HD DVD now "a dead format"

Rumours that Toshiba plans to stop support of HD DVD has lead industry experts to predict victory for Sony’s Blu-ray in the great DVD format battle.

The battle for digital supremacy between Blu-ray and HD DVD has been compared to that of the 1980s when Betamax and VHS were both trying to achieve market domination.

Despite the claims that it will concede defeat, Toshiba - manufacturer of HD DVD players and one of the format’s largest supporters - hasn’t yet confirmed it will cease its HD DVD business.

In an official statement the company said: "Although Toshiba is currently assessing its business strategies, no decision has been made at this moment."

However, industry experts are convinced the end is imminent for HD DVD. "In our view, HD DVD is now a dead format, but we expect that Toshiba and the Promotion Group to officially support the format until April 2008," said Carl Gressum, senior analyst at consultancy Ovum. "However in reality the race is now over."

HD DVD has suffered a series of major blows over the last few weeks. Warner Bros recently removed support for HD DVD, becoming the fifth Hollywood studio to concentrate solely on Blu-ray.

Video rental firms including Blockbuster and Netflix have said they will phase out the Toshiba-backed format. Last week, retail giant Wal-Mart announced it would only sell high-definition DVDs in the Blu-ray format.

If Toshiba do drop HD DVD, it will end the indecisiveness of consumers unsure which format to buy. A recent survey from price-comparison site PriceGrabber.com showed that the format battle is turning off consumers, who would rather wait to see which format becomes dominant than risk buying a format that will soon be obsolete.

"This once again shows why incompatible and mutually exclusive formats should be avoided at all cost by the industry. It reduces profitability and delays customer adoption," said Ovum’s Carl Gressum.

www.sony.co.uk/blu-ray
www.toshibahddvd.co.uk
www.pricegrabber.com
www.ovum.com