Toshiba To Kill-Off HD DVD? February 16, 2008

Read more Blu-ray , Entertainment , Gizmodo UK , HD , HD DVD , HDTV , Movies

If the latest batch of rumours are to be believed then Toshiba is ready to throw in the towel in the high-def war with Blu-ray.

Deep throats have been croaking to The Hollywood Reporter that Toshiba will finally announce defeat and pull the plug on the HD DVD format in the next few weeks. If true, it's a real shame for all those who already bet on HD DVD but it should help clear up widespread customer confusion over HD and kick-start the market.

Of course, all of this is speculation right now but it's fair to say that HD DVD has had a rough 2008 so far. In early January, Warner Bros, defected to the Blu-ray camp during the high-profile CES 2008 show in Vegas, forcing the HD DVD camp to cancel its big presentation.

This was followed by New Line Cinema doing the same and, in the last week, US online movie rental site Netflix jumped ship, as did mega-retailer Best Buy. And let's not forget good old Woolworths which has also just dumped the format.-Martin Lynch

[Hollywood Reporter]