Toshiba CEO talks about life after HD DVD

Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently talked with Toshiba CEO Atsutoshi Nishida about life after HD DVD.

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WSJ: When did you first start thinking about withdrawing from the HD DVD business?

Mr. Nishida: When Warner [Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros.] announced its support for Blu-ray on the 4th of January. We took a little time before reaching a final decision, so we could give people a chance to voice their opinions and we could consider all the ramifications and consequences of pulling out, such as how it would affect consumers and us.

WSJ : Most industry observers had expected the format war to continue for a while longer. Why did you decide to pull out so quickly?

Mr. Nishida: I didn't think we stood a chance after Warner left us because it meant HD DVD would have just 20% to 30% of software market share. One has to take calculated risks in business, but it's also important to switch gears immediately if you think your decision was wrong. We were doing this to win, and if we weren't going to win then we had to pull out, especially since consumers were already asking for a single standard.

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Toshiba will continue to produce standard DVD players. They believe they can still make a difference. "What people don't realize is that Hollywood studios are going to release new titles not just for Blu-ray but for standard DVDs as well, and there are a far greater number of current-generation DVD players out there. If you watch standard DVDs on our players, the images are of very high quality because they include an "upconverting" feature. And we're going to improve this even more, so that consumers won't be able to tell the difference from HD DVD images. The players would be much cheaper than Blu-ray players too. Next-generation DVD players are in a much weaker position than when standard DVD players were first introduced." Nishida said.

When asked about video downloads he replied "That's what we're hoping. We've been developing technologies in this area already, but now that we don't have the HD DVD business, I want to put even more energy into that."

Source: Wall Street Journal.