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Microsoft and Toshiba Give HD-DVD A Lift

June 27th, 2005

HD-DVD and Toshiba seem to have become increasingly desperate in recent weeks and it’s become clear that Sony simply aren’t interested in making a deal on a unification of the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats. This desperation is partly founded in the knowledge that Sony possesses a killer USP - the Playstation 3, whereas Toshiba has none. Now Toshiba are moving to redress the balance by forming a partnership with Microsoft that will see sharing of ideas and technologies, as well as the joint production of an HD-DVD player.

The proposed player will combine Microsoft’s experience in software development with Toshiba knowledge of the consumer electronics market. It is likely to run using the Microsoft CE operating system. Whether or not HD-DVD will find its way into the Xbox 360 is unclear, but if it did then Toshiba would finally have a USP to compete with Sony and battle would start to look a little more balanced.

“We feel we have gained a powerful supporter on our side,” Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida told reporters at a Tokyo hotel, where he appeared with Bill Gates.

“Microsoft values our strong relationship with Toshiba, a company we admire for its long-standing commitment to innovation,” said Gates. “This agreement demonstrates our desire to share our innovations with other companies in ways that promote the spread of new ideas - and benefit customers by accelerating the development of exciting new products.”

Entry Filed under: Digital Home, Operating Systems