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Toshiba Throws in HD Towel

Rival Blu-ray wins the battle of high-def movie formats

By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 19, 2008 3:30 AM CST
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(Newser) – Toshiba is quitting the HD DVD player business after taking a licking in the protracted market competition, the company announced today. Toshiba's exit, which leaves Blu-ray's technology alone at the vanguard of digital video, comes after Warner Brothers joined the crowd of Blu-ray backers, leaving HD DVD in the cold, AP reports.

The company's president cited the need to avoid fracturing the market with mutually incompatible technologies as a main reason for Toshiba's withdrawal. "If we had continued, that would have created problems for consumers, and we simply had no chance to win," he said. Toshiba is assuring existing customers that technical support won't stop when sales do.

Jodi Sally, Vice President of Marketing for Toshiba, speaks about Toshiba's HD DVD and other Blu-Ray players at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008 before the start of the convention on Monday. Toshiba Corp. executives had a tough moment Sunday, when they had to...
Jodi Sally, Vice President of Marketing for Toshiba, speaks about Toshiba's HD DVD and other Blu-Ray players at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008 before the start...   (Associated Press)
A music video of Beyonce plays at the Blu-ray booth at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008. With Toshiba's HD DVD out of the picture, Blu-ray has the run of the marketplace. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
A music video of Beyonce plays at the Blu-ray booth at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008. With Toshiba's HD DVD out of the picture, Blu-ray has the run of the marketplace....   (Associated Press)
Models pose with Toshiba's new HD-XA1 HD DVD player in Tokyo in this Friday, March 31, 2006 file photo. Toshiba has pulled the plug on its HD DVD next-generation video format, the Japanese electronics maker said Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara, File)
Models pose with Toshiba's new "HD-XA1" HD DVD player in Tokyo in this Friday, March 31, 2006 file photo. Toshiba has pulled the plug on its HD DVD next-generation video format, the Japanese electronics...   (Associated Press)
A visitor, right, asks a few questions to a Toshiba booth staff during the CEATEC exhibition in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2005. Japanese electronics maker Toshiba has withdrawn its HD DVD next-generation video format. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa, File)
A visitor, right, asks a few questions to a Toshiba booth staff during the CEATEC exhibition in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2005. Japanese electronics maker Toshiba has withdrawn its HD...   (Associated Press)
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