HD DVD seems to be losing the battle against Blu-ray

 The battle for the DVD successor between HD-DVD and Blu-ray seems to have been decided: Toshiba is apparently discontinuing the production of HD-DVD players and recorders. Although the company has not yet commented on the rumors, it seems to have admitted defeat to Sony and its Blu-ray disc. Analysts agree, however, that the electronics company is finally pulling the plug and taking the final steps to withdraw from the HD DVD business. There is also speculation that Taiwanese manufacturers such as Asus and Lite On could discontinue their production of HD DVD drives. There is also the question of whether LG Electronics and Samsung might put their HD DVD Blu-ray combo units on hold. "In particular, the decision by US retail giant Wal-Mart to remove HD DVD products from its shelves has shifted the situation further in favor of Blu-ray discs. Although we are currently only at the very beginning of Blu-ray's eventual acceptance, it is now only a matter of time. However, with regard to Sony, I see the war between the two formats as finally decided," Screen Digest analyst Helen Davis Jayalath told Pressetext.
Against the backdrop of the decision by US film studio Warner Bros. Entertainment to rely exclusively on Blu-ray from June 2008, industry insiders saw the way ahead. Although Toshiba intends to continue selling HD DVD devices, production and the expensive development of new devices are to be suspended, according to the Japanese TV station NHK. Experts see a further signal in the fact that the largest American electronics retailer Best Buy and the leading online video rental service Netflix also want to drop HD DVD. Jayalath sees the main advantage of the Blu-ray disk over the HD DVD in the available storage capacity.