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Toshiba throws in towel on HD DVD

That didn’t take long, certainly less than the Betamax/VHS war. Toshiba is giving up on their HD DVD business, according to Reuters.

“We have entered the final stage of planning to make our exit from the next generation DVD business,” said the anonymous inside source at Toshiba. Japanese public broadcaster NHK had earlier reported Toshiba was closing up shop on the high-def format. The source said an official announcement would be made early this week.

Reuters called the Toshiba public relations office in Tokyo and nobody answered the phone. That’s not a good way to answer the public.

I do have to give props to the company for just ending it instead of prolonging things further.

Wal-Mart chooses Blu-ray

In case you didn’t think the format war was over, this should be the final word on the topic: Wal-Mart chose Blu-ray this morning. Now with the number one retailer for high-def media (Best Buy) behind Blu-ray and, and the number two (Wal-Mart), it’s only a matter of time before the entire retail industry is behind Blu-ray. We’ve already heard that Circuit City has Toshiba HD DVD players on clearance.

Come June Wal-Mart will only stock Blu-ray Disc players and movies in high-def. This coincides with Warner’s move to drop HD DVD in June as well. Susan Chronister, the movie buyer for Wal-Mart, said “I am very excited about this news!! This decision will make my job so much easier.”

I don’t imagine I’ll have to write any more about this “war,” that is until Toshiba admits they’ve lost. But until then, we’ll keep writing about new trends in technology. I’ll write a few more “how to” guides as well.

Update: Read the press release on WalMartFacts.com. An interesting note, the press release claims there will be a “predominant move towards Blu-ray” in “less than 30 days.”

Buy 2 high def movies get 1 free at Amazon

Amazon has launched another high definition disc sale today. This time they are offering up a buy 2 get 1 free special on selected HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc titles.

The 50% off select HD DVD title promotion is also still going off. You can find all of these high definition promotions through the links below.

Buy 2 get 1 free Blu-ray Disc titles
Buy 2 get 1 free HD DVD titles
50% off selected HD DVD titles

Netflix streaming to PS3, Xbox360

This seems too good to be true, but I’m hearing that internet-connected Sony Playstation 3 and Microsoft Xbox360 consoles will both stream movies directly from Netflix. This amazing feature costs nothing above your existing Netflix subscription fee.

The Xbox360 user will use their existing Xbox LIVE account. “You can choose from over 7,000 movies and TV series, and your choice starts playing on your TELEVISION in as little as 30 seconds.”

The PS3 requires a one-time purchase of a specially-formatted DVD for $3. “Now you can watch movies from Netflix instantly by using your Internet-connected Playstation 3. Simply insert a special Netflix disc into your PS/3 to enable instant movie streaming. The disc is available from Netflix for a one-time fee of $3.”

Source: Seanbajuice

HD DVD PG responds to Netflix & Bestbuy news

After 2 vicious blows to the HD DVD camp were announced yesterday, one from Netflix and one from Bestbuy, CNet is reporting that the HD DVD Promotions Group has responded with a statement.

“We have long held the belief that HD DVD is the best format for consumers based on quality and value, and with more than 1 million HD DVD players on the market, it’s unfortunate to see Netflix make the decision to only stock Blu-ray titles going forward. While the Best Buy announcement says they will recommend Blu-ray, at least they will continue to carry HD DVD and offer consumers a choice at retail.”

Talk about terrible PR

This has got to be one of the weakest ‘responses’ from a PR group that I have ever seen. “At least” Bestbuy will continue to carry HD DVD? Give me a freaking break! The HD DVD PG would have done better in keeping their mouths’ shut. This non-rebuttal seems to suggest that HD DVD has all but thrown in the towel as they have nothing substantial to respond with and nothing positive to shine a light on. As the Blu-ray Disc Associations’ new marketing campaign states; “The future is Blu”.

Free HD DVD player at Best Buy

If you’re planning on buying a surround sound system, why not head down to Best Buy and pick up a Yamaha/Klipsch system for $899 and get a free Toshiba HD-A3 for your troubles. Yamaha is known for high-quality receivers, and Klipsch has been a pioneer in speaker manufacturing for 60 years so you’re not getting a shady system by any means.

While you’re there, Best Buy has a Buy 1 Get 1 Free sale on select HD DVD discs this week as well. And while you’re in a spending mood, Amazon has over 150 HD DVD titles at 50% off.

Also at Amazon is the new low price of the Microsoft Xbox360 HD DVD add-on at $119. This price was matched by Best Buy’s online store as well.

If you’re still into that sort of thing, HD DVD has a solid week of deals for the budget-minded consumer.

Best Buy throws support behind Blu-ray Disc

Today hasn’t been a good day for HD DVD, probably the worst since Warner declared their format preference in favor of Blu-ray. Earlier today, Netflix announced they would drop HD DVD, and now Best Buy will recommend Blu-ray to customers over HD DVD.

Why the sudden decision? “Because we believe that Blu-ray is fast emerging as that single format,” said president and chief operating officer Brian Dunn in an official statement, “we have decided to focus on Blu-ray products.”

Blu-ray Disc players and software will be prominently displayed in stores. HD DVD will still be carried, but they will be selective in what product to stock.

This is just the latest bit of mounting evidence that HD DVD is done for.