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HD-DVD is Dead, Long Live Blu-ray!

Techtree News Staff, Feb 19, 2008 1610 hrs IST

We're about to witness a surprisingly tame and sudden end to the optical HD format war, with Toshiba having formally withdrawn the HD DVD format today.

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Putting an end to all speculation, Japanese electronics maker Toshiba today announced that it is withdrawing the HD-DVD format, thus clearing the decks for rival Blu-ray, which is backed by Sony Corp.

The HD-DVD vs Blu-ray format war has been on for what seems like ages now. With Toshiba's withdrawal of the format it has vehemently supported so long, the battle between the two camps comes to a decisive end. Blu-ray is, now, the last man standing in a home high-def video market estimated to be worth nearly $24 billion.

Announcing the withdrawal of the HD-DVD format, Atsutoshi Nishida, president and chief executive officer of Toshiba, said, "We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war', and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop .

Toshiba will begin cutting down shipments of its HD-DVD players and recorders, targeting closure of its HD-DVD business by the end of next month. Meanwhile, the company will continue to provide services to all owners of HD-DVD products. It said it is in the process of calculating the monetary impact of shutting down its HD-DVD business.

Consumers can now be more clear-headed than before, since practically all of the high-def format confusion has now ended.

As regards the downfall of HD-DVD, Toshiba had already slashed prices of its HD-DVD players in an effort to compete with Blu-ray. However, the tide truly turned against the company starting with the defection of Warner Bros to Blu-ray last month, and major US retailers the likes of Best Buy, Target, Netflix, and Wal-Mart choosing Blu-ray over HD-DVD.

A day before Toshiba's formal announcement today, Microsoft had said it does not expect sales of the Xbox 360 to suffer if Toshiba actually went ahead with its decision. Now that HD-DVD is officially dead, it remains to be seen how Microsoft will react.

USER COMMENTS

what do i do with all my hd movies if my hd player breaks down eventually.i feel like l have been robbed..

by kelly molnar, bradford,ontario, on Feb 19, 2008 10:30 PM, Report abuse Reply

you fix your old player. Either that or buy all new movies.... Of course old DVD's and CD's do make good coasters...

by richard, New York City, on Feb 20, 2008 01:47 AM, Report abuse

You copy all those HD Movies onto.... Beta Tapes!!! and wait for a windows 3.1 update.

by Jim, Calgary, on Feb 20, 2008 06:46 AM, Report abuse

why did you rush out and buy a hd player in the first place. Buying a cheap HD player with free movies for any price is money lost. The price drop was toshiba's way to unload its stock of players in retail stores and make every dollar it could before pulling out. You should have done some research on this war?

by mike, omaha, on Mar 10, 2008 10:52 AM, Report abuse

Guys, I have a feeling that its a hidden part of a business deal. Apparently yesterday, there was a news that Toshiba is buying out Sony's High-performance Chip manufacturing business for $835mn.<BR/> For all you know, this could be a hidden agreement in the deal which is being showcased as "End of HD-DVD"

by prakram, Bangalore, on Feb 21, 2008 03:54 PM, Report abuse Reply

may b true...i also got heard bout dat..

by azees18, p.jaya, on Feb 27, 2008 02:17 PM, Report abuse

I have both a standalone sony bluray and 360 add on and the there is no performance difference that the average person can see. Bluray has yet to produce a consumer disc that utilizes the promise of the dual layer 50gb they talk about and since there is no competition, there is no longer a need to. This will also eliminate the need to further develop blu ray technology preventing the eventuality of 2nd generation hardware compatibility issues with existing players and media. My disappointment is that I paid 3 times as much for my sony and it did not outperform the 360 add on drive. In the real world we all chose the higher priced least developed technology and did it with a smile on our faces, which makes us all suckers

by Matt Smith, Bloomington, on Feb 22, 2008 02:39 AM, Report abuse Reply

I don't think I would call HD-DVD offically dead until Microsoft switches to blu-ray. HD-DVD has lost a major battle, but officially dead? NOT! Hopefully Blu-ray will continue to gain defectors from HD-DVD.

by Joe, Tulsa, on Feb 20, 2008 01:43 AM, Report abuse Reply

microsoft will never support sony because of ps3, think before you speak

by John, fort Pierce, on Feb 20, 2008 06:32 AM, Report abuse

Joe, Time to wake up. Go get yourself a Blu-ray player and enjoy life.

by Steve, mocksville, on Feb 20, 2008 06:33 AM, Report abuse

Toshiba, the maker of HD DVD players has pulled support for HD DVD and almost all major movie studios have moved to Blue-Ray. With Toshiba's announcement the rest will have to follow. Netflix and Blockbuster are Blu-Ray only now as well. Walmart has dropped support for HD-DVD players and media. Face it Joe, HD-DVD is officially dead. There may be a few players still floating around, but it will become increasingly more difficult to find any new movies until there just simply won't be anymore.

by Dan, Indianapolis, on Feb 20, 2008 09:40 AM, Report abuse

I am sorry, the war is officially over. Blue-ray will have all the movie studios releasing their titles as to microsoft, I would not doubt they soon will move to blue-ray. The blue-ray format has a lot more space and it is better for game developers HD content uses a lot of space.

by Dario Rivas, Los Angeles, on Feb 20, 2008 12:12 PM, Report abuse

microsoft till now hasnt had the intention to develop games in Hd . So what difference does it make . THe add on Hd player was a wise move from MS . How many ppl have actually purchased the add hd module for the xbox 360 .. Only those ppl have reason to sulk. will have to wait and see MS next move.

by luzifer, mumbai, on Feb 20, 2008 02:34 PM, Report abuse

I am glad the war is over. I want to get all the universal titles added to my blue-ray collection. I am happy I pick sony and I love my ps3....sorry HD-DVD

by Dario Rivas, Los Angeles, on Feb 20, 2008 12:07 PM, Report abuse Reply

ps3 have reason to be happy , but again for gaming its the xbox 360 all the way ... If i wanna watch movies id buy a standalone bluray player and not combine my gaming console with it ...sheesh. who cares about hd or bluray on a gaming console.

by luzifer, mumbai, on Feb 20, 2008 02:24 PM, Report abuse

It's dead... people in the video industry knew about it long time ago.. NAB (national association of broadcasters EXPO in Las Vegas will put the final end to it.)

by Nikolai, San Diego, on Feb 20, 2008 03:22 AM, Report abuse Reply