Toshiba confirms death of HD DVD

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The modern day VHS vs Betamax battle is over, with the Sony-backed Blu-ray format declared victor after Toshiba finally confirmed it is killing off its rival HD DVD format.

As IT PRO reported yesterday and on Friday, the decision by Toshiba to axe the format was widely expected, after several high profile movie studios and content creators including Warner Bros dropped HD DVD support in favour of releasing content only on Blu-ray, while several retailers also walked away from selling HD DVD content, including Wal-mart and Netflix in the US and several retailers in the UK including Woolworths.

"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," said Toshiba's chief executive Atsutoshi Nishida in a statement.

"While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped."

Nishida did not make any comment about the financial implications of Toshiba's withdrawal of HD DVD, though the company is expected to report a significant financial loss in relation to unsold products and components, potential compensation to suppliers and partners, and the general write down of the value of its HD DVD operation on its balance sheet.

The company will now wind down shipments of HD DVD drives and associated components, with the intention of stopping supply altogether by the end next month.

For consumers and business customers, the decision removes the last barrier of uncertainty over which platform to invest in, whether for consumer video or for data storage. Retailers and PC builders are now expecting a sharp rise in sales of Blu-ray players and drives, with several of the major computing brands including Apple, already a Blu-ray supporter, expected to add Blu-ray drives as an option for workstations and laptops.

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