Buddy Schwartz can finally celebrate his birthday.
The Parkville resident had been saving his money since August to buy a new high-definition DVD player, but he has been waiting to see which format would win out: HD DVD or Blu-ray. Both offer enhanced picture and sound but, alas, cannot be used interchangeably.
"I just didn't want to spend my money and turn around and say, `Wow, that was a waste of $400,'" he said while shopping at a Target store.
Schwartz's wait ended yesterday when Toshiba Corp., which had been promoting its HD DVD format, announced that it would stop making those players - consigning the machines to the same fate as Sony's Betamax video player of the 1980s.
Toshiba estimated that more than 1 million customers purchased its HD DVD players, including about 600,000 in the United States. Electronics stores might have to deal with consumers eager to return newly purchased HD DVD players.
"This shows some of the potential pitfalls of being an early adopter. If you jump into the market before the standards have shaken out, you certainly stand the chance of being on the side of the player that's on the losing side of the battle," said Chris Murray, senior counsel for Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.
Recent buyers of the now-obsolete technology could try to be made whole, however, he said.
"Consumers could try taking them back to the store and say, `Gee, you sold me an obsolete piece of technology here. Is there anything you can do for me? Could you give me an exchange on a Blu-ray set?'" Murray said. "I don't know if that is going to go anywhere, but you could try."
The competition between Blu-ray, made by Sony Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and others, and Toshiba's HD DVD escalated in recent months, with major movie houses and electronics retailers declaring allegiances.
Toshiba officially conceded the fight yesterday, saying shipments of HD DVD machines to retailers will be reduced and will stop by the end of March.
Toshiba Corp. President Atsutoshi Nishida said he wanted to avoid consumer confusion and realized Toshiba had failed to win Hollywood backing. Last month's decision by Warner Bros. Entertainment to release movie discs only in the Blu-ray format was the definitive blow, he said.
"That had tremendous impact," he said. "If we had continued, that would have created problems for consumers, and we simply had no chance to win."
