Toshiba Postpones U.S. Sale of DVD Players

Tokyo-based Toshiba Corp. said it is postponing initial sales of its digital videodisc players in the United States until January or February because of a lack of films to put on them. Toshiba, which started selling the players in Japan on Nov. 1, had repeatedly said sales in the United States would be in time for the Christmas season. DVD software has been slow in coming, as many Hollywood studios have been worried about copyright and piracy protection. Although Toshiba said DVD machine sales in Japan were well on target, the software selection has lacked major films. Sony Corp. said earlier this year it wouldn’t begin U.S. or Japanese sales of DVD players until next spring. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. is aiming for U.S. sales by year’s end.