Toshiba and Sony and IBM join Forces to Battle Microsoft

HarD-DVD · 02-23-2008, 08:15 PM

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=10826

The 90nm Cell/B.E. package as found in the PlayStation 3, now to be manufactured by Toshiba. (Source: DailyTech)Sony gives Toshiba something in return for its troubles -- Japanese Cell chip plants for $835M

A new twist has emerged with the death of HD DVD. After Warner, Best Buy, Walmart and Netflix jumped on the Blu bandwagon, the fate of HD DVD was already sealed.

Despite the grim news, the principle HD DVD developer, Toshiba Corporation, refused to initially comment on its plans for its HD DVD. However, as many analysts predicted, Toshiba came out last week and officially surrendered to Blu-ray.

Many saw Toshiba's willingness to give up on HD DVD as a logical business decision and perhaps an admission of Blu-ray's superiority. However, there might be a little more to the story. Reuters reports that on Wednesday Toshiba and Sony Corporation, one of Blu-ray's principle developers, agreed to a major business deal, reached just after Toshiba made its final HD DVD decision.

Sony agreed to sell it microchip processing facilities in western Japan for approximately $835M USD. These facilities currently produce Cell processors and RSX graphic chips. Toshiba will enter the joint venture with Sony on April 1, 2008.

Toshiba, IBM and Sony were the principle developers of the Cell microprocessor, but Toshiba previously showed little interest in using the chip for any of its own projects. Sony touts the Cell broadband engine in its Playstation 3 consoles; IBM uses the Cell processor in high performance computing clusters. Toshiba has vowed to now use the Cell in its upcoming products.

While Toshiba and Sony entered into talks back in October 2007 and reached a tentative agreement to sell the cell facilities, the two companies continued to haggle about the price. Sony's concession of what is considered a favorable price for Toshiba will likely strike many following Toshiba's drop as HD DVD as more than a coincidence, and perhaps a sign of an informal agreement.

The other interesting aspect of the move is that it indicates a clear shift by Toshiba to back the PS3. The PS3, which last month outsold Microsoft's Xbox 360, previously had few ties to the company; while Microsoft's number one ally in hardware manufacturing has always been Toshiba. Toshiba manufacturers several components for the Xbox 360, including the HD DVD add-on, and the Microsoft Zune MP3 players.

Toshiba's flip-flop may have been in the cards for a while. Microsoft showed little remose as HD DVD took second place to Blu-ray; a move Toshiba must have recognized from its American ally. Now the solidified PS3 venture between Sony and Toshiba indicates that Toshiba now has switched to backing the PS3 almost exclusively, another victory for Sony.

eapleitez · 02-23-2008, 08:17 PM

That's a stupid interpretation by dailytech. Toshiba bought the Cell factory months ago.

HarD-DVD · 02-23-2008, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eapleitez

That's a stupid interpretation by dailytech. Toshiba bought the Cell factory months ago.

Yep, that is a crazy interpretation of the recent events.

Lee Stewart · 02-23-2008, 08:42 PM

We already have a thread on this:

After HD DVD Drop, Toshiba Spends $835M to Back PS3

pendragon · 02-24-2008, 01:07 AM

IBM is laughing all the way to the bank. They are involved in the processor technology for the PS3, XBOX 360 and Wii. Whoever wins, IBM wins.

Toshiba's interest in Cell may be counter to what Sony and the BDA want: they have demoed super resolution technology (not upscaling) with what I understand to be a slimmed down version of the original Cell. That could conceivably compete at some level with Blu-ray through SD sources like DVD and lower resolution HD sources like satellite and cable, although even thinking this is tantamount to heresy to many around here.

Before someone chimes in and retiterates that a true HD frame has 6X more pixels than a SD frame and you can't make something from nothing, I will point out that a sequence of a dozen frames of SD contain a lot of sub-pixel information unless the frames are perfectly identical.

02-23-2008, 08:15 PM	#1
HarD-DVD High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 194	Toshiba and Sony and IBM join Forces to Battle Microsoft http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=10826 The 90nm Cell/B.E. package as found in the PlayStation 3, now to be manufactured by Toshiba. (Source: DailyTech)Sony gives Toshiba something in return for its troubles -- Japanese Cell chip plants for $835M A new twist has emerged with the death of HD DVD. After Warner, Best Buy, Walmart and Netflix jumped on the Blu bandwagon, the fate of HD DVD was already sealed. Despite the grim news, the principle HD DVD developer, Toshiba Corporation, refused to initially comment on its plans for its HD DVD. However, as many analysts predicted, Toshiba came out last week and officially surrendered to Blu-ray. Many saw Toshiba's willingness to give up on HD DVD as a logical business decision and perhaps an admission of Blu-ray's superiority. However, there might be a little more to the story. Reuters reports that on Wednesday Toshiba and Sony Corporation, one of Blu-ray's principle developers, agreed to a major business deal, reached just after Toshiba made its final HD DVD decision. Sony agreed to sell it microchip processing facilities in western Japan for approximately $835M USD. These facilities currently produce Cell processors and RSX graphic chips. Toshiba will enter the joint venture with Sony on April 1, 2008. Toshiba, IBM and Sony were the principle developers of the Cell microprocessor, but Toshiba previously showed little interest in using the chip for any of its own projects. Sony touts the Cell broadband engine in its Playstation 3 consoles; IBM uses the Cell processor in high performance computing clusters. Toshiba has vowed to now use the Cell in its upcoming products. While Toshiba and Sony entered into talks back in October 2007 and reached a tentative agreement to sell the cell facilities, the two companies continued to haggle about the price. Sony's concession of what is considered a favorable price for Toshiba will likely strike many following Toshiba's drop as HD DVD as more than a coincidence, and perhaps a sign of an informal agreement. The other interesting aspect of the move is that it indicates a clear shift by Toshiba to back the PS3. The PS3, which last month outsold Microsoft's Xbox 360, previously had few ties to the company; while Microsoft's number one ally in hardware manufacturing has always been Toshiba. Toshiba manufacturers several components for the Xbox 360, including the HD DVD add-on, and the Microsoft Zune MP3 players. Toshiba's flip-flop may have been in the cards for a while. Microsoft showed little remose as HD DVD took second place to Blu-ray; a move Toshiba must have recognized from its American ally. Now the solidified PS3 venture between Sony and Toshiba indicates that Toshiba now has switched to backing the PS3 almost exclusively, another victory for Sony.

02-23-2008, 08:17 PM	#2
eapleitez High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 389	That's a stupid interpretation by dailytech. Toshiba bought the Cell factory months ago. __________________ HD DVD: 159 BD: 59 JVC HD-56FN97 Toshiba HD-A2 Sony PS3 80GB Nintendo Wii Sega Dreamcast Radiient Calypso 5.0 speakers BIC HT-63 rear surrounds BIC H-100 Denon AVR-888 Harmony One remote

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02-23-2008, 08:42 PM	#4
Lee Stewart Behold - the future! Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Albuquerque, NM Age: 58 Posts: 25,188	We already have a thread on this: After HD DVD Drop, Toshiba Spends $835M to Back PS3

02-24-2008, 01:07 AM	#5
pendragon How can anyone watch standard def? Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 16	IBM is laughing all the way to the bank. They are involved in the processor technology for the PS3, XBOX 360 and Wii. Whoever wins, IBM wins. Toshiba's interest in Cell may be counter to what Sony and the BDA want: they have demoed super resolution technology (not upscaling) with what I understand to be a slimmed down version of the original Cell. That could conceivably compete at some level with Blu-ray through SD sources like DVD and lower resolution HD sources like satellite and cable, although even thinking this is tantamount to heresy to many around here. Before someone chimes in and retiterates that a true HD frame has 6X more pixels than a SD frame and you can't make something from nothing, I will point out that a sequence of a dozen frames of SD contain a lot of sub-pixel information unless the frames are perfectly identical.