Having lost the HD DVD versus Blu-ray format war against Sony, Japanese electronics manufacturer Toshiba plans to develop players that will employ tiny Sd cards as found in digital cameras. The company has just invested $20m in Seattle-based MOD Systems, the developer of a digital media delivery system for retailers that lets consumers download digital content for burning to an optical format.
MOD said that early next year it plans to expand its media delivery system, which lets consumers download content from store kiosks to SD memory cards, to include downloads of movies and TV shows, in addition to music.
Toshiba is to develop dedicated set-top boxes, portable devices and high-capacity Sd cards for the service. Another MOD investor, NCR, will manufacture the in-store download kiosks.
MOD already has some 4,000 titles from Hollywood studios and may offer HD content in the future. Toshiba believes that direct downloads in retail environments will help combat piracy.
