Microsoft: HD DVD demise won't hurt Xbox 360
Toshiba's announcement to end production
of HD DVD players and recorders will not affect the Xbox 360, even though Microsoft
offers an optional stand-alone HD DVD drive for the game console, Microsoft
said in a statement Tuesday.
"We do not believe Toshiba's announcement about HD DVD will have any material
impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace," Microsoft
said. The gaming function of the console is its main attraction, the company
added.
The company did not say whether or not it will stop manufacturing the HD DVD
drive for the Xbox 360.
Earlier Tuesday, Toshiba formally announced an end to its support of HD DVD,
a high-definition optical disc format meant to replace DVDs. Toshiba was the
developer and main backer of HD DVD, and its capitulation handed victory to
rival format Blu-ray Disc, which has been championed by Sony.
Toshiba said its decision came after careful analysis of the long-term impact
of continuing the format war, and said a swift decision was called for to help
the high-definition market develop.
For game consoles, high-definition discs are growing in importance. Sony put
Blu-ray Disc drives in the PlayStation 3 as a way to spread popularity of the
high-definition discs. PlayStation 3 owners can play HD movies on the drives
as well as advanced games. Blu-ray discs can hold far more data than conventional
DVDs, and give players high definition graphics on games.
At a recent game show in Taipei, Sony showed off a display of over 100 game
titles created using Blu-ray Disc. A nearby Xbox 360 booth displayed the HD
DVD logo and showed movies and just a few games made for the format.
Recent changes in the market prompted Toshiba's decision to phase out HD DVD.
Early this year, Warner Bros. said it would stop issuing movies on HD DVD in
the coming months and rely exclusively on Blu-ray Disc. The Hollywood studio
was one of three major studios remaining in the HD DVD camp, and its defection
created widespread belief that the battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc was
now over.
More recently, major U.S. retail chain Wal-Mart announced it would phase out
the sale of HD DVD products, moving to exclusivity with Blu-ray Disc. Electronics
retailer Best Buy also said it would back Blu-ray Disc, but it did not say it
would stop offering HD DVD.
IDG News Service
Symantec Backup Exec 12 and Backup Exec System Recovery 8 deliver industry leading Windows data protection and system recovery. Download this whitepaper to find out the top reasons to upgrade and how to get continuous data protection and complete system recovery.
Data and system loss — from a hard drive failure, malicious attack, natural disaster, or simple human error — can happen anytime. Don’t leave your business vulnerable. Make sure you have a secure recovery strategy in place. Symantec's latest backup and system recovery technology can efficiently restore critical applications, individual emails and documents and even restore your entire system in minutes in the event of a loss.
Businesses face a growing challenge to ensure that the IT environment is properly protected. Backup Exec 12 integrates with other applications in the Symantec family of products, to complement your current data protection strategy, keep your data securely backed up and make it recoverable when you need it most.
