Check Out - Wal-Mart’s blog - is announcing that Wal Mart will “go Blu” and will not longer sell HD DVDs. I did not even know they sold HD DVDs. I think this is pretty much irrelevant as Amazon.com is the largest retailer of HD DVD hardware and software (the A3 and A30 continually outsell all BD players including the PS3 on Amazon.com). The big question is will this help Blu-ray - will Blu-ray sell more players at Wal-Mart in HD DVDs absence? I am willing to bet that the demo that shops at Wal-Mart is not going to be keen on spending up to $35 for a movie and between $300 - $500 for a BD player.

Additioanlly, the poster advises, people who bought an HD DVD player to keep it as an upconvert player - sound advice:

So… if you bought the HD player like me, I’d retire it to the bedroom, kid’s playroom, or give it to your parents to play their John Wayne standard def movies, and make space for a BD player for your awesome Hi Def experience.  I am probably going to surprise my husband with BluRay player for Father’s Day, so please don’t tell him! 

This practice would be contrary to an HD DVD death. Unlike Beta, HD DVD has a life regardless of studio and/or retail support as an upconverting player and can play CDs and your HD DVD library. If homes have HD DVD players there is a market for HD DVD movies and until Toshiba stops selling HD DVD players or the DVD forum calls for an end to HD DVD player production, I see this market ever present. I can also see MS, Paramount, Universal sticking with HD DVD just to irritate Sony.

Regardless, it makes sense that Wal-Mart will no longer sell the more affordable hardware :rolls eyes:. In any event this will be a boon for lower income PS3 fanboyz. They can now dance in Wal-Mart’s aisles announcing the death of HD DVD! Yippee!

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Amazon.com has just about every HD DVD at 50% off. You can shop at the ilovehddvd.com aStore here: Shop!

This evening a story in the Hollywood Reporter has the HD forums (AVS and HDF) and blogs, even Digg, buzzing about Toshiba dropping HD DVD support. While this is a plausible action by Toshiba, my gut tells me the Hollywood Reporter story is bunk. Here are the reasons why:

1) First, as I reportered earlier today here, Mitsubishi, Maxell and Hitachi released a whole new line of HD DVD rewritiable media, I find it unlikely that this news would be releaed if Toshiba was thinking about bailing on the format;

2) Next, CH DVD is a DVD format developed in China for HDM in China. The format is based on HD DVD and its discs are reportedly compatible with the current crop of HD DVD players. Accordingly, if CH DVD was adopted as the national format for China, studios would *have* to produce titles in a format that is compatible with HD DVD players. Also, by bailing on HD DVD players Toshiba would be missing out on a massive market (the Chinese) if they dropped support;

3) Finally, The conclusion reached by the Hollywood Reporter is based on old news and was refuted by Toshiba. The article rehashes the essentially irrelevant announcment by Netflix that the rental service was dropping HD DVD (HDM including Blu-ray was only a small fraction of Netflix business anyway) and the “news” that Best Buy would keep HD DVD in stock but suggest Blu-ray to its customers. The Best Buy announcment is really not a change in policy as most of the tards that work at Best Buy are PS3 fanboyz anyway. Here’s the quote:

Toshiba is widely expected to pull the plug on its HD DVD format sometime in the coming weeks, reliable industry sources say, after a rash of retail defections that followed Warner Home Video’s announcement in early January that it would support only the rival Blu-ray Disc format after May.

So? What is Toshiba’s response?

Officially, no decision has been made, insists Jodi Sally, vp of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products. “Based on its technological advancements, we continue to believe HD DVD is the best format for consumers, given the value and consistent quality inherent in our player offerings,” she said.

Then Toshiba goes on to state that they will study the market - a pretty fair response.

But she hinted that something’s in the air. “Given the market developments in the past month,” she said, “Toshiba will 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.”

That’s it … So Toshiba wants to study the market … ooooooo … they must be bailing on thier format!

People are going to read what they want. I think it was journalistically unsound for the Hollywood Reporter to spin the Netflix and Best Buy news this way, and I think Engadget looses a bit of credibility by reprinting forums posts. Regardless, I don’t see any indication in the news this week, or the response by Toshiba that they are about the drop HD DVD. I would not be surprised if I do, its a totally plausible move, but once again the BD camp is using everything to spread FUD about HD DVD.

This is great news. CDRinfo.com is reporting that Hitachi Maxell, Mitsubishi Unveil the first HD DVD-RW, HD DVD-R DL media.

The HD DVD-R (15GB) discs feature a highly sensitive recording layer that allows burning at 2x, by applying the power that was previously used for burning at 1x. Mitsubishi claims it has managed to offer a playability of 100 million times.

The new HD DVD-R DL 30GB discs (1x) offer storage space for up to four hours of film material in HD quality. Their proven AZO recording layer technology ensures a high degree of laser sensitivity and error-free reading of the data. Mitsubishi also uses the DVD-R DL 2P manufacturing process in the production of the HD DVD-R DL. With this method, the two layers are produced one after the other on one side of the HD DVD. Precise stampers and precision molding equipment ensure perfectly flat HD DVDs that comply with all the standards for high recording quality.

The new HD DVD-R SL and HD DVD R DL conform to the “HD DVD-R Specification ver.1.1″ and “HD DVD-R for DL Specification ver.2.1″ respectively, as they are defined by the DVD Forum. Maxell’s HD DVD-RW offer the essential characteristics as they are defined in the HD DVD-RW “DVD “Specifications for High Density Re-recordable Disc Ver.1.1″.

Now … let’s see those burners I asked for last month!

A quick bit of rumor … DVD Town is reporting that Warner Brothers will continue to create certain HD DVD titles if there is demand from retailers. Obviously the retailers would demand the titles if the customers demand it. The general rule for Warner will be SD and BD only, but if there is a demand for a title, Warner is not precluding printing off that HD DVD. You may remember a few weeks ago that Warner announced it would continue support of HD DVD in some fashion. There have been debates on forums and blogs about what that announcement really meant.

Coupled with the report today, I read this to mean that Warner wants to keep its options open and is not afraid to switch allegiances again.

This “war” is not over

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