Toshiba has laid down its arms. Or it is expected to do so by the end of this week. Blu-ray has reigned supreme in the next-gen DVD war. Japanese electronics giant Toshiba has finally coughed up to the overwhelming support that Blu-ray has got going. Wal-Mart – the biggest DVD outlet in the US – had announced on Friday that once the existing stocks of HD-DVD disks and players ran out, they were not ordering any more. This was the final nail in the coffin for HD-DVD format. Sony’s Blu-ray has had things relatively easier since Warner Brothers turned their back on HD-DVD and decided not to release any more of their content on that format. Blu-ray’s triumph was always a question of time since the format is technically superior to HD-DVD and also has more storage capacity. This inevitably means that Blu-ray (both disks and players) is more expensive than HD-DVD products.
This is welcome news for some of the customers too; especially those who chose to postpone their purchases until the war was settled. Now the only thing remaining to be seen is whether movie studios finally align themselves to the victor and release content on Blu-ray. Again not a question of ‘if’ but of ‘when.’
UPDATE:
Toshiba has issued an official statement on the 19th February that the Co. has decided to stop HD DVD. However, the Co. will continue to provide all product related service to the owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.
