14 DAY TRIAL // Just a few days after the launch of Samsung's Blu-ray player, Toshiba, the main backer of the HD DVD format, confirmed the upcoming release of its HD-DVD player which will be retailed in Europe starting 15 November.
More precisely, the launch date comes just two days earlier than Sony's PlayStation 3, which will feature a Blu-ray player.
However, another HD DVD player will be released on the worldwide market in December, in the same period in which Nintendo will launch its Wii.
But the analysts said that the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray battle result will depend on what Hollywood will choose. And, if you remember, 20th Century Fox officials stated that they don't even think of HD DVD, and Time Warner has also announced its desire to become a member of the Blu-ray Alliance.
Consequently, Toshiba's HD DVD gets only Universal and some already hacked movies that are stored on a 30GB support, as the Blu camp gets the Warner, the Fox and some pretty powerful 50GB media.
"Analysts and manufacturers say that deals with film studios may hold the key to winning the emerging contest between the two formats. While Toshiba showed off its new HD-DVD machines at IFA in Berlin, Hollywood giant Twentieth Century Fox gave Blu-ray a boost by announcing plans to release films for that format only. But Yoshihide Fujii, Toshiba's digital consumer chief, raised doubts that most Hollywood films would require the greater storage capacity of Blu-ray discs," writes BBC News.