Toshiba to pull the plug on HD DVD?

Rumoured to be conceding defeat in format war

15 February 2008 8:57 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

A movie news site is reporting that Toshiba is a matter of weeks away from conceding defeat of its HD DVD format in the next-gen high-def disc format war, giving in to Blu-ray's market dominance.

The Hollywood Reporter states: "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".

"An announcement is coming soon", the site quotes one source close to the HD DVD camp. "It could be a matter of weeks."

Jodi Sally, VP of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products is quoted as saying: "Given the market developments in the past month, Toshiba will continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of our recent price reductions on all HD DVD players".

This news comes as two more American retailers voiced support for Blu-ray this week, and sales figures appear to steadily support the Blu-ray camp's claims that they are winning this thing.