While the battle between the two incompatible DVD formats of HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc appears to be producing a stalemate of sorts, not to mention miniscule sales of both sides' players, some may be curious as to what each format's prime backers--Toshiba and Sony, respectively--may have up their corporate sleeves for next week's CES show in Las Vegas. The confab has often been a magnet for big announcements.
Toshiba, which recently acknowledged it will not be displaying its latest SED technology at the show, reportedly has some sort of announcement set for this Sunday, Jan. 7, with online speculation that it could include some price cuts for HD DVD products, according to Engadget.com.
While Toshiba did not acknowledge the specific reason for this weekend's press conference (to include several major HD DVD backers), Toshiba's top exec hinted that the "next price threshold" for HD DVD players would be about $400, with a $300 plateau to follow. He did not give a timetable.
Sony, for its part, is expected to make an announcement or two of its own regarding Blu-ray, although as of this week Sony's own CES2007 Web site most prominently features its PlayStation 3 game console, not its Blu-ray products.
