Toshiba has made its high-definition DVD player into a Web device that Hollywood studios can use to offer interactive content to movie buffs.
The consumer electronics company last week released firmware that could be downloaded to its players to support Web-based content and interactive applications embedded in movies that support the HD DVD format. Very few studio-produced DVDs have those capabilities, but there are some, such as "Blood Diamond" from Warner Home Video.
While rare today, studios are anxious to add content and bonus features that consumers could download from the Web while watching a movie on a DVD. Movie distributors could use the feature, for example, to update trailers for future movies, offer premium content for an additional charge, or give consumers a chance to participate in polls or promotions.
Toshiba offers an Ethernet port in all its HD DVD players, as well as some storage. To participate in the Web-enabled features, a person would first have to download Toshiba's firmware.
Chris Roden, analyst for Parks Associates, told InformationWeek Monday that a consumer would have difficulty finding a Web-enabled DVD today, "but it's something that's very important to studios down the road." The biggest hold up is consumer reluctance to buy a high-definition player, because of the ongoing battle between Toshiba-backed HD DVD and Sony-supported Blu-ray. Each company, along with their supporters, wants to make their favored format the market leader.
The battle has taken its toll on Toshiba. The company last month slashed its sales target for the year for its high-definition DVD player by 44% to 1 million, primarily due to weak sales in the United States.
Once the format war plays out, high-definition players being developed by Toshiba and competitors could move quickly to becoming a kind of entertainment hub for the home. "Right now, it's about getting them in the home," Roden said of HD players. "In time, they could move toward a set-top box form factor."
Before that can happen, however, the industry will have to end the standards battle that's reminiscent of the VHS-Betamax wars in the early days of VCRs. VHS eventually won, while Sony-backed Betamax disappeared.
Sony, which is heavily invested in Blu-ray, is trying to avoid a second defeat by including a Blu-ray disc player in PlayStation 3, the latest version of its popular videogame console. While too soon to declare a winner, Blu-ray currently has an advantage in the market.