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March - 2008 - issue > Tech Tracker
HD DVD is dead
Christo Jacob
Friday, February 29, 2008
Followed by the Home Entertainment group of Warner Bros, the top U.S. retailer Wal-Mart recently drove another nail on the coffin of Toshiba's HD DVD video disks. HD DVD creator Toshiba’s decision to put axe on the HD DVD production paved the way for Blu-ray to become the single high-definition standard and reign over the market place.

Toshiba’s decision was in the light of Wal-Mart’s announcement to shift its focus to exclusively sell Sony’s Blu-ray day disc. The struggle between the two systems has been billed as the biggest in the home entertainment industry since the VHS video machine saw off Betamax in the Eighties. However, the technology was lost out this time to the competing VHS format, supported by JVC and Panasonic maker Matsushita Electric Industrial.

Toshiba's defeat is not only a replay of Sony’s defeat in eighties but also leaves one million HD DVD customers worldwide with dead-end hardware. Sony’s ability to secure broad studio and hardware support for Blu-ray was pivotal in its victory. Sony relied on its traditionally strong-selling game console to give Blu-ray a boost.

ABI research predicts that Blu-ray players would become much cheaper within 12 to 18 months. Though HD DVD players are able to connect to the Internet to download trailers and other bonus content for discs and can have a director or actor provide commentary in a small window while the movie plays, it could not hit the market. In the meantime, Blu-ray players have recently included a feature called ‘Bonus View’, which can take advantage of Internet content.

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