JimC @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:56PM

Let�s have no illusions, this is purely an attempt by Toshiba to push more HD-DVD units not for sales of hardware but of titles. Because it is title sales that are going to make or break HD-DVD. Why are $100 HD-DVD players out this week? Because Warner is watching and this week is seeing the release of Spiderman 3 and the Spiderman Trilogy on Bluray. Since this is about sales of titles and since Transformers still didn�t capture the week for HD-DVD, Toshiba is hoping that by pushing their players at such a price, it will at the same time sell some titles to offset a strong Spiderman Bluray week at a time when Warner is ready to go exclusive for someone. Warner isn�t looking at sales of players, if it they were, then Bluray would have already won their hand, remember, Bluray not only has the PS3 base and stand alone players but also home media computer market with Dell, the #1 home computer retailer is pushing Bluray with their latest machines (along with Alienware which Dell now owns), same with Apple, both are platforms for HD media (rather than buying a standalone player). I wonder how many Dell computers will sell this week with Bluray drives as compared to the $98 HD-DVD machines? Hardware is not the issue, it is the software and it will be the software that will determine the winner. Just like my company, hardware purchases are considered just the platform to sell software. So if Toshiba can make a dent in the titles sold this week and stem the lead of Bluray titles sold, then their strategy may work. If however, when the numbers come out next week and Bluray still leads HD-DVD in titles sold, then all the $98 players will not make a difference, unless they can sustain that price and keep shelves stocked. Again, this is NOT about selling machines but about boosting title sales, pure and simple. Sony and other could employ this same strategy and they probably should but I�m guessing they will wait for the numbers to come in on titles sold before they react with slashing prices�.

Another thing to consider, New Line, which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros, no doubt is pondering which format to put the Lord of the Rings on. Here�s a question, how many HD-DVD discs do you think a movie like LotR: Return of the King extended edition (4 hours 18mins) would take at 30Gb limitation and how many discs would it take at 50Gb limitation (not considering the yet to be used 51gb HD-DVD or 100Gb BD)? At full lossless quality (I�m sure Peter Jackson wouldn�t settle for anything less). My point is to those who say the capacity of the media doesn�t matter, think again�.