UPDATE
Official HD DVD obituary a matter of days, not weeks
----------------------
We've reached out to a few sources to find out what's going on. Here's what we know, starting with the most recent information gleaned from a source close to the HD DVD camp. Surprisingly, our source tells us that exit plans for HD DVD were already in the works before the Netflix announcement this past week. The loss of Warner Brothers demoralized the HD DVD camp, and when it was clear that deep price cuts weren't going to give HD DVD a second wind, the writing was on the wall. The only question, pre-Netflix announcement, was how to gracefully shutdown while liquidating existing product. Now that retailers and rental joints have turned their back publicly on the format, there's nothing graceful about the shutdown plans. There's little face to save on the consumer side.
----------------------
Arstechnica article
==================================================
Toshiba plans to withdraw from HD-DVD production
-------------------------------
Toshiba Corporation has decided to withdraw from next generation high-definition DVD production.
Toshiba has been struggling with its version of the next generation DVD format, as support for Blu-ray technology has spread among US retailers.
-----------------------------
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSL1627196120080216
Official HD DVD obituary a matter of days, not weeks
----------------------
We've reached out to a few sources to find out what's going on. Here's what we know, starting with the most recent information gleaned from a source close to the HD DVD camp. Surprisingly, our source tells us that exit plans for HD DVD were already in the works before the Netflix announcement this past week. The loss of Warner Brothers demoralized the HD DVD camp, and when it was clear that deep price cuts weren't going to give HD DVD a second wind, the writing was on the wall. The only question, pre-Netflix announcement, was how to gracefully shutdown while liquidating existing product. Now that retailers and rental joints have turned their back publicly on the format, there's nothing graceful about the shutdown plans. There's little face to save on the consumer side.
----------------------
Arstechnica article
==================================================
Toshiba plans to withdraw from HD-DVD production
-------------------------------
Toshiba Corporation has decided to withdraw from next generation high-definition DVD production.
Toshiba has been struggling with its version of the next generation DVD format, as support for Blu-ray technology has spread among US retailers.
-----------------------------
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSL1627196120080216