Toshiba turns up heat in DVD war with big price cut

— -- Toshiba, unwilling to concede defeat in the next-generation-DVD battle, said Monday that it would launch an aggressive advertising campaign to promote its HD DVD players and slash prices about 50%.

Entry-level players now start at about $150, down from about $300.

The consumer electronics maker said in a statement that it would step up marketing of the players. It provided few details but said the ads would run on television, in print and online.

Toshiba made the move in response to a series of victories by a rival format, Sony-backed Blu-ray. The battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray is similar to the VHS-Betamax fight of the 1980s. Earlier this month, Hollywood giant Warner Bros. said it would release its films only on Blu-ray discs. It had previously supported both formats.

"The HD camp is doubling down," says tech analyst Roger Kay at Endpoint Technologies Associates. "Toshiba has to sell as many as they can … to populate the world with HD DVD players and maybe win back the studios."

Both HD DVD and Blu-ray can display higher-quality video than traditional DVDs. Blu-ray is arguably the more advanced technology, but HD DVD was out first and often costs less. Retailer Best Buy on Monday was offering Blu-ray players for $400 to $1,000 and HD DVD players for $150 to $1,000.

The two formats are not compatible, which means an HD DVD usually won't work in a Blu-ray player. Many movie studios have released films in both formats, an inconvenience that forces them to carry twice as much inventory.

That's why one format is expected to win out. Toshiba has support from studios including Universal Home Video, Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG. But Blu-ray's backers include 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney and Lionsgate Entertainment.

Adding to the confusion: Microsoft's Xbox video game system and some Toshiba laptops can play only HD DVD. Sony's PlayStation 3 video game system and some of its laptops can play only Blu-ray.

Toshiba is hoping lower prices will help it hang on. Price can be "a deal breaker for the mainstream consumer," Toshiba Vice President Yoshi Uchiyama said in a statement.