http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/ir/en/news/20080219_03.htm

February 19, 2008
Toshiba Announces Discontinuation of HD DVD Businesses
Company Remains Focused on Championing Consumer Access to High Definition Content
Tokyo�Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has undertaken a thorough review of its overall strategy for HD DVD and has decided it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders. This decision has been made following recent major changes in the market. Toshiba will continue, however, to provide full product support and after-sales service for all owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.

HD DVD was developed to offer consumers access at an affordable price to high-quality, high definition content and prepare them for the digital convergence of tomorrow where the fusion of consumer electronics and IT will continue to progress.

�We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop,� said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation. "While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality.�

Toshiba will continue to lead innovation, in a wide range of technologies that will drive mass market access to high definition content. These include high capacity NAND flash memory, small form factor hard disk drives, next generation CPUs, visual processing, and wireless and encryption technologies. The company expects to make forthcoming announcements around strategic progress in these convergence technologies.

Toshiba will begin to reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail channels, aiming for cessation of these businesses by the end of March 2008. Toshiba also plans to end volume production of HD DVD disk drives for such applications as PCs and games in the same timeframe, yet will continue to make efforts to meet customer requirements. The company will continue to assess the position of notebook PCs with integrated HD DVD drives within the overall PC business relative to future market demand.

This decision will not impact on Toshiba�s commitment to standard DVD, and the company will continue to market conventional DVD players and recorders. Toshiba intends to continue to contribute to the development of the DVD industry, as a member of the DVD Forum, an international organization with some 200 member companies, committed to the discussion and defining of optimum optical disc formats for the consumer and the related industries.

Toshiba also intends to maintain collaborative relations with the companies who joined with Toshiba in working to build up the HD DVD market, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks Animation and major Japanese and European content providers on the entertainment side, as well as leaders in the IT industry, including Microsoft, Intel, and HP. Toshiba will study possible collaboration with these companies for future business opportunities, utilizing the many assets generated through the development of HD DVD.

Whoo-hoo!

Now to just get some of those HD-DVD movies ported over the Blu-Ray!

Hence, a new Betamax is born...

Quoted from Sparky

Hence, a new Betamax is born...

However this time, Blue-Ray IS the best technology...

Is it really, I've never had HD-DVD and Blu-Ray beside each other with the same everything to really compare.  I only want Blu-Ray to win cause I love my PS3.  

Just a side note, my parents still have beta machines

Quoted from Azatotht

However this time, Blue-Ray IS the best technology...

Wasn't Beta considered the better technology too?

Quoted from Monkeybug

Wasn't Beta considered the better technology too?

Yes, it was...
but it lost out to VHS  (JVC)  who had better marketting.

The jury is still out on which is better between HD and Blu-Ray,
... but it's a moot point now.... !


Steph

Yes, it's a moot point, but blu-ray isn't the 'better' technology. It had more space, which is good, but it was much worse than HD DVD in a lot of other areas. There's no need to go into it, since the war is over, but Bluray won because of marketing, not because it was a better product. There's never been anything released on Bluray that couldn't be done with the same quality on HD DVD, but the opposite isn't true. The HD DVD versions of movies were almost always better, especially the Warner Bros. releases. Also, every standalone Bluray player will be obsolete when profile 2.0 of bluray is released, and the features of new movies won't work. And profile 2.0 introduces features that HD DVD had from day one.

To me, this is the case of a superior format losing out due to marketing (putting BD support in the PS3 helped a lot).

I love my HD DVD, I'm sad that that it's done.
I just hope that they continue to make combo players in the future, I don't want to have to rebuy all my movies AGAIN. How many copies of T2 can I buy?

Here's a nice short article summing up the war.

Quoted from jonny_eh

Yes, it's a moot point, but blu-ray isn't the 'better' technology. It had more space, which is good, but it was much worse than HD DVD in a lot of other areas. There's no need to go into it, since the war is over..

There is no need to go into it, but then you do. You are only saying this because you picked the wrong format and are pissed that it is now only useful to play some HD-DVD movies and regular DVD's. Please stop the HD-DVD/BluRay Fanboy talk, as it is very tiring. Both formats have their PRO's and CON's and I bet I could find a dozen reasons why BluRay is better than HD-DVD.

The good thing that has come out of all of this is that the war is over and now everyone who has been sitting on the fence can finally go out and buy an HD player for their HD TV.

Yaaaay for the consumer!  For anyone that is interested, Sony made the right decisions this time where they failed with Betamax.  Sony would not allow third party licensing with Betamax and that is what killed it ultimately.  Now with licensing by Microsoft, Intel, etc, etc the consumer will be given choice of features and the pricing will be very competitive.  Congrats to Sony.  They finally did something right.

PS - those crying about HD-DVD, I can feel your pain.  Unfortunately with most companies already pulling the plug on HD-DVD movie production the machines will soon be useless.  There will soon be nowhere to get the movies or the machines.  If you can still get a couple of $$ on ebay for them (which I doubt) I would dump anything to do with HD-DVD and NOW...

For ONCE in my life I actually waited before jumping in for the new technology..  Man aren't I glad!!  

Mike

Quoted from MrMikeman

For ONCE in my life I actually waited before jumping in for the new technology..  Man aren't I glad!!  

Mike

I waited also, there had to be a winner sooner or later. Now for the prices to start to drop, then I will think of buying!

Yes, like I said from the start, PS3 sales would boost Blu-ray sales by a lot.

More news today which really adds a lot also:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=10767
Universal Studios Goes Blu-ray Disc
Just Paramount remaining now....

I just wonder what will happen with Star Trek Original series HD-DVD Season 2&3 now?  I wanted to get a HD-DVD just to buy this enhanced Original 60s Star Trek but now who knows if Season 2, 3 will even be released on HD-DVD (or move over to Blu-ray)....

Guys, even if you bought HD-DVD like some of you have, who cares if you didn't wait, that player and movies will still be good for years to come (and the HD-DVD are same quality as Blu-ray ones anyway).  That is provided that your HD-DVD player doesn't defect.  Maybe worth buying a 2nd one at $100-$200 and keeping it in stock if you already bought like 25 HD-DVD titles or so.  The point of technology is to have fun with it.  I am a bit of an early adopter and enjoy what is out at the time that I first buy it even if newer boxes get cheaper and better....

Quoted from BZM

There is no need to go into it, but then you do. You are only saying this because you picked the wrong format and are pissed that it is now only useful to play some HD-DVD movies and regular DVD's. Please stop the HD-DVD/BluRay Fanboy talk, as it is very tiring. Both formats have their PRO's and CON's and I bet I could find a dozen reasons why BluRay is better than HD-DVD.

The good thing that has come out of all of this is that the war is over and now everyone who has been sitting on the fence can finally go out and buy an HD player for their HD TV.

I agree, I just couldn't help myself!  
I just didn't want people to think that Bluray won because it was 'better'. It's important for historical perspective to realize that good marketing and business dealings are just as important, if not more so, for the success of a product.

Too bad they couldn't have used some firmware to readjust the laser and thus make HD-DVD equipment able to read Blue Ray.  I think I read that's all it was, just a matter of distance the laser was from the disc (focusing).

Quoted from Mrhide

http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Convert_Your_HD_DVDs_to_Blu-Ray

Man, these guys don't waste any time!  Geez, talk about dedicated.  
Some of us haven't even transferred over some old VHS (special recordings off TV stations) to PC/DVD yet....

lets not forget the past.

Quoted from JD3

lets not forget the past.

  who here doesn't miss the dreaded TRACKING dial or button? Hours of pleasure trying to get the picture clear on an old tape!

I had a CED player before that and never had a problem! I sold it for good money in the early 90's! I had 50 or so movies with it!

Quoted from JD3

lets not forget the past.

Great vid .. I think they had some the the Transformers 80's animated movie soundtrack in there  

"As easy to set up as preparing a TV dinner."  Gotta love it!

I still wish I hadn't sold my Laserdisc player a few years ago at my garage sale.  I had the original Friday the 13th on laserdisc.  Too bad the machine weighed 100lbs and the discs were the size of a small car  

Still probably worth more than an HD-DVD player will be in a few years  

Quoted from sinpin

"As easy to set up as preparing a TV dinner."  Gotta love it!

I still wish I hadn't sold my Laserdisc player a few years ago at my garage sale.  I had the original Friday the 13th on laserdisc.  Too bad the machine weighed 100lbs and the discs were the size of a small car  

Still probably worth more than an HD-DVD player will be in a few years  

I have a laserdisc player and some laserdiscs I'll trade for a working pin .