Okay, so you bet on the wrong horse. You early-adopted HD DVD. It was cheaper. It was attractive. It had a nice ring to it — it’s not DVD, it’s HD DVD. I mean, when has Sony ever won a format war? MiniDisc? Bah. No way Blu-ray will ever win this format war.

And you were dead ass wrong.

Don’t fret if you’re stuck with 30 HD DVD discs as you rush to be a good consumer and begin to consume Blu-ray discs. There are still a few options out there that will let you play with both.

The LG BH200 is one of those options, and if you’re looking for DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray playback, it’s one of the best.

The BH200 puts out an amazing picture over HDMI and Component Video, and it upconverts DVD’s — and yes, they do look better.

The problem is that looks aren’t everything, and the BH200 is bad at optical audio output, failing to send a proper DTS signal for Blu-ray and failing to send either a DTS or Dolby Digital signal over optical audio out for some DVD’s that I tested.

The unit also has Ethernet built in, but you can’t upgrade the firmware over the Internet. Doh.

Lastly, the product takes as much time to power up as a desktop PC. When I press the eject button on my video player, I want it to spit out the disc, not turn on, boot up, load, load, load and then eject the disc over a minute later.

Basically, it’s like this — if you use HDMI for video AND audio and you need to play every format available, the new low price of the BH200 is attractive.

But HD DVD is dead, and this player might have come on the market a tad too late.

Engadget has put out a list of the top 10 things you can do with your newly defunct HD DVD player.

My favorite: 4. Buy the Blu-ray player of your choice, put it in the box, attempt to return it as “defective.” or 9. Lock it alone in a room with a few lethal weapons… let it die honorably.

Congrats to Sony for winning the format war on their fifth or sixth try. They have gained a much-needed victory in the history of format wars.

Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, in a statement released Friday, announced they will completely back the Blu-ray format and phase out existing HD DVD products. The news is potentially a death blow to HD DVD, following the news that Best Buy and Netflix seem to be headed in the same direction.

“We’ve listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-ray products and movies with their purchases,” said Gary Severson, senior vice president, Home Entertainment, Wal-Mart, U.S. “With the customers best interest in all we do, we wanted to share our decision and timeline with them as soon as possible, knowing it will help simplify their purchase decision, increase selection, and increase adoption long term.”

“We anticipate enhancing our selection with continued great values in hi-definition Blu-ray products, so our customers can further enhance their entertainment experience at home.”

By June, Wal-Mart and Sam’s stores will only offer Blu-ray hardware and DVD’s. 2008 has not been kind to HD DVD. Toshiba rang in the new year by getting the devastating news that Warner Bros. would produce all of their HD titles on Blu-ray.

Toshiba canceled its CES press conference in the wake of a massive blow to their HD DVD line when Warner Home Video announced they would only support Blu-ray. But they’re definitely not running away scared as it appears Toshiba has pushed all of its chips to the center of the table in the form of four new HD DVD players.

This should have marked the happy, high-energy CES Las Vegas celebration for Toshiba, but instead there is the scent of forced desperation in the air. Toshiba has their backs to the wall with only the lumbering giant, Paramount backing their HD DVD format. The new units range from $299 to $799.

I don’t like it. Nobody is going to buy an $800 HD DVD player right now.

The press release (read it here) looks like it was written either long-before the Warner announcement or thrown together right afterward.

“We are pleased with the consumer acceptance of our HD DVD players in the market,” said Jodi Sally, Vice President of Marketing for Toshiba’s Digital A/V Group. “The combination of HD DVD’s state of the art audio/video performance and unrivaled interactive capabilities along with exciting consumer promotions and affordable pricing in 2007 marked significant accomplishments for the HD DVD format,” Toshiba later said in the release.

Toshiba is also touting what they feel is the natural evolution of the DVD into the HD DVD:

“HD DVD was designed from the outset to be the evolution of the DVD format; every Toshiba HD DVD player is designed to play back DVDs and CDs. Toshiba’s HD DVD players will not only play DVD but will instantly make a movie lover’s existing DVD library look even better than it ever did with upconversion via the HDMI output. With the HD DVD format, consumers can experience true high def 1080p resolution for extraordinary detail that matches the latest state of the art 1080p HDTVs. Select Toshiba HD DVD players display images at 24 frames per second, the same frame rate used by directors when using film to create motion pictures, for a smoother, more film like, viewing experience.”

Look, the players are beautiful. They are impressive. HD DVD is a great format, but any $79 modern DVD player upconverts standard DVD’s. You can hack your old Xbox into an upconverting DVD player. I don’t think people want the natural progression from DVD to HD DVD. DVD certainly wasn’t a natural, painless progression from VHS. DVD was the next big thing. Now they’re slowly starting to look between HD DVD and Blu-ray to see which one is going to be the next big thing. I don’t know the answer to that question, but Blu-ray is winning. We weren’t sure of that a week ago, but Warner — like everyone else — wants to maximize its profits. And they can’t do that by supporting two fledgling high-def formats.

Anyway, the game isn’t over for HD DVD, but they’re definitely drawing to an inside straight.

This is the full text of a Toshiba press release on January 6 detailing the release of their new HD DVD players.

State-of-the-Art Performance, Successful Promotions and Affordable Pricing Result in Strong Consumer Acceptance of Third Generation Players

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ — CES — Demonstrating strong consumer acceptance for the HD DVD format, Toshiba America Consumer Products L.L.C. (“Toshiba”) today announced that the rollout of its third generation HD DVD players has been the most successful to date. With their unrivaled performance including real-world Web-enabled networking capabilities, consumers have chosen Toshiba’s third generation HD DVD players for their ultimate high def entertainment experience, resulting in the strongest quarter of unit sales to date and solidifying Toshiba’s market share leadership position.

“We are pleased with the consumer acceptance of our HD DVD players in the market,” said Jodi Sally, Vice President of Marketing, Toshiba’s Digital A/V Group. The combination of HD DVD’s state of the art audio/video performance and unrivaled interactive capabilities along with exciting consumer promotions and affordable pricing in 2007 marked significant accomplishments for the HD DVD format.

An HD DVD World

As it has become established in the market, HD DVD has delivered on the promise of next generation entertainment in the home, which has led to the expansion of high definition in all areas of the consumer experience.

“Because HD DVD is a standardized format and meets the spec guidelines mandated and approved by the DVD Forum, it provides a consistent platform for all applications of next generation high definition video such as mobile entertainment and makes it possible to enjoy HD DVD in a multitude of lifestyle settings,” said Yoshi Uchiyama, Group Vice President America Digital A/V Group. “Whether as a standalone player for a home theater as a companion drive to the Xbox 360(TM) gaming machine or as an HD DVD-ROM drive for computers, HD DVD will be in many facets of consumers’ lives. As part of our vision for transitioning movie lovers to high definition, our goal is to extend HD DVD beyond the traditional home entertainment experience.”

Fulfilling the promise of HD DVD

Toshiba also announced its commitment to enhancing the consumer’s HD DVD player purchase with the introduction of the “HD DVD Concierge,” a new 800 number offering dedicated assistance to purchasers of HD DVD players. Consumers can now call 1-888-MY HDDVD (1-888-694-3383) for answers to general questions about HD DVD, for operational assistance or for assistance with various marketing initiatives. Trained service agents will provide the latest information on HD DVD enabling consumers to get the most from their purchase.

Toshiba delivers a richer interactive experience-now

With interactivity built into every HD DVD player as a mandatory spec, and with the reality of Web-enabled network capabilities, Toshiba delivers on the promise of a totally new experience. HD DVD allows studios to flex their creative muscle in ways never before offered or not currently available on any other format. 2007 saw the introduction of online polling, ringtones and online shopping to name a few, all from the HD DVD player itself and from the comfort of one’s own home. The latest of these new experiences is online streaming. Now when consumers connect their HD DVD player to the Internet via the standard Ethernet port on every player, they can stream new content or trailers, as available, directly from a movie studio’s server. “It’s exciting to see the studios bring HD DVD to life through new interactive features and Web-enabled network capabilities,” said Uchiyama. “By consistently delivering unique entertainment experiences, we’re changing the world of movie watching and giving meaning to the HD DVD experience.” Consumers have spoken, and data from Universal Home Video and Paramount and DreamWorks Animation SKG shows that an average of 30 percent of HD DVD owners have accessed Web-enabled network features and continue to do so regularly.

About Toshiba HD DVD Players and Third Generation Line

HD DVD was designed from the outset to be the evolution of the DVD format; every Toshiba HD DVD player is designed to play back DVDs and CDs. Toshiba’s HD DVD players will not only play DVD but will instantly make a movie lover’s existing DVD library look even better than it ever did with upconversion via the HDMI(TM) output. With the HD DVD format, consumers can experience true high def 1080p resolution for extraordinary detail that matches the latest state of the art 1080p HDTVs. Select Toshiba HD DVD players display images at 24 frames per second, the same frame rate used by directors when using film to create motion pictures, for a smoother, more film like, viewing experience.

Toshiba’s third generation family starts with the entry level HD-A3 player featuring 1080i output capability. The other two new models, Toshiba’s HD-A30 and HD-A35, output 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080p), the highest HD signal currently available. Both models are capable of outputting signals at 1080p/24 frames per second so consumers can enjoy movies in their native frame rate. The HD-A30 and HD-A35 models also feature “REGZA(R) Link” (HDMI(TM)-CEC), allowing two-way control between the HD DVD player and a TV through an HDMI connection.

All Toshiba HD DVD players also feature twin video processors and advanced audio to deliver an immersive home theater experience with features such as picture-in-picture video and audio commentary. Thanks to the Ethernet port and flash memory built into every Toshiba HD DVD player, movie lovers also can enjoy the benefits of Web-enabled network connectivity. Plus, Toshiba’s third generation players have a new slim design cabinet that is approximately 1/4- inch slimmer than second generation models.

HD DVD’s Commitment to Green

Toshiba is committed to not only making its products consumer friendly, but friendly to the environment as well. Its products, including the third generation HD DVD players, meet Toshiba’s voluntary environmental standards and ongoing efforts to bring eco-conscious products to market and comply with the company’s strict environmental policies. Environmental management is promoted both from the standpoint of improving products themselves and renewing manufacturing processes, which not only calls for the restriction of the use of hazardous substances in products, but also to avoid using such substances in any manufacturing process.

For example, Toshiba HD DVD players are compliant with the EU RoHS Directive, a European Union environmental directive that restricts the use of six hazardous substances, including lead, mercury and cadmium. Also, for energy conservation, all third generation players meet the Energy Star standard. Toshiba will place the Toshiba Group Earth Protection mark on its third generation players’ catalogs and manuals. The Toshiba Environmental Standard for granting the Toshiba Group Earth Protection mark is on Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C.’s official website.

Pricing and Availability:

• HD-A3 ($299.99, Available Now)
• HD-A30 ($399.99, Available Now)
• HD-A35 ($499.99, Available Now)
• HD-XA2 ($799.99, Available Now)

Important Notes:

HD DVD with high-definition content required for HD viewing. Up-conversion of DVD content will result in near HD picture quality. Viewing high-definition content and up-converting DVD content may require an HDCP capable DVI or HDMI input on your display device. 1080p capable display required for viewing content in 1080p. Firmware update may be required for some interactive features depending on content, which may also require an always-on broadband internet connection. Some features may require additional bandwidth. To take advantage of web-enabled network content, installing the latest firmware ( ver.2.4 for HD DVD player models HD-XA1, HD-A1, and HD-D1; ver.2.7 for HD- XA2, HD-A2, HD-A2W, HD-D2, HD-A2C, and HD-A20; and ver.1.3 for HD-A35, HD-A30, and HD-A3) is required. Web-enabled network features require an always on broadband connection along with specific movie titles that include this form of content. For 24p output, content that was created in 1080p/24 frames/sec is required. Viewing 24p output requires an HD display capable of accepting a 1080p/24Hz signal. Use of REGZA Link, which is a feature based on HDMI-CEC, requires an HDMI-CEC compatible display device. Depending on the specifications of your TV, some or all REGZA Link functions may not work even if your TV is HDMI-CEC compatible. Dolby(R) Digital Plus, Dolby(R) TrueHD and DTS(R) support for up to 5.1 channels (DTS HD(R) support for DTS(R) core only). MP3/WMA audio files not supported. HDMI audio output requires connection to a PCM capable device. Because HD DVD is a new format that makes use of new technologies, certain disc, digital connection and other compatibility and/or performance issues are possible. This may, in rare cases, include disc freezing while accessing certain disc features or functions, or certain parts of the disc not playing back or operating as fully intended. If you experience such issues, please refer to the FAQ sections of www.toshibahddvd.com or www.tacp.toshiba.com for information on possible work- around solutions or the availability of firmware updates that may resolve your problem, or contact Toshiba Customer Solutions. Some features subject to delayed availability. While every effort has been made at the time of publication to ensure the accuracy of the information provided herein, product specifications, configurations, system/component/options availability are all subject to change without notice.

About Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C.

Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. is owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, a world leader in high technology products with subsidiaries worldwide. Toshiba is a pioneer in HD DVD, DVD and DVD Recorder technology and a leading manufacturer of a full line of home entertainment products, including flat panel TV, combination products and portable devices. Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. is headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey. For additional information, please visit www.tacp.toshiba.com.

Warner Bros has announced they will drop support for the HD DVD format and produce high-definition titles exclusively for Sony’s Blu-ray.

This will serve as a huge problem for the HD DVD format. Warner Bros sells 18 to 20 percent of all home videos. This now leaves only Universal, The Weinstein Company and Paramount (and their child companies like Dreamworks) supporting the now falling behind HD DVD format.

Paramount switched to HD DVD only when they received a $150 million payoff last summer.

Conversely, the Blu-ray camp now has Sony Pictures, Disney, Fox, Lions Gate and now the Warner exclusivity.

Sony owns MGM and Columbia TriStar. Disney Owns Touchstone, Pixar and Miramax. This gives Blu-ray a much stronger position as far as this generation’s format war is concerned.

Prediction: If Paramount goes back to both formats or somehow decides to make just Blu-ray when their HD DVD contract expires, the war will be over quickly.

Toshiba was quick to respond, and they’re pissed off.

“Toshiba was quite surprised by Warner Bros.’ decision to abandon HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray, despite the fact that there are various contracts in place between our companies concerning
the support of HD DVD,” the company said in a statement Friday. “We will assess the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluate potential next steps.”

The next step appears to be a step back. The HD DVD group canceled its CES press conference.

The reason behind Warner’s move — it looks like they’d rather support one than risk both next-gen HD formats failing.

People seem to like downloadable content from places like the iTunes, and Xbox Live has done well so far at selling videos. If the format wars continue, it looks like consumers could skip both Blu-ray, and HD DVD and go straight to downloadable.

“The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger,” Barry Meyer, Warner Brothers chairman, told Yahoo! Tech. “We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers.”

Consumers just don’t want to buy the same movie — often a movie they may have had on VHS — a second, third or fourth time. Warner says that both formats are having an impact that caused consumers to say, “let’s wait a bit to buy anything, even a standard-definition DVD.”

Well, we can’t have that now, can we?

A recent survey sponsored by IOGEAR (sure they have an interest in the subject matter…) suggests consumers are lacking adequate numbers of HDMI inputs on the TV’s and home theater receivers.

As video games and home video units adapt high definition technology, most televisions still only carry one HDMI port while many affordable receivers come with one or two ports. So if you combine your Playstation 3, HD-DVD, high-definition cable/sat television and enough money leftover for an Xbox 360, you’re out of luck in the HDMI department.

“Home entertainment devices continue to come to market with HDMI capabilities, and as our survey illustrates, end users are finding it difficult to support the number of products in their living rooms,” said Miranda Su, vice president of sales and marketing at IOGEAR. “It is important for consumers to experience the high-quality audio and video that HDMI provides, as it enables them to have the richest home-theater system possible.”

According to the email survey, 300 out of the 1,000 respondents only have one HDMI input, while nearly 60 percent surveyed want to simultaneously connect up to four a/vl products to their TVs.

“This presents consumers with a home-theater conundrum, forcing them to either disconnect a device every time they want to access a new one, or not take advantage of the robust HDMI features incorporated in their digital entertainment products. Having multiple interfaces on HDTVs is increasingly vital as more than 600 makers of consumer electronics and PC products worldwide have adopted HDMI1, with products including set-top boxes, DVD players and gaming consoles,” IOGEAR said.

While it’s not common for users to have three or more HDMI devices, more and more consumers require at least two — one for high-definition television and one for a video game or home video (upconverting DVD, Blu-ray or HD-DVD) setup.

The result: look for more and more home theater receivers to include 2+ HDMI ports and added component video inputs too. Remember, HDMI and DVI use the same video interface — and you can buy an adaptor cable to use any DVI device on an HDMI port.

Walmart is trying to increase its electronics section’s popularity and awareness this holiday season by building up to black Friday with a “secret sale.”

Every Friday this month till the infamous Friday after Thanksgiving, they will be selling five items for a greatly discounted price. This week, they have Fisher Price Nascar Ride-On for $144.72, Sanyo 50″ Plasma HDTV for $998.00, Acer Laptop $348 and a few HD DVD’s for $14.96.

But the most interesting offer is that the Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player will sell for $98.87. They all say while supplies last, and the HD-DVD player and the HDTV are only available at select stores.

Unfortunatly, they don’t specify which select stores….

Best Buy is offering the same HD-DVD player for $99, but their website lists it as sold out.

Paramount Home Entertainment, which includes Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Animation SKG, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films, has announced its decision to use only High Definition DVD, over competing Blu-ray technology.

The decision was made after company research said HD DVDs had the necessary technology on the market, low manufacturing costs and best value and quality for consumers, they said.

On August 28, Blades of Glory kicked off this new program as the first release. Transformers and Shrek the Third follow.

These three movies represent more than $1.5 billion in worldwide box office sales, and company executives believe the sales will keep increasing.

“The combination of Paramount and DreamWorks Animation brings a critical mass of current box office hits to consumers with a line-up of live action and animated films that are perfect for HD DVD,” said Brad Grey, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, the leading studio in domestic box office revenue. “I believe HD DVD is not only the affordable high quality choice for consumers, but also the smart choice for Paramount.”

Regular DVD players are hardware-based, while HD DVD and Blu-ray systems rely on software. That means updates and movie extras can be easily downloaded from the web. Even with this similarity, many movie and technology powerhouses support Blu-ray technology since it offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs while still having great image quality.

The price between HD DVD players and Blu-ray players, however, is what interests consumers the most. The cheapest HD DVD player retails for approximately $300, while the cheapest Blu-ray devices sell for at least $599.

“We decided to release Shrek the Third and other DreamWorks Animation titles exclusively on HD DVD because we believe it is the best format to bring high quality home entertainment to a key segment of our audience,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg CEO of DreamWorks Animation. “We believe the combination of this year’s low-priced HD DVD players and the commitment to release a significant number of hit titles in the fall makes HD DVD the best way to view movies at home.”

Paramount Home Entertainment will issue new release dates for upcoming films and will also sell catalog titles in the future. Steven Spielberg films remain uncommitted to either format.