HD DVD is officially dead

Japanese electronics giant Toshiba announced earlier today in Tokyo that it would cease production of all HD-DVD related appliances.

In a statement to the press, Toshiba declared that "it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders." The company will continue to product support and after sale services, while tapering shipments of HD-DVD electronics to a halt by the end of March 2008 and assessing what role HD-DVD may play in the PC market.

The announcement marks an end of a “format war” between Toshiba’s HD-DVD and Sony’s Blu-Ray high-resolution DVD technology. The results work out well for Sony, as the PlayStation3 is equipped with a Blu-Ray compatible DVD player. Now that the war is over with Toshiba, there may be an increased interest in Sony’s expensive gaming console.

It is best for everyone – the corporate and the consumer – that this contest between the two formats is finally over. One goes the way of the Beta-Max, the other, the way of the VHS. But hey, at least when we buy a DVD now, we won’t have to worry if it’s the right kind.

via BBC, PCWorld