Microsoft & Toshiba form alliance to develop HD-DVD products
It's
being reported around the Internet today, that Microsoft and Toshiba plan
to become closer working partners and have formed an "alliance". The purpose of
the agreement is said to help to develop high-definition DVD players,
cross-license their technologies and co-create new models of mobile personal
computers.
|
 Gates, who is visiting Japan this week to meet with
university students and business leaders, stopped short of calling the
agreement exclusive, though he stressed he wanted to see HD-DVD become
more widespread.
 Nishida said it was unclear what effect the agreement
between the Redmond, Wash., software giant and Japanese electronics maker
will have on the format war. The competing sides, which have each lined up
big-name companies and Hollywood studios for backing, have unsuccessfully
been holding talks to try to agree on one standard.
``We feel we have gained a powerful supporter on our side,'' Nishida
told reporters at a Tokyo hotel, where he appeared with
Gates. |
No doubt! Microsoft is indeed a great
partner in such an endeavor. This is quite a coup for both companies and will
further strengthen the HD-DVD format. But, I doubt that many computer aficionados will be happy to see Microsoft involved so
closely with a next gen DVD product. You can find the original story at this address.
Source: Sun Herald
more cdfreaks.com news
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Reactions
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By
jef195,
Monday 27 June 2005 16:17
Although predictable Microsoft went where it had to go.Or had no choice to.The battle escalates.
Two thoughts:
1. So is there a bigger chance that the XBOX360 would have a HD-DVD drive, instead of a regular dvd drive? 
2. The HD-DVD camp really needed a big supporter like microsoft, because most of the CE companies are supporting Blu-Ray. 
I think it's still too soon for this stuff man, people just started to get into the DVD Format and now this stuff is gonna get released, what's gonna happen to regular DVD's once this new stuff come out?
By
_chef_,
Monday 27 June 2005 17:05
Down the drain asap....that will happen. :-(
That Bites Man, Really Bites
By
Olli,
Monday 27 June 2005 20:44
>what's gonna happen to regular DVD's once this new stuff come out?<
Nothing. As long as people buy DVDs, they will be sold. See VHS tapes (even they were much more expensive to produce than DVDs, and were sold for less).
By
hajj_3,
Monday 27 June 2005 20:53
if the xbox 360 have a hd-dvd drive it would be a huge plus for me, i could hook it upto my 32" lcd and have amazing quality dvd films on it.
By
shimman,
Monday 27 June 2005 21:13
i don't like how m$ & $ony are doing business; they are asking too much for lousy products.
as bd would be really expensive & without the strong competition, bd would be even more expensive. good thing that m$ is backing hd-dvd but unless xbox360 comes with hd-dvd, i don't think the support isn't real
by powerful supporter does Toshiba mean a antitrust company?
By
Zod,
Tuesday 28 June 2005 00:00
I have to agree with the guy above, I don't know how ready the public is for the next generation dvd yet.
It took quite the while for VHS players to go the way of the dodo. Laserdiscs only caught on with extreme movie buffs.
If the next gen dvd format does catch on, I think it'll take quite the while to catch on. They'll have to wait for more people to buy hdtv's. There too expensive, and currently there isn't really enough content to justify the cost.
Not to mention i'm sure it won't take a rocket scientist to create a drive that reads both formats, plus normal dvds, and cd's.
I just don't think the public will be all that eager to switch. DVD's have only really caught on in the last 5 years, they are still pretty new themselves.
I'll stop rambling now, I guess if they release new players, they'll be backwards compatible anyways, so you won't have to replace your whole collection right away.
I hope this means that Microsoft will use HD-DVD in the Xbox 360. This would be much better than using regular DVDs and fairly the same price, since basically HD-DVD's use the same technology as DVD except Blue Laser.
On another note, I would not buy any movies released on this format or Blue-Ray simply because it would be a waste of money. Also, this will confuse consumers. Obviously, you would have to have a player to play both formats, since not all movies will be released in each format. Plus, movies on either format will cost more than DVD, although HD-DVD should be cheaper than Blue-Ray. But I think than rather wasting a lot of money on one or the other format, which may not last, I will stick with good old DVD for movies.
By
JeanLuc,
Tuesday 28 June 2005 05:50
>I think it's still too soon for this stuff man, people just started to get into the DVD Format and now this stuff is gonna get released<
The manufacturers are aware of the fact that DVD's are pirated (or copied 'illegally' in large numbers ... since the release of DL burners, you don't even need to shrink 'em anymore) so the logical conclusion is to release a format with a new copy protection/encryption that cannot be copied (at least, not 1:1) for a foreseeable period of time.
This, alongside with the higher video quality (think HDTV for all the techno geeks out there), will guarantee sales and generate some serious $$$ into the manufacturer's pockets.
I really dont believe that the xbox360 will have have an hd-dvd drive. The console and its specs have already been published and the device itself will be on stores' shelves in 6 months time. There simply isnt enoug time left. What microsoft could do is to offer an hd-dvd-upgrade for 360 (either an external device or one to replace the stock dvd-drive). This option would however be good for only consumers wanting to watch hd-dvd MOVIES on the 360. All games would still be released on regular dvd.
Have to take some of my words back:
http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/sep/EEEAlAyukyssKIOgCU.php
I have to add one thing.. It would be an extremely stupid thing for microsoft to put out to kinds of console units, ones with dvd and ones with hd-dvd. Too confusing for customers. I can imagine the bitching when a hot xbox360 title is released as "hd-dvd only".
The evil expands it's dominance. It is like all the corporations are eventually going to become one. 1984 is coming true, what shall we do?
Happy Birthday to you csauvageot 
johnzap thank you for your reaction in the news section. 
DrageMester just logged in, Good to see you back!