Digital Gadgets

Toshiba’s latest Qosmio looks very similar to the unnamed HD DVD model we peeped at CES, but for now we’re going to assume it’s a slightly different unit, since the specs make no mention of HD DVD, and we assume Toshiba isn’t about to leave that out if it’s included. The Qosmio G30/596LS has a 17-inch WUXGA display, HD tuner and a Core Duo processor (the case appears to be identical the Qosmio G20).

The model is due out in Japan in February, and an unspecified “gratuitousness upgrade” (hey, that’s how it’s translated) is available in March, which may give this an HD DVD drive. Toshiba’s other new Core Duo offering is a Dynabook VX/780LS, which comes with a T2300 at 1.66Ghz, 1GB RAM, 100GB drive, and a 15-inch display. A second Dynabook, the SS SX, looks to have similar processing power, but with a smaller form factor and a 12-inch display. Both Dynabooks are due out in Japan this month.

More: engadget.com

Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. (TAIS) announced today that Mr. Brian Metherell has accepted the position of Vice President/General Manager of the company’s Telecommunication Systems Division (TSD). Toshiba’s long-established telecommunications division primarily provides business communication systems to the small- and medium-size business market through an extensive Authorized Dealer Network across the nation.

“We are delighted to welcome Brian to our executive management team,” said Hidejiro Shimomitsu, president of TAIS. “His experience and demonstrated skills will undoubtedly lead the telecommunications business into new vistas of opportunities while maintaining the solid base which Toshiba has built over the last quarter of a century in business telephony.”

Mr. Metherell comes to Toshiba with extensive experience in the telecommunications industry, having held executive positions at Nortel, Williams Communications, General Telecom and Verestar. In addition, Mr. Metherell has also worked for Bell Communication Systems and Toshiba in Canada. His extensive career includes management of global sales, wireless business development, transition CEO responsibility, satellite-based business and Internet commerce models. He holds a degree in Finance and Economics.

More: home.businesswire.com

While Blu-ray Disc backers convene this week to refine technical specifications and organize a plant tour of Panasonic’s pilot replication line, a key proponent of Blu-Ray’s rival platform, HD DVD, is taking a post-CES siesta and thinking, “What, me worry?”

Hisashi Yamada, chief technology fellow at Toshiba’s Digital Media Network Co., said in an interview he feels no urgency to convince supporters that HD DVD disks are ready for prime time.

“HD DVD is already here and real,” said Yamada, who also chairs the DVD Forum. “If Blu-ray disk are already being produced on the pilot line, with more than 80-percent yield rates — as the Blu-ray camp claims — why not just distribute their disks? There’s no need to organize a trip to the plant.”

The reason why the HD DVD camp has made no serious overtures to Blu-ray supporters to discuss a compromise to merge the competing formats is simple, at least in Yamada’s view: Blu-ray disks aren’t ready, and HD DVD disks are.

Yamada expressed no regrets over Toshiba’s commitment to HD DVD while speaking with EE Times last week at CES while waiting in a long shuttle bus line at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Yamada has participated twice over the last decade in major optical disk format battles, first with DVD and now with HD DVD.

More: cmpnetasia.com

The first hardware volley in the next-generation DVD format war, a.k.a. HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray, was fired today by HD-DVD developer Toshiba. The company announced a pair of HD-DVD players to ship in March: the HD-A1 ($499) and the HD-XA1 ($799). While hardly “affordable” compared to standard DVD players, these prices are significantly lower than expected and less than those of any of the Blu-ray players announced at the show so far. Combined with earlier availability (Blu-ray supposedly ships in June), they could make HD-DVD a more compelling option for big spenders who immediately want the latest in next-generation home video playback. Speaking of home video, HD-DVD has fewer major studio backers than Blu-ray and so will launch with fewer titles available for purchase. More details on HD-DVD launch titles are expected to be revealed at an event this evening, but regardless of how much software HD-DVD promises, we expect most early adopters to choose Blu-ray thanks to its wider support.

The nitty gritty of the two Toshiba players should be familiar to anybody who’s followed the next-gen format fracas. The units support a variety of video codecs, including MPEG-2 as well as MPEG-4 AVC and VC-1. The more expensive HD-XA1 has a couple of cosmetic enhancements (a motorized drawer!), a backlit remote, and a selection of three different user interfaces, as well as some improvements to construction. It also has a pair of USB ports “for convenient connection of gaming controllers,” according to the press release (no further details were provided). Interestingly, both players–and all forthcoming HD-DVD players–will only output high-definition resolutions via copy-protected HDMI outputs, so people whose HDTVs don’t have HDMI or DVI/HDCP inputs won’t be able to enjoy the improved image quality of HD-DVD. According to Pioneer and Philips, the competing Blu-ray players may still enable high-def output via analog outputs, but we’re skeptical about that. If Blu-ray did allow HD resolutions via analog, it would have one more major advantage over the less expensive HD-DVD players.

More: reviews.cnet.com