Toshiba Holds HD DVD Players until April

Toshiba's delaying the launch of its HD DVD players until mid-April, so at least a tiny handful of HD DVD movies will be available when players go on sale.

Toshiba announced today that it is delaying the launch of its first HD DVD next-generation DVD players until mid-April, to coincide with the availability of the first movies in HD DVD format. Toshiba did not give precise availability dates, but Toshiba spokesperson Junko Furuta said the company is working with studios and retailers to work out launch dates.

Last week, Warner Bros. announced its first HD DVD movie titles would be available April 18 rather than in sync with Toshiba’s’s planned March 28 HD DVD player launch. Furuta said Toshiba has begun taking pre-orders for D DVD players in 40 major U.S. cities; Toshiba’s HD-XA1 and HD-A1 players carry suggested prices of $799 and $499, respectively.