This may be the final story on HD-DVD. Two stories came across the news desk today. First from Engadget that Wal-mart will drop HD-DVD for Blu-Ray:
. . . as Wal-Mart has officially announced its intentions to stop stocking HD DVD players and movies by June. According to reports, the retailer came to the decision after Netflix and Best Buy made announcements concerning their position in the HD format war. Susan Chronister of Wal-Mart wrote on the company’s blog
Look for Blu-Ray movies and hardware in June. This makes NetFlix, Best Buy and now Wal-mart dropping HD-DVD fro Blu-Ray.
Second, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Toshiba may finally kill HD-DVD in the coming weeks.
Toshiba is widely expected to pull the plug on its HD DVD format sometime in the coming weeks, reliable industry sources say, after a rash of retail defections that followed Warner Home Video’s announcement in early January that it would support only the rival Blu-ray Disc format after May.
Of course, the PR department has to put on its best face on the situation.
Officially, no decision has been made, insists Jodi Sally, vp of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products. “Based on its technological advancements, we continue to believe HD DVD is the best format for consumers, given the value and consistent quality inherent in our player offerings,” she said.
However, she did give some insight something is on the horizon. We shall see later on if the format war has ended.