Hollywood movie studios are insisting that AACS be included in all drives. Without AACS, it will not be possible to play high-resolution movies at all. A Mandatory Managed Copy (MMC) can, however, be made. Only if the holder of the copyright gives explicit consent may a limited number of copies of the original disc be created; the movie may also not be streamed via a Media Center or to mobile devices without express consent. An online connection is required to check for rights to make a permitted copy. The holder of the copyright may, however, completely rule out copies or demand a fee. AACS can renew device keys, thereby blocking manipulated drives.

Toshiba plans to ship the first HD DVD players in the US as early as March. The HD-A1 will cost 500 USD; the XD-XA1, 800 USD. Toshiba pointed out that the devices will not initially support all of the interactive features of HD DVD, but they will be added later via firmware update. Both players have an Ethernet interface for online functions. Toshiba will be sending a marketing team to 40 cities in the US to make the players better known.