HD DVD players become DVD upscalers in format war fallout

In an attempt to clear their shelves of dead HD DVD weight, retailers are taking the obvious step of slashing prices. Others, like play.com are renaming the players.

[FirstknighT]

Does any hd dvd player have HQV processing?

[ITR]

The Toshiba XA2 and both Onkyo and Integra models have the reon HQV processor.
The HDA35 used the Anchor Bay Technology chip set instead of the HQV.

If you want the best upscaling get a separate box.
Most players still use the reon HQV processor for upscaling.
The realta HQV teranex processor takes to the next level for professional level of 1080p upscaling.
Gefen sells one for $499.

Or buy a Denon or Marantz's BD players.

[FirstknighT]

Oh I'll check it out. Thanx

[whoelse]

You cant really blame them for trying.

[Tempist]

Not at all. However really creative marketing idea. That Marketeer deserves a gold star.

[smokeb4]

blu ray dose that 2

[rushbd]

i feel sorry for the people who bought HDDVD player. really

[Panthers]

Well it was the risk they took. Now, people who bought a PS3 had a lot less risk involved because even if BR failed, it would still be a game system and media center.

[ReBurn]

Agreed. Nobody forced anyone to back the technology. That's the risk people take as early adopters.

[Bladestar]

@Panthers - lol.. are you crazy!? lol! convenient way to look at it... less risk? you obviously know little about this... first of all the fact that the PS3 is a blu-ray player would of cause the PS3 to be cought up in the mix and bad press of blu-ray players if blu-ray lost the format war... also, obsolete technology is more expensive to produce... duhh! Sony would have to have assembly lines for HD DVD and Blu-ray.. blu-ray only to support the PS3 causing them to have a hard time lowering the price of the PS3... Many people purchased the PS3 as blu-ray player while they waited for the games.. some peope are still waiting for the games (Final Fantasy and Metal Gear)... no blu-ray player would make that purchase harder....

Thankfully for Sony blu-ray won... but let's not pretend they didn't take a huge risk... they bet the playstation brand on blu-ray...

now as far the xbox 360.. it does not change anything.. since a) most xbox 360 owners(90%+) did not buy one... b) Microsoft can release a blu-ray addon. c) Microsoft primary interest and advantage over the PS3 is not disc media but digital distribution... it's why they have a movie marketplace and the PS3 does not.

Microsoft never promoted HD DVD as a requirement but as an option if you cared... they always pointed out that digital distribution is the future. This is why they even got Sony themselves to distribute movies via xbox live marketplace...

Now, whether you believe digital distribution is the future or not that's a different story... but XBox live marketplace was not build after blu-ray won the format war... you can tell where microsoft loyalty was all along...

[SolidSnake93]

Well maybe they'll learn from their mistakes, but you can't blame them unless they bought one after the bluray players began to outsell the hddvd players.

[Kyur4ThePain]

How did we go from upscaling DVD players to LIVE marketplace?

See? MS and HD-DVD will always be associated with each other, whether that was their intention or not.

Aaaanyway. IF those prices get low enough, even I might get one purely as another DVD player.
I'm not totally surprised by this. I mean, what else were they supposed to do with them?

[BrianC6234]

Isn't the saying there's a sucker born every minute? Anyone who buys an HD DVD player now is a sucker. Unless you get it for almost nothing and want to use it a DVD player. Just don't spend more than you would for a decent DVD player.

[Citizen Cook]

The dirty filthy Sony corp has infected the home video market with their diseased products.

HA HA HA HA!

[Arkham]

Ah-ha! I called it in the other Toshiba thread. So much for those disagrees I got. ;)

[DTClown]

and call it a space heater!? Or due to the noise it makes, how about an alarm clock...or maybe an interactive doorstop. (timed interactivity while the doorstop feature will last forever!)

[Dannagar]

Clever

[wallace1000]

The only downside that i can think of about using an HD DVD player as an upconverting player is the slower load times.

[Sony sucks balls]

Your not very funny for a clown.

[tk]

Why sell it at lesser price than a normal DVD player when it is a better DVD player? Just rename the thing as a upscaler with option of playing HD-DVD's rather than selling it at stupid prices. Good thinking on their side. The thing is still going to play DVD's and play it better than other products. So market it as such. And Toshiba can continue building the things if there is a profit in it.