Toshiba says latest round of price reductions part of it's marketing plan.

[ViRaL1]

From Toshiba's HD-DVD website...

Toshiba Deploys New HD DVD Marketing Initiatives Based on Strong Fourth Quarter Unit Sales



Mass Market Acceptance Confirms that HD DVD is the Consumer's Choice for
Next Generation High Def Entertainment

WAYNE, N.J., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Toshiba America Consumer Products,
L.L.C. ("Toshiba") today announced that it is stepping up its successful
marketing campaign for HD DVD as it experienced record-breaking unit sales
in the fourth quarter of 2007. Major initiatives, including joint
advertising campaigns with studios and extended pricing strategies will
begin in mid- January and are designed to spotlight the superior benefits
of HD DVD as well as the benefits HD DVD brings to a consumer's current DVD
library by upconverting standard DVDs via the HDMI(TM) output to near high
definition picture quality.

As Toshiba achieved the #1 sales volume in the next generation DVD
category with an approximately 50 percent market share in 2007, HD DVD is
proven to be the format of choice for consumers. Coupled with an 80 percent
plus market share of all next generation DVD equipped notebooks for the 4th
quarter 2007, the HD DVD format has already paved the way to a high
definition digital AV solution by eliminating the boundaries between the
consumer's living room and on the go.

HD DVD not only creates the ultimate high definition entertainment
experience, leveraging all of the promise of the format such as superior
audio/video performance, Web-enabled network capabilities and advanced
interactive features - it also has a high-level of compatibility with DVD.
With DVD upconversion via the HDMI output, HD DVD players instantly make a
movie lover's existing DVD library look better than ever.

"HD DVD is the best way to watch movies in high definition," said Jodi
Sally, Vice President of Marketing, Toshiba's Digital A/V Group. "Our HD
DVD players not only play back approximately 800 HD DVD titles available
worldwide and deliver an entirely new level of entertainment but also
enhance the picture quality to near high definition on legacy DVD titles by
all studios. In short, we added high def to DVD which already is the de
facto standard format created and approved by the DVD Forum that consists
of more than two hundred companies."

New Marketing Strategy for Mass Market Adoption

Taking the holiday season sales based on promotional prices into full
consideration, these new manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRP) are
designed to meet the potential demand for HD DVD players in the U.S.
market. Effective on January 13, 2008 the MSRP of the entry-model HD-A3
will be $149.99, the HD-A30, with 1080p output, $199.99, and the high-end
HD-A35, $299.99.

"While price is one of the consideration elements for the early
adopter, it is a deal-breaker for the mainstream consumer," said Yoshi
Uchiyama, Group Vice President Digital A/V Group. "Consumer sales this
holiday season have proven that the consumer awareness of the HD DVD format
has been elevated and pricing is the most critical determinant in
consumers' purchase decision of

the next generation HD DVD technology. The value HD DVD provides to the
consumer simply cannot be ignored."

Extended Advertising Campaign

Toshiba plans to execute an extended advertising campaign that will
further enhance consumer awareness of the benefits of HD DVD and drive
sales to retail among potential consumers. Advertising strategies will
include television, print and online media channels. Toshiba will also work
with its dealers and studio partners on joint marketing and promotional
initiatives to promote HD DVD. Current promotions include "The Perfect HD
Offer" - a mail-in offer allowing consumers to select five HD DVD titles
for free from a selection of 15 with the purchase of any Toshiba HD DVD
player.

Consistent Viewing Experience and More

With advanced interactivity and Web-enabled network capabilities built
into every HD DVD player through a dedicated Ethernet port as mandated by
the specifications approved by the DVD Forum, Toshiba delivers on the
promise of a consistent entertainment experience through firmware updates
as studios launch new applications. HD DVD allows studios to flex their
creative muscle in ways never before seen. The latest of these new
experiences is online streaming. Now, when consumers connect their HD DVD
player to the Internet, they can stream new content or trailers, as
available, directly from a movie studio's server.

Universal Home Video, Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG
have reported that an average of 30 percent of HD DVD owners have accessed
Web- enabled network features and continue to do so regularly.

Ongoing Customer Commitment

In order to ensure that its customers will receive complete
satisfaction from their new players, Toshiba introduced the "HD DVD
Concierge" earlier this month. 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 promotions.

About Toshiba HD DVD Players

With the HD DVD format, select HD DVD players allow consumers to
experience true high def 1080p for extraordinary resolution that matches
the latest state of the art 1080p HDTVs. These same 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.

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 http://www.toshibahddvd.com or
http://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 http://www.tacp.toshiba.com.




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

Who runs their marketing department? Let's drop the prices PRE announcement and scare away millions of potential customers THEN announce that it was all part of the plan.

[ViRaL1]

I for one am pretty disappointed. I had an A2 that I hadn't even used yet and I ended up returning it (partly because the A3 prices were dropping). Now that there's even more uncertainty there's a great chance they've lost me until I can be certain they'll be around, even if there's not a clear 'winner' in this 'format war.'

EDIT: on a side note, I already own a PS3 and a smal collection of Blu-Ray movies and I was fully prepared to support both sides if they both had offerings I was willing to pay money for (I actually still have some HD-DVDs). But this latest debacle has left a bad taste in my mouth and personally I'm a fan of Toshiba in other fields.

[Nilfennasion]

I was a fan of Toshiba until their "we offer a three-step zoom to get rid of the black lines on widescreen movies" ads here. Considering that I had been writing for a site that tries to educate the readership about why films and televisions have not been the same shape for half a century, they literally might as well have come into my home and punched my girlfriend at the time.

But since DVD and HD are apples and oranges, I was willing to let all that slide if Toshiba could convince me they had a good format. And for a second there, they almost had me with a few titles that I would have liked to see in 1080P.

I just hope Toshiba get their head out and start to negotiate a real end to the war rather than just let Blu-ray keep beating them into the ground. I would like to see the whole thing resolved peacefully because I get sick of people in either camp distorting facts or calling each other names. I do not believe people who went with VHS or Betamax were so petty and/or childish with each other when I was a lad.

Not to mention that the sooner the format war ends, the sooner crackers can stop arguing and get on with the business of defeating copy protection.

[samijubal]

I wouldn't touch a player without zoom. If you don't want to use it, then don't. There are many people out there who want to zoom letterbox movies.

[ViRaL1]

I wouldn't touch a player without zoom. If you don't want to use it, then don't. There are many people out there who want to zoom letterbox movies.

My TV does that so I don't really need it from my player, but I can understand that some want it. Some people don't feel they're getting their money's worth if the screen's not full, regardless of the fact that the aspect ratio is meant to be that way (I know that's not what YOU personally are saying), but then again, some people say they're being cheated with all the air in a bag of potato chips like they're being charged by volume.