One has to wonder with reviews like this one, what criteria are reviewers using to judge HD-DVD? Do these publications think that a slow loading tray or mediocre remote are really going to discourage potential buyers away from HD-DVD?

Of course not, people who are seriously considering HD-DVD are looking for one thing, owning and enjoying their favorite films in HD at their leisure. Now I?m not advocating that reviewers shouldn?t note minor bugs but let?s not lose sight of the big picture.

Well I?m happy to report that at least one publication kept in mind what potential buyers are really after, when they reviewed the Toshiba HD-XA1. Sound and Vision magazine proclaimed the HD-XA1 to be ?A Taste of Heaven? and finished their review with:

It ended up taking very little time for me to become accustomed to the stellar picture and cleaner, more open sound of HD DVD. Basically, I’m ruined ? I’ll never again be able to watch a regular DVD with an uncritical eye

The five page HD-XA1 review from Sound and Vision?s Rob Sabin paints a very different picture from that of Consumer Reports. Could this discrepancy in the reviews be due to the fact that Rob Sabin actually has a passion for AV, and not how slow a tray loads or how the remote operates?

R.Hollis

Toshiba has released a firmware update for their HD-XA1 HD-DVD player, which is said to improve disc “reading efficiency”. I would assume this update specifically addresses the slow load times some Toshiba owners have reported.

Now for the bad news, this particular update is for Japanese HD-XA1’s only it would appear. However I would reason an English version of the update can’t be far behind.

Source: Toshiba Japan

A quick note about updating Toshiba HD-DVD players: The players can be updated by one of two methods; either by attaching the player to an internet connection or requesting a firmware update disk from Toshiba as they become available.

R.Hollis

Both Blazing Saddles and The Fugitive will be released on HD-DVD May 23rd. Both titles will retail for $28.99, although I’m sure you can save a little on that price from the likes of Amazon or other on-line retailers.

Bonus materials will be the same found on the Standard Definition versions of each of the two titles.

R.Hollis

If you were looking for that last little bit of incentive to invest in HD-DVD or Blu-ray, this promotion just might be for you. Amazon is offering a 10% discount on all HD-DVD and Blu-ray titles for a full year, with a qualifying purchase.

Purchase any qualifying item(s) now, and within 72 hours you will be enrolled to save 10% on all HD DVD and Blu-ray disc purchases for one year from the date of your qualifying order (total value limited to $5,000 in total purchases or $500 in total discounts).

Qualifying items include the following:

Any high-definition television (HDTV)
Any HD DVD player: see the Toshiba HD-A1 and the Toshiba HD-XA1
Any Blu-ray disc player: see the Sony BDP-S1
Three high-definition DVDs purchased in one order: specifically, HD DVDs and Blu-ray discs

Check out the full offer here.

R.Hollis

Those old bastions of consumer advocacy over at Consumer Report?s have chimed in on HD-DVD and specifically the Toshiba HD-A1 (not sure why they refer to it as the HD-A1KN). And true to form they uncover reasons you shouldn?t buy it.

I first knew something was amiss when I read, ?Neither player is a must-buy yet.? Can anyone cite an example of a consumer electronics item that is a must-buy, maybe a cell-phone or baby-monitor? What gives here? Is that how CR bases their recommendations, on whether you actually need the item? I don?t ?need? half the items in my house, but I?m sure as heck not throwing them out. Ok deep breath, I?ll move on.

From there CR went into the whole format-war speech. You know I?m thinking that in most cases any reiteration of the whole format-war is redundant, but in CR?s case maybe their readers are genuinely unaware of how things are playing out here, so I?ll grant them this point.

Next up was the ?WHAT WE LIKED? section of the review. Among the examples cited here were image quality with both HD and SD discs and that was about it?

The ?WHAT WE DIDN’T LIKE? section however complained about lack of 1080p support (even though just about every 1080p capable display will up-convert 1080i internally to 1080p) and ?Finicky HDMI connections? as well as the often bemoaned remote.

Here?s a tip CR, I?m guessing a large portion of the folks who are buying this player use a universal remote, which could easily handle the HD-A1?s remote codes. High Definition DVD is here and we?re talking about remotes?

R.Hollis

From Joystiq:

3:25 pm - Peter Moore: The Xbox 360 HD DVD player. The initial run of Toshiba players sold out within a few days. I’d like to announce that today; the Xbox 360 player will be available this holiday season.

The big as yet unanswered question is will the add-on have an HDMI output. In all honesty no HDMI equals a no-go for me. I’m not interested in watching downrezzed HD via a game console.

R.Hollis

Ultimate A/V has posted their review of the HD-A1, HD-DVD from Toshiba. Aside from the normal tests and specifications (which are definitely worth a read) there are a couple of other interesting things about this particular review.

One must see in the review is the screen shot section. If you had any doubt whatsoever that HD-DVD didn?t look significantly better than SD DVD then you need to see these screenshots.

Another interesting part of the review was the manufacturer’s comments, which would seem to indicate that some of the problems other reviewers have reported with the HD-A1 may not be the players fault at all.

For instance some of the pausing and or disc stops may have been incorrectly identified as bugs when they are in fact inherent in the way HD-DVD handles the DRM required by the studios. Interesting read and definitely one of the better HD-DVD player reviews I?ve seen.

R.Hollis

With HD-DVD barely 10 days old in the United States, two additional movie distributors have announced plans for a combined 25+ titles to be launched in the coming months.

StudioCanal plans to distribute HD-DVD titles such as The Deer Hunter, The Elephant Man, Terminator 2, The Graduate, The Pianist, Mulholland Drive, Traffic and one of my all time favorites The Brotherhood of the Wolf.

Magnolia Home Entertainment plans to release five HD-DVD titles in the coming months, namely: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Bubble, The War Within, Bikini Destinations and HDNet World Report Special: Shuttle Discovery?s Historic Mission.

It?s nice to see some lesser known and ?library? type titles slated for launch. I?m really looking forward to seeing how The Graduate and Brotherhood of the Wolf look on HD-DVD.

Sources: Home Media Retailing and MovieWeb

R.Hollis

Ok I?ll be the first to admit the headline is a little misleading but according to this xbit labs article, ABI Research believes Blu-ray players will only account for about 30% of the global high-def DVD player market by years end, leaving a whopping 70% market share for HD-DVD.

Ah but there?s a catch, the Play Station 3 (Blu-ray capable) ?could change the market dominance picture dramatically?. Another mitigating factor in the format war has always been studio support; however ABI makes some interesting points about that as well.

The research firm points out that: “the studios support is not carved in stone, but is based on the perceived size of the market for a particular technology. If studios see that HD-DVD has a higher market share, or continues to increase its penetration, they could support it instead of ? or as well as ? Blu-ray. They don?t really care what technology is used as long as it meets their copyright protection needs and enjoys support from the vendor community.?

One point in the article that I have to disagree with is according to ABI; with the format war on-going the prices of players and titles will remain at relatively high levels longer than if there was a single standard.

I feel that if either camp wanted a quick boost in sales and the corresponding market share, it wouldn?t be out of the question to enact some temporary loss-leader pricing, until things tipped in their favor.

R.Hollis

I?ve received several emails from readers stating that they?ve had trouble finding HD-DVD players. A few indicated many of their local retailers had sold out of both players and titles just a few days after launch on April 18th.

One particular reader apparently asked the magic question of ?when will you have more in stock?? and was kind enough to forward the answer onto me. It looks like April 28th will bring in the first re-stock of HD-DVD players and titles as well as a second round of titles namely: Doom and Apollo 13 on April 25th.

R.Hollis

So HD-DVD is about a week away from launch here in the United States and several vendors are reporting their entire pre-order allotments are already spoken for, what?s a HD-DVD fan to do in hopes of securing a unit? Well you could always try the big chains (BestBuy and alike) or if your really in a gambling mood you could try to win one!

Toshiba is running a contest and the grand prize is:

A Toshiba High Definition Entertainment System, including a 62? HD TV (62HM195) with stand and Toshiba?s HD-A1 HD-DVD player and a Sponsor selected collection of twelve (12) Universal Studios DVD?s

Not bad for answering a few trivia questions I?d say. You?re allowed to play once a day but so far I?m zero for three, oh well there?s always tomorrow right?

R.Hollis

Sanyo has been a member of the Blu-Ray Disc Association, apparently since late April, and word is now coming out as too why. Sanyo plans on producing components that will support the dueling formats, according to Ryan Watson spokesman for Sanyo. He also stated that Sanyo has been planning from the get go to produce blue laser, lens heads for both formats but that they still plan on creating consumer based players only on HD-DVD. Well that might be the plans for now, but I bet that they will come out with some type of dual player, since they are manufacturing the optical pick-ups for both formats.

The funny thing about all this is that neither BDA nor Sanyo has made any formal announcement of this happening. Is this another rumor spreading because the wait of a next-gen format is becoming too unbearable for some, like the Blu-ray/HD-DVD compromise? Or is this just one of those, ?Let?s keep this on the down low for a while??

Whether this ?rumor? is true or not, Sanyo will win either way because they seem to understand that format wars don?t always have a victor. It is also a great business strategy if you ask me, a really smart decision on Sanyo part probably due to some restructuring back in April.

Some news sites are still expecting a winner of this format war, but I think it is safe to say that by now a winner will not be declared. Both formats will be in the market place and consumers will have to decide what they want to spend their monies on. More than likely other companies that have vowed their loyalty to one side, will follow suit in becoming ?swingers?.

R.Hollis