshiba Third Generation Players Deliver on the Promise of the HD DVD Format

CES -- Demonstrating strong consumer acceptance for the HD DVD format, Toshiba America Consumer Products L.L.C. ("Toshiba") today announced that the rollout of its third generation HD DVD players has been the most successful to date. With their unrivaled performance including real-world Web-enabled networking capabilities, consumers have chosen Toshiba's third generation HD DVD players for their ultimate high def entertainment experience, resulting in the strongest quarter of unit sales to date and solidifying Toshiba's market share leadership position.

"We are pleased with the consumer acceptance of our HD DVD players in the market," said Jodi Sally, Vice President of Marketing, Toshiba's Digital A/V Group. The combination of HD DVD's state of the art audio/video performance and unrivaled interactive capabilities along with exciting consumer promotions and affordable pricing in 2007 marked significant accomplishments for the HD DVD format.

An HD DVD World

As it has become established in the market, HD DVD has delivered on the promise of next generation entertainment in the home, which has led to the expansion of high definition in all areas of the consumer experience.

"Because HD DVD is a standardized format and meets the spec guidelines mandated and approved by the DVD Forum, it provides a consistent platform for all applications of next generation high definition video such as mobile entertainment and makes it possible to enjoy HD DVD in a multitude of lifestyle settings," said Yoshi Uchiyama, Group Vice President America Digital A/V Group. "Whether as a standalone player for a home theater as a companion drive to the Xbox 360(TM) gaming machine or as an HD DVD-ROM drive for computers, HD DVD will be in many facets of consumers' lives. As part of our vision for transitioning movie lovers to high definition, our goal is to extend HD DVD beyond the traditional home entertainment experience."

Fulfilling the promise of HD DVD

Toshiba also announced its commitment to enhancing the consumer's HD DVD player purchase with the introduction of the "HD DVD Concierge," a new 800 number offering dedicated assistance to purchasers of HD DVD players. Consumers can now call 1-888-MY HDDVD (1-888-694-3383) for answers to general questions about HD DVD, for operational assistance or for assistance with various marketing initiatives. Trained service agents will provide the latest information on HD DVD enabling consumers to get the most from their purchase.

Toshiba delivers a richer interactive experience-now

With interactivity built into every HD DVD player as a mandatory spec, and with the reality of Web-enabled network capabilities, Toshiba delivers on the promise of a totally new experience. HD DVD allows studios to flex their creative muscle in ways never before offered or not currently available on any other format. 2007 saw the introduction of online polling, ringtones and online shopping to name a few, all from the HD DVD player itself and from the comfort of one's own home. The latest of these new experiences is online streaming. Now when consumers connect their HD DVD player to the Internet via the standard Ethernet port on every player, they can stream new content or trailers, as available, directly from a movie studio's server. "It's exciting to see the studios bring HD DVD to life through new interactive features and Web-enabled network capabilities," said Uchiyama. "By consistently delivering unique entertainment experiences, we're changing the world of movie watching and giving meaning to the HD DVD experience." Consumers have spoken, and data from Universal Home Video and Paramount and DreamWorks Animation SKG shows that an average of 30 percent of HD DVD owners have accessed Web-enabled network features and continue to do so regularly.

About Toshiba HD DVD Players and Third Generation Line

HD DVD was designed from the outset to be the evolution of the DVD format; every Toshiba HD DVD player is designed to play back DVDs and CDs. Toshiba's HD DVD players will not only play DVD but will instantly make a movie lover's existing DVD library look even better than it ever did with upconversion via the HDMI(TM) output. With the HD DVD format, consumers can experience true high def 1080p resolution for extraordinary detail that matches the latest state of the art 1080p HDTVs. Select Toshiba HD DVD players display images at 24 frames per second, the same frame rate used by directors when using film to create motion pictures, for a smoother, more film like, viewing experience.

Toshiba's third generation family starts with the entry level HD-A3 player featuring 1080i output capability. The other two new models, Toshiba's HD-A30 and HD-A35, output 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080p), the highest HD signal currently available. Both models are capable of outputting signals at 1080p/24 frames per second so consumers can enjoy movies in their native frame rate. The HD-A30 and HD-A35 models also feature "REGZA(R) Link" (HDMI(TM)-CEC), allowing two-way control between the HD DVD player and a TV through an HDMI connection.

All Toshiba HD DVD players also feature twin video processors and advanced audio to deliver an immersive home theater experience with features such as picture-in-picture video and audio commentary. Thanks to the Ethernet port and flash memory built into every Toshiba HD DVD player, movie lovers also can enjoy the benefits of Web-enabled network connectivity. Plus, Toshiba's third generation players have a new slim design cabinet that is approximately 1/4- inch slimmer than second generation models.

HD DVD's Commitment to Green

Toshiba is committed to not only making its products consumer friendly, but friendly to the environment as well. Its products, including the third generation HD DVD players, meet Toshiba's voluntary environmental standards and ongoing efforts to bring eco-conscious products to market and comply with the company's strict environmental policies. Environmental management is promoted both from the standpoint of improving products themselves and renewing manufacturing processes, which not only calls for the restriction of the use of hazardous substances in products, but also to avoid using such substances in any manufacturing process.

For example, Toshiba HD DVD players are compliant with the EU RoHS Directive, a European Union environmental directive that restricts the use of six hazardous substances, including lead, mercury and cadmium. Also, for energy conservation, all third generation players meet the Energy Star standard. Toshiba will place the Toshiba Group Earth Protection mark on its third generation players' catalogs and manuals. The Toshiba Environmental Standard for granting the Toshiba Group Earth Protection mark is on Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C.'s official website.

  Pricing and Availability:
 HD-A3 ($299.99, Available Now)
 HD-A30 ($399.99, Available Now)
 HD-A35 ($499.99, Available Now)
 HD-XA2 ($799.99, Available Now)

 Important Notes:

HD DVD with high-definition content required for HD viewing. Up-conversion of DVD content will result in near HD picture quality. Viewing high-definition content and up-converting DVD content may require an HDCP capable DVI or HDMI input on your display device. 1080p capable display required for viewing content in 1080p. Firmware update may be required for some interactive features depending on content, which may also require an always-on broadband internet connection. Some features may require additional bandwidth. To take advantage of web-enabled network content, installing the latest firmware (ver.2.4 for HD DVD player models HD-XA1, HD-A1, and HD-D1; ver.2.7 for HD- XA2, HD-A2, HD-A2W, HD-D2, HD-A2C, and HD-A20; and ver.1.3 for HD-A35, HD-A30, and HD-A3) is required. Web-enabled network features require an always on broadband connection along with specific movie titles that include this form of content. For 24p output, content that was created in 1080p/24 frames/sec is required. Viewing 24p output requires an HD display capable of accepting a 1080p/24Hz signal. Use of REGZA Link, which is a feature based on HDMI-CEC, requires an HDMI-CEC compatible display device. Depending on the specifications of your TV, some or all REGZA Link functions may not work even if your TV is HDMI-CEC compatible. Dolby(R) Digital Plus, Dolby(R) TrueHD and DTS(R) support for up to 5.1 channels (DTS HD(R) support for DTS(R) core only). MP3/WMA audio files not supported. HDMI audio output requires connection to a PCM capable device. Because HD DVD is a new format that makes use of new technologies, certain disc, digital connection and other compatibility and/or performance issues are possible. This may, in rare cases, include disc freezing while accessing certain disc features or functions, or certain parts of the disc not playing back or operating as fully intended. If you experience such issues, please refer to the FAQ sections of www.toshibahddvd.com or www.tacp.toshiba.com for information on possible work- around solutions or the availability of firmware updates that may resolve your problem, or contact Toshiba Customer Solutions. Some features subject to delayed availability. While every effort has been made at the time of publication to ensure the accuracy of the information provided herein, product specifications, configurations, system/component/options availability are all subject to change without notice.

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Blu-Ray crushing rival DVD format in Japan: study

TOKYO (AFP) — Next-generation DVDs are catching on with Japanese consumers, with sales picking up sharply at the end of 2007 and the Blu-Ray format blowing away the rival HD-DVD platform, new figures show.

In a replay of the VHS-Betamax battle in video cassette tapes in the late 1970s, two different DVD formats are hitting the market offering cinematic quality images and interactive entertainment -- but at a significantly higher price than traditional DVDs.

A major study of 2,300 electronic stores across Japan found that consumers were increasingly buying the next-generation DVD recorders.

The proportion of DVD recorders sold that were next-generation rose from 6.1 percent in October to around 20 percent in November and December, said the study by Japan's Business Computer News think tank released Thursday.

Due to the price difference, next-generation DVDs made up a lucrative 35 percent of the total value of DVD recorder sales in the last two months of 2007, it said.

Blu-Ray, the format created by Sony Corp., accounted for a crushing 90 percent of next-generation DVD recorder sales in the three-month period, the study said.

Blu-Ray is used in Sony's PlayStation 3 video-game machine, but the study only looked at living-room DVD recorders.

Three Sony models were the top-selling next-generation DVD recorders, with the electronics giant accounting for some 60 percent of total sales in the sector.

Panasonic maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. took 27 percent of sales, with Sharp Corp. coming in third at nearly 10 percent. Both Matsushita and Sharp support Blu-Ray.

Toshiba Corp., the main supporter of HD-DVD, enjoyed only four percent of the sales, the study said.

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Philips developing smart PVR system

Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV is developing a personalized video recorder application that automatically learns a viewers' preferences and creates a channel based on them. The company is showing of a prototype application at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. The application, which is intended for use with a PC or in a set-top box, could eventually compete with the offerings from TiVo Inc.

The best new feature that Philips is developing, is the system's ability to monitor a user's viewing habits and create personalized channels, using an algorithm developed by the company itself. "The set-up is really easy," said Jeroen Cappendijk, business development manager of Philips' Personal TV Channel product. "You just create a channel and select a program. The system monitors your zapping habits and automatically refines your channel."

The software will also perform the intelligent feature for multiple users in the same household. TiVo has a similar system called TiVo Suggestions, but it requires that a user mark programs it likes and it determines other shows they might like based on those tastes, like many retail websites that make suggestions based on your purchase history.

Another function that makes this application look good is a "unified content" function, that combines both TV content with Internet video such as that from YouTube and other sources. A PC version of the software will be available next year as a free download for users running Windows Vista, with Philips hoping to make its money through its personalized advertising capability.

Cisco Unveils New Set-Top Models

New Features Allow Consumers to Blend Digital Video and Social Networking Experiences with One Device

LAS VEGAS, Nevada - International CES - Jan. 7, 2008 - Cisco® today announced the latest additions to its 8500HDC Digital Video Recorder (DVR) Set-Top Series, demonstrating that set-tops have come a long way from their predecessors. The new 8500HDC DVR models offer a broader set of features and technical innovations enabling the delivery of next-generation visual networking experiences. The emerging consumer experience category of visual networking blends streaming digital video technology with social networking, which enables more choice, easier navigation of content from the provider network and the Internet, higher-quality viewing and faster, more personalized interaction.

U.S. consumers have become more connected during the past ten years ? due in large part to their use of more than 50 million set-tops, 100 million wireless local-area network (WLAN) routers and 1 billion mobile phones to date. With its latest consumer products, including set-tops, Cisco helps create connections between people and what they treasure most, offering consumers innovative, new ways to communicate with friends and family, discover entertainment content and access information in different locations via multiple devices.

The three new models in the 8500HDC DVR series¹ offer a range of capabilities such as sharing Internet services and content across multiple device platforms and the portability of personal photos and video content. The 8500HDC DVR Series provides the ability to support key next-generation features such as:

• Whole Home Content: Sharing DVR or user-generated Internet-based video content across multiple set-tops or personal computers (PCs) in the home;
• Richer Media Experience and Navigation: Advanced programming guides, enhanced video navigation options, and integrated search functions across multiple devices;
• Internet and Premium Content Services: Extended high-definition sports, international content, user-generated video, and Internet content now accessible on the television (TV) or mobile phone;
• Device Docking and Storage: Photos and personal video from the PC available for viewing on TV, music downloaded from the PC to home entertainment and mobile devices;
• Interactive and Community/Social Applications: Content and experience sharing, as well as communicating with other people across devices on the same network; and
• Enhanced Video Communications: Instant messaging across multiple devices, home monitoring services and caller identification (ID) services across the TV or PC.

Additional Features Enhance Visual Networking Experience:

The latest additions to the 8500HDC series offer 800 mips (million instructions per second) of application processing power; dual 400MHz processors for MPEG-4 advanced video compression decoding; 1 GHz tuning; and optional OpenCable^TM features. Additionally, the 8552HDC DVR model set-top is one of the first in the industry to offer Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) whole-home connection. MoCA adds Ethernet-over-coax support, enabling the transport of digital video and entertainment through existing coaxial cable in the home to other consumer home network devices.

"Many years of research and hard work have resulted in our developing new capabilities to meet the needs of our service provider customers and consumers," said Bob McIntyre, chief technical officer, Cisco Service Provider Group. "The 8500HDC DVR is vastly improved and has new features that surpass the PC you bought two years ago. The new Cisco set-top boxes were built to enable innovation and will soon be the must-have device for every home entertainment system."

The 8500HDC DVR Set-top Series models will be on display at the International Consumer Electronics Show, Jan. 7-10, 2008 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall Room N246.

These new 8500HDC series models are now commercially available for our service provider customers.

^1. Model numbers include: The 8550HDC with analog & digital tuning, the 8540HDC with Digital-Only tuning, and the 8552HDC with optional MoCA support.

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Lesson of high-def DVD war: It's the ecosystem, stupid

By Junko Yoshida

Courtesy of EE Times (01/14/2008 9:00 AM EST)

Las Vegas -- Warner Bros.' defection from the HD-DVD camp to Blu-ray Disc, a bombshell that burst only days before the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), has done irreversible damage to the market's perception of HD-DVD. The motives behind the studio's forsaking of Toshiba may never be fully revealed. But understanding how the high-def DVD format battle has unfolded is critical for those who strive to make the best technology choices. The drama underscores the dawning truism that technology alone does not a successful consumer product make. Several sources asserted last week that money had turned the tide. Others cited tensions among rival studios. Personnel moves also shifted the balance of power, as key players who had worked tirelessly to back their companies' chosen formats switched jobs or slipped into obscurity. Chris Cookson last year left the helm of Warner Bros. Technical Operations to become president of Sony Pictures Technologies. Hisashi Yamada, who stumped for HD-DVD as chief technology fellow at Toshiba Digital Media Network Co., is said to be semi-retired. "In a way, it's a sad day for EEs," said Jeff Bier, president of Berkeley Design Technology Inc., a benchmarking and consulting firm. Market success, he said, "often has everything to do with owning the whole ecosystem"; technologies do not win on their merits alone. "There is a pattern here," said Jean-Laurent Poitou, managing director for electronics and high tech at Accenture. Consumer products are "no longer about bits, features and functions, but about an 'experience.' " "You can't leave any critical elements in the ecosystem in the hands of others, hoping they will do the right things," said Toby Farrand, vice president of engineering and operations at voice-over-IP startup Ooma. "Look at Apple's iPod and iPhone." Apple controlled digital rights management, system design and software programming. It struck deals with record companies for its iTunes Store and formed partnerships with carriers and service operators. The ecosystem elements for Blu-ray and HD-DVD include cost, system design, ease of production and disk replication, and studio support for content availability. Ben Keen, chief analyst at Screen Digest (London), said the Toshiba-led HD-DVD effort had been "years ahead" in system design, cost and software stability. "Toshiba engineers delivered everything they promised," he said. Every HD-DVD player sold today comes with an Ethernet port for software upgrades via the Internet; Blu-ray players aren't there yet. Several industry sources, including contacts at Panasonic and Philips, asserted that Microsoft Corp. paid Viacom-owned Paramount $150 million last summer to get that studio and its DreamWorks subsidiary to support HD-DVD exclusively. Microsoft has repeatedly denied ever writing such a check--a denial difficult to disprove because such costs are often buried in marketing or promotional expenses, said Paul Gluckman, New York bureau chief for Consumer Electronics Daily. Gluckman added, however, that it is "hypocritical" of the Blu-ray camp to criticize the software giant for allegedly muscling its way into the format battle, since Blu-ray's promoters have essentially "done the same thing" by talking Warner Bros. into switching sides. Indeed, the rumors flying at CES last week included speculation that Sony may have shelled out as much as $400 million to bring Warner Bros. over to Blu-ray, though a Sony executive denied such a deal had taken place. Sony had paid only $250 million to acquire a portion of MGM, the executive noted; $400 million to convince Warner to shift allegiance "would be too much money." Still, some industry observers mused that any Sony outlay, whatever the amount, to bring Warner Bros. into the fold would have been money well spent. "Every business Sony owns today--Playstation 3, Vaio computers, A/V entertainment systems, Sony Pictures and its disk replication business--hinges on the success of Blu-ray," said Frank Simonis, senior director at Philips Intellectual Property & Standards. Others said the changing climate in Hollywood had made Warner Bros.' move inevitable. Universal, which has been quietly feuding with Paramount ever since the latter's acquisition of DreamWorks, apparently has expressed misgivings about its support of HD-DVD, they said. But in the end, the battle has boiled down to "Microsoft vs. the rest," said Accenture's Poitou. With every Japanese consumer electronics company "playing to win," Poitou said, "everyone took sides" instead of seeking consensus with backers of the opposing format. 'Magic' vs. pragmatism Picking the right format often creates an early-mover advantage, especially for chip companies. Sigma Designs (Milpitas, Calif.), for example, managed to plug its media processor into every Japanese Blu-ray system sold this past holiday season except for the Playstation 3, noted Ken Lowe, vice president of strategic marketing at the company. Sigma capitalized on the tendency among Japanese companies to move in a common direction as a group; in the case of Blu-ray, the only Japanese abstainers have been Toshiba and NEC. In contrast, Samsung and LG developed universal players that supported both formats. And both South Korean companies went with Broadcom silicon, as Toshiba did for its first HD-DVD player. How had Sigma divined Blu-ray's dominance? As it turns out, the company's direction had less to do with "magic" than pragmatism, said Lowe. Sigma realized early on that it didn't have to develop a new chip specific to either format; instead, it went with a chip it had initially done for an Internet Protocol TV set-top. When the design win for Toshiba's first-generation HD-DVD player went to Broadcom, Lowe said, Sigma went to the Blu-ray contingent and found a sponsor willing to compensate it for development of Blu-ray software. By contrast, Broadcom rode the fence and ended up spending huge sums on software development for both formats. Universal players have gone nowhere in the market, stymied by their price tag of nearly $1,000. The OEM bill of materials for a universal player is $150 higher than for a dedicated player, covering the costs for two software licenses, two royalty arrangements, two read heads and twice as much flash storage. What's more, universal players "never solved consumers' problem," said Sigma's Lowe: Since it was a virtual certainty that one format would ultimately dominate, and since no universal player would last forever, consumers would still have to gamble when stocking their libraries, hoping they picked the format that would prevail. Allan Jason, marketing vice president at LG Electronics USA, suggested the universal player would become a relic of the format war. "Compared with a year ago," he said, "the balance of power has tipped." Microsoft has gone with HD-DVD thus far as the high-def option for the Xbox 360. Asked how Warner's announcement affects that, Pat Griffis, senior director for media interoperability at Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, said, "It hurts." But he quickly added, "There will be a growing opportunity for electronic [movie] delivery and peer-to-peer." At a CES press event, executives from Toshiba, which launched its third-generation players in September, reaffirmed their confidence in the HD-DVD format but gave no word on subsequent generations. "This is a difficult morning," said Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing for Toshiba's digital A/V systems. "It's difficult to hear people say HD-DVD is dead. But we have been declared dead before." Sally said Toshiba had sold 1 million units and 49.3 percent of all high-def DVD players to date, followed by Sony (29.4 percent) and Samsung (13.7 percent). -- Additional reporting by Rick Merritt

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5 new DIGA media recorders

Panasonic offers 5 new media recorders, including 3 models with a hard disk and DVD, and 2 models with a hard disk, DVD and VHS, with storage capacities ranging from 250GB to 1TB. DMR-XW51, the high-end model, has a 1TB hard disk, a Multi DVD burner, a W digital tuner, SD Music (to copy CDs to SDs), an HDMI output (1080p) for HD videos recorded on the hard disk, and upscale for DVDs.

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Hands-on the new Blu-Ray DVD recorder DMR-BW900 from Panasonic

During the last CEATEC, we had the chance to discover a new line-up of Blu-Ray Recorders with internal HDD, like the DMR-BW900 and its 1TB of hard drive space… And today finally, Panasonic gave us the chance get a closer look at these new babies and play with them… the New Line-up of Diga Blu-Ray recorder… and not the amazingly cute girls who helped us to enjoy these new amazing recorders.

There will be in fact 6 new models, with 3 DVD recorders, and 3 Blu-Ray ones… we will not waste our time with slightly old DVD models, but will focus our attention on the Blu-ray wonders.
In a nutshell, our new recorders will support and record natively any video in MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 in Full HD, and they will also be compatible with the Viera Link system from Panasonic (which allows you to control all your Panasonic devices with only one remote). Not much to say, except that the quality is pretty great, compared to the Mpeg-2 TS that most recorders have been using up to now (The MPEG-4 AVC / H.264, is the codec used on Blu-Ray movies).

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2 New Video Recorder (DVD, VHS and HDD) from Panasonic

Panasonic just launched in Japan 2 video recorder the DMR-XP12 (250GB, DVD DL/RAM) and the DMR-XP22V (250GB, DVD DL/RAM, VHS), which have both a Digital and Analogue TV tuner, 1 HDMI output with Up-scale and support both the MPEG-4 AVC encoding for video recording.

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