LOL - However, they were responsible for pushing their technology...
Had they pushed for this and offered direction (and probably monetary incentive) they could have made it happen.
This is highly unlikely. Toshiba doesn't steer the Titanic on DVD, they are just part of the driving force of DVD. The studios make that ultimate decision, and it is highly unlikely that what you said they 'should have' done, is not in fact, what they were desperately trying - and paying for - other to do.
It is established that they had paid Paramount for exclusivity, which cost the a fair bit, so there's no telling how much it would of cost them to get a studio to drop their singular DVD releases.
Had the market been flooded with a single DVD/HD-DVD combo disk in lieu of two standards that confuse the consumer, things would have turned out different. One of the strong point for Blu-ray in terms of marketing is that it is NOT associated directly to standard DVD. Blu-ray sounds different therefor average Joe things "DIFFERENT=NEW=BETTER".
I agree with this, but only in part. Toshiba would have needed all the studios on board, which was a huge failing on their part. It didn't help that they also were the only CE manufacturer actually producing product... which is what they are doing again here with LSi and SRT.
The understanding of average joe is woefully low in terms of HD-DVD vs DVD. Ask a vast portion of average joe users out there if DVD is high definition and they will say yes. I cannot count the number of times I have had to explain to someone that DVD is only 550 lines and HD is 1080 (and all the other things that conversation entails).... A unified disk would have given those kinds of people (currently saving to buy their Bluray at Walmart this year) a reason to make the intellectual step from the meaning of "DVD" to "HD-DVD". A unified disk would have turned a weakness (poor brand separation of DVD vs. HD-DVD) into a strength as users would have had the content at their fingertips. It would have effectively "lead the horse to water".
Yes, absolutely! But, this was always why HD DVD wasn't going to be a long term product. They couldn't get the support, separation from DVD, and establish the product. Had they somehow secured more studios, it may have turned out vastly differently, but that was not the case.
At the end of the day, nothing - and I mean NOTHING - has changed.
For a CE product to survive it must have studio and CE support. Even one that monopolizes, such as the iPod, is not doing it without full studio support, and a phenomenal amount of CE support. When I walk into a Sony Style store and see them SHOWING iPods connected to their gear instead of their own MP3 Walkman players, then you get that support for iPod is industry wide.
Likewise, Toshiba went with HD DVD, as they appear to be going with SRT, as they aren't even going with LSi... It's their personal format. They have to market it, they have to sell it, and the industry needs some valid reason to buy into it. At least HD DVD was a truly incredible HD format, I just don't get what this new stuff is about other than them desperately trying to hold onto their DVD revenue streams. Since that represents BILLIONS of dollars to them, it seems to make sense for them to protect it any way they can.
It's just up to us (consumers) to realize that our best interests are not at all what Toshiba gives a darn about. Not at all.
That was all I was saying...
I get what you're saying, and you should remember that there were also Blu-ray/DVD discs that have been prototyped, but the BDA never made combo discs. It seems that it is trying to establish itself as a true replacement product, as CD was to cassette.
Regardless of what Toshiba does, it won't stop me from enjoying movies in HD on my Blu-ray player AND my HD DVD player. But, I do know what format my new movie releases will have to be on.
