Toshiba Delays HD-DVD Introduction - Again....

Consumers will have to wait a little longer for their high definition DVD. Citing unresolved copy-protection issues as the latest excuse, Toshiba has announced that it will delay its introduction of HD-DVD into the Japanese market (which usually precedes U.S. product introductions) until well into 2006. It had been hoped that HD-DVD would hit shelves by this year's end -- but that is not to be. However, despite this latest announcement, Toshiba still feels confident that it will still beat Sony's Blu-ray format introduction.

Frankly, with all the delays and controversy over the two competing, incompatible high defintion DVD formats, it may just be that by the time they hit the market, consumers may just have lost interest - especially with the increasing availability of affordable upscaling DVD players that can provide a near-HD experience from standard DVD. For additional details, check out the report from Reuters.

For information on Blu-ray and HD-DVD basics, check out my article: Blu-ray and HD-DVD - What You Need To Know.