CONTINUED:
Toshiba may give up HD DVD war

An end to the war means consumers can now be sure they won't be stuck with a 21st century equivalent of Betamax -- Sony's videotape technology that lost out to VHS in the 1980s.

The defection of Time Warner's Warner Bros to Blu-ray from HD DVD in January was a heavy blow to Toshiba's plans. It took Hollywood's biggest film library into the Sony consortium's camp and meant 70 per cent of Hollywood movies would be in the Blu-ray format.

When the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores, said Friday it would quit stocking HD DVD movies in its 4,000 US stores, both consumers and pundits said the war was over.

The decision matched earlier ones by consumer electronics chain Best Buy and online video rental company Netflix.

"Blu-ray won. It's fantastic and I trust Sony," said one customer who was browsing the DVD player aisles at the Best Buy Co Inc store on New York's Fifth Avenue.

Tania Bonetti, who works in the home theatre section of the store, said, "Blu-rays are flying off the shelves, but we have to order if you want HD."

Wal-Mart's own movie and gaming blogger put the future of HD DVD in stark terms.

"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 (Blu-ray disc) player for your awesome Hi Def experience," Wal-Mart blogger Susan Chronister wrote in a posting.

Stephanie Prange, editor in chief of Home Media Magazine, said the war's end should boost high-definition DVD adoption.

"It would definitely help. The two formats, though both were good, have confused consumers and prevented them from moving into the high-def future," she said.

Story Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.