It has been three weeks now since the launch of HD-DVD and I thought it is time for me to share a few more thoughts on the platform, the launch and other things surrounding it.
By now we all know that the launch was completely botched, of course. Hardware is not really available and software isn't selling because no dealer puts it on the shelves without hardware. Toshiba was also unable to fulfill any requests by the media to provide hardware for review purposes while some studios did not even deem it necessary at first to send out review copies. Fortunately the latter has changed in the interim and even Universal is providing reviewers like ourselves with copies of their titles.
It all boils down to poor planning and a rush-job - but even more a certain lack of enthusiasm and vision. Studios are not exactly over-eager to release titles on HD-DVD. Although Universal has set up a nice slate of show-off product to be released over the next couple of weeks, Warner's commitment is fairly reluctant and Paramount's support at this point not existent. I think a lot of people in the industry look at this scenario and already begin to smile, or scratch their heads. The HD-DVD launch was the perfect example how not to launch a new technology and how you can run it into the ground from day one. I only hope that the Blu-Ray camp is observing this carefully and takes note accordingly because the HD-DVD camp just handed them a free lunch essentially if Blu-Ray plays its cards right. We'll keep an eye on this, of course, and let you know how things develop as the Blu-Ray launch draws nearer.
We just came across a wonderful blog by Lorin Thwaits who took two of Toshiba's new HD-DVD players and dismantled them to find out what makes them tick. What he found and shows on his blog is very interesting, indeed.
Since day one Toshiba has claimed that the HD-DVD player is much more sophisticated than other consumer electronic machines, such as DVD players. The company claimed it had a real processor, memory, an operating system and so forth. Well, apart from the fact that a DVD player also has a CPU, memory and an operating system, I do concede to the fact that the one in a HD-DVD player needs to be a bit more elaborate than the one for a DVD player. None of that excuses the glitches found in the first generation player however, such as overly long boot-up and disc loading times or the freezes that occur occasionally. (In fairness I have to point out that my Pioneer DVD player also suffers from very frequent intermittent lock-ups which I find entirely unacceptable.)
Now, when disassembling the HD-A1, Lorin found that Toshiba's claims are indeed true. The system is powered by a Pentium 4 processor supplemented with off-the-shelf DDR RAM, a USB Flash drive and more PC features - plus it is running Red Hat's Linux operating system.
While all that is intriguing it shows me one thing very clearly. The fact that the Toshiba HD-A1 is a prototype and not really a machine that has gone fully into mass production - hence the short-shipping and Toshiba's inability to fill sales channels. It clearly means that Toshiba has not yet taken the steps to actually take the unit from a prototype stage into a fully integrated stage in which most of these elements would be implemented in custom silicon. It also means that the glitches we see throughout the performance of the unit are software bugs from unfinished and improperly tested software to run the media. In short, it means the Toshiba HD-A1 was a rush job - and it feels that way in every way. From the remote control that contains buttons that have no function to the 30-second delay it takes to read the watermark off a disc, all these things are symptomatic for an unfinished implementation.
I find it frightening to which lengths Toshiba went in order to beat Blu-Ray to the punch because I can guarantee you that second or third generation players will have absolutely nothing in common with this player. You could actually take the HD-A1 and turn it into a full fledged PC - and I am not kidding you! That is complete overkill for a consumer electronic device that does as little as playing back video, decoding some audio and running a few basic Java-based interactive features. On the good side of all of this we now know that these players can only get better and more efficient as their hardware is getting more integrated and embedded.
Reading Lorin's blog makes me wonder what the upcoming Blu-Ray players will look like on the inside. Will they be equally prototypical or will they be actual mass manufactured units. Let's wait and see…
On a slightly different note I also wanted to talk to you real quick about the packaging of HD-DVD. After having received about seven discs in the mail I already have my first broken case. Not that it surprises me, but I still think the packaging for HD-DVD and Blu-Ray stinks. Sure, it looks kind of neat but that's about it. The packaging is decidedly more brittle than DVD Amaray-style cases and carries over many of the same problems that have driven DVD user nuts for years now.
Discs that are loose in the packaging and get scratched while shifting around the plastic edges are very real with these packages. Also the fact that these cases once again require you to peel off three different stickers is outright idiotic. Out of these seven discs I currently have, I have wonderfully sticky glue residue on the front of two of them, because these labels would not peel off properly. This all doesn't bode well if you ask me. One would think that after more than 8 years of experience with DVD cases someone would have been able to design a case that actually works properly and fulfills its job, and moreover that the people in charge of signing off on these cases would be smart enough to realize that the world needs better cases. Neither happened, sadly.
