According to a report posted today on HollywoodReporter.com, Toshiba is expected to discontinue the HD DVD format in the coming weeks. Sources told the trade journal that the “widely expected” decision was prompted by the defection of Warner Home Video to the Blu-ray format.
Toshiba America VP of Marketing Jodi Sally told The Hollywood Reporter that no official decision has been made to kill HD DVD but that it would “continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of our recent price reductions on all HD DVD players.”
Recent data supports that HD DVD is on its way out. After the Warner announcement, the HD DVD North American Promotional Group cancelled its Consumer Electronics Show presentation in January, leading to Sony-backed Blu-ray to raking in 93 percent of sales that week.
According to the NPD Group, sales of Blu-ray players dwarfed HD DVD, 65 percent to 28 percent, even after Toshiba slashed prices on HD DVD players in half. Data from Nielsen VideoScan First Alert shows that the bestselling Blu-ray title for the week ending Feb. 10 sold three times as many copies as the top seller on HD DVD.
Also today, Wal-Mart announced that it would drop HD DVD discs from its inventory, and Netflix earlier this month said that it was discontinuing HD DVD rentals. Big-box retailer Best Buy only stocks Blu-ray and rental giant Blockbuster has thrown its support behind Blu-ray exclusively.
The anticipated death of HD DVD also has powerful ramifications for the adult entertainment industry. Many adult studios initially backed HD DVD because finding a Blu-ray replicator proved to be difficult.
Additionally, in a declining adult DVD market, HD DVD proved to be a considerably cheaper format to author and replicate on than Blu-ray. Mastering a standard definition disc costs around $800 compared to $10,000 for a dual-layer Blu-ray disc.