Toshiba mulls abandoning HD DVD: industry source

gurudad

tow hours ago, this sucks...

From google;
TOKYO (AFP) — Japan's Toshiba is considering abandoning its HD DVD format for high definition DVDs, as it is losing the battle for market dominance to rival Sony's Blu-ray format, an industry source said Monday.

Toshiba is reviewing its HD DVD business and "a complete withdrawal is one of the options it is considering," the source said.

The move came after top US retailer Wal-Mart on Friday drove another nail into the coffin of HD DVDs by announcing it would shift to exclusively selling movies on Blu-ray, the format promoted by a Sony-led coalition of companies.

Weekend reports said losses for Toshiba could reach tens of billions of yen (several hundred million dollars) if it decides on the pullout.

The HD DVD camp also includes Microsoft, Intel, Universal Home Studios, and Paramount Home Entertainment.

The battle between the two incompatible DVD formats for next-generation DVDs is often dubbed as a replay of the VHS-Betamax battle between two types of video cassette tapes in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Wal-Mart's decision came in the same week that major electronics seller Best Buy and online video rental giant Netflix declared their allegiance to Blu-ray.

The death of HD DVD has been heralded since January, when Warner Brothers studio -- Hollywood's largest distributor of DVDs -- pulled out of an alliance with Toshiba and switched to Blu-ray.

The electronics giant said Monday it was assessing demand for its format but has not reached any decision.

"We have not made any official decision yet," a Toshiba spokeswoman said.

"We are cautiously assessing market movements as it is true that Warner Brother's decision to sell titles exclusively on Blu-rays affected our sales in January," she said, while declining to give further details.

Industry analysts and electronics makers maintain the format war has stifled sales of high-definition DVD players because consumers are waiting for a victor before putting down money for the expensive new technology.

The loser of the battle will become a mere footnote in consumer electronics history, much the way that Betamax was forgotten after VHS became the technology of choice for home video players, according to industry analysts.