[CES 07] Finally, More HD DVD Players…Soon
January 9th, 2007 — By Scott WilkinsonHD DVD Monopoly No More
Whereas Blu-ray players are being made by quite a few manufacturers, HD DVD players have been available from only one source: Toshiba. At the HD DVD Promotion Group press conference, however, it was announced that several other companies will be offering HD DVD players.
Among them are Onkyo and Meridian, along with several Chinese manufacturers. None of these players are being shown at CES, nor is there any pricing or availability info, but the fact that other companies are planning to build players is big news indeed.
PC-based HD DVD drives are much closer to reality; in fact, Hewlett-Packard has two media-centric computers with HD DVD drives available now: the Pavilion dv9000t notebook with 17-inch screen and m7690n PC. The notebook starts at $1525 after rebates, while the PC starts at $1600 after rebates.
Finally, consumers have a choice in HD DVD playback.
