Mar 28 2008

HD DVD ceases to exist

Last one out, turn off the lights.

That was essentially the tone of the note that the HD DVD Promotional Group sent to its members Friday. The obituary for the format was short and to the point:

HD DVD(Credit: Crave UK)

HD DVD Managing Members

March 28, 2008

The HD DVD Promotion Group was dissolved as of March 28, 2008, and the website was closed accordingly.

Please access to DVD Forum for HD DVD formats, and DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation for format books and its license. Regarding the HD DVD products, please contact each selling agency directly.

It was also a bit late. The battle between HD DVD and its nemesis format, Blu-ray, ended as soon as HD DVD's biggest backer, Toshiba, announced it would stop making HD DVD players. That was almost six weeks ago.

So, again, we bid adieu to a failed format. If you're finding it hard to let go, hit up your local Best Buy for some HD DVD titles. We hear they're desperate to get rid of them.

Posted in: Entertainment, Home video
Tags: HD DVD, Blu-ray, promotion, format war
 

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Add a Comment (Log in or register) 18 comments (Page 1 of 2)
by Notjub March 30, 2008 9:28 PM PDT
"HD DVD still has a chance! Just buy a lot of HD DVDs and Toshiba will change their mind!" LOL! I know, I'm pouring salt on an old wound...Hey, maybe they'll learn their lesson not to talk trash before you know you got it in the bag...
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by jonathan_a March 31, 2008 5:08 AM PDT
Aw well, good ridance. Blu-Ray was better than HD-DVD anyways. We needed a winner, and I'm glad it was Blu-Ray. There was no way that I was gonna start buying both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD disks just to get the movies I want. This is also a great way to pick in between a Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. No way I'm wasting money on a 360 anymore. Playstation 3, here I come!!!
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by ender21 March 31, 2008 8:23 AM PDT
"not to talk trash?" Huh? Just as many chest-thumpers from blu-ray "talked trash" before they knew *they* had it in the bag too. So don't pile on with the holier-than-thou BS. It shows a lack of objectivity that costs your opinion credibility. Additionally, HDDVD was a finished spec out of the box. Even the first gen player has internet connectivity, can support My Favorites (great for us professional calibrators,) menu speed is quicker than blu-ray, and doesn't hang for 1 to 3 minutes while trying to launch HDi like BD does with Java. Blu-Ray just has greater capacity, and you can't find ONE player yet that will do it *all* (including bitstreaming all audio codecs... That's right.. PS3 doesn't do that) and profile 2.0 players won't even hit the street until later this year. So just how is blu-ray "better than HD-DVD anyway"? Because of capacity? Please. If anything, the only reason blu-ray is "better than HD DVD anyway" *now* is because it survived the High Def DISC format war. There are other High Def format wars on the horizon. Now on with the fight against DVD and downloads!
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by dfichtner March 31, 2008 8:37 AM PDT
Well, now I would have to agree that HD-DVD is indeed a "finished" spec.
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by Mikeybabes March 31, 2008 11:41 PM PDT
The writing was on the walls from the start and those that never saw it - well they didn't end up too badly picking up a cheap machine and cheap discs unless you were an early adopter - they were just plain naive or hoping or just hoping to fulfill their own prophecy by wishing it to be true. The balance of the movie companies were too heavily weighted against HD-DVD, those that joined HD-DVD seemed more temtped by money, those on Blu-ray had heavy associations with Blu-ray e.g. were owned by Sony, or genuinely saw their movies on HD-DVD as spoiling their products and more important more vulnerable to being cracked e.g. Disney - that is the Blu-ray support was more solid. At the height of the war HD-DVD were gloating about how they had it in the bag with their 'better product' - and now they have lost they are still saying it. Tough luck! Regardless of what you thought the strategic movie companies that would win the battle didn't agree, and in end more blockbusters ended up on Blu-ray than HD-DVD. The second major point as we know was that Sony was churning out Blu-ray players in the form of the PS3. HD-DVD owners dismissed it as a piece of crap. Erm no - what it was, was a very decent gaming machine with HDD and more importantly a HD player that would NEVER fall out of date. If Microsoft put HD as a default drive in the Xbox like some people were begging, HD-DVD would have stood more than a fighting chance. They didn't - the Mircosoft support for HD-DVD was half-hearted at best. It was almost like they accepted the inevitable that they knew they couldn't swing the movie companies that mattered. No point them losing as much money over this as Toshiba did. So what I am saying is, is that it was there for all to see at the start. Those that painted a closer race were either trying to be jouranlistically neutral, or had their own agenda and as a result more people got needlessly sucked in to the wrong format than needed. Now where is the HD-DVD?!
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by Scott Gardener April 5, 2008 7:49 AM PDT
As of April 5th, the Best Buy stores in Rockwall and Mesquite (both east of Dallas) have emptied their shelves of HD DVDs, with Blu-Ray discs having taken over. The Circuit City in Rockwall has a sad-looking little sale bin with all their remaining stock half off. The format is starting to exhibit signs of decay at this point. Oh well, the price I pay for being an early adopter. At least my one UMD compilation of Family Guy episodes, free with my PlayStation Portable, will have some company. Meanwhile, my PSP's bigger brother can now support Blu-Ray profile 2.0.
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by sigsauer226 April 5, 2008 11:42 AM PDT
This same tired played out arguement of HDDVD and BLURAY is still going. Both are great products. Bluray had capacity hddvd had a finished product and price. But both are equaly highly capable products. People argue this and that, but the truth is theres not much difference. You can argue sound specs all you want, but unless you truly have the highest grade equipment you'll never know the difference. And tell you all something, when Toshiba announced dropping HDDVD, I ran out and bought one. The price was TOO good not to. It is a awesome upconverting DVD player. With game consoles being able to download HD movies, why would really need a HD player. The only reason I have such a huge dvd libary is I'm to lazy to remember to take back rented movies. So, I just bought them. People argue it takes to long to download HDmovies. Who the hell cares download it thursday night and watch it over the weekend. Sorry to but downloads will end up ruining Bluray. Except if you have a ps3. Then you have your gaming, bluray player and movie downloads. People are lazy, Espeacally me, we don't want to have to go out to pick something up. We want it brought it to us. So the money will be spent to upgrade our internet system to add the needed bandwith. Because, theres way to much money to be made not to.
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by bubblebathgirl April 6, 2008 10:36 AM PDT
The better format won, end of story. Microsoft only backed HD DVD in order to try and "stall" HD media while they worked on their now defunct digital download system. They'll really never learn. Microsoft is trying desperately to keep up with the PS3 and yet have been outsold every month this year. It's way over for the RROD (Red Ring of Death) Box. The PS3 already has better exclusives and of course, a Blu-ray player. It's funny to read all of the angry 360/HD DVD fans on this thread, all acting like babies because the inferior platform/format they bought into has failed horrendously. HA! The future, and the present, is Blu.
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by crazybabydoc April 6, 2008 7:01 PM PDT
For people that don't play video games (b/c they are busy working or otherwise have a life), HD DVD is very much alive. Plenty of players and movies in mint if not new condition at great discounts. You won't be seeing any more new releases on HD but there are 400+ movies available in the format. Plus the A30/35 are great upconverters, the XA2 is arguably the best upconverter under $1k. Now if we see $200 Bluray players and $15 movies in the near future, then even 'discount' HD DVD seems like a waste.
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by cityscapex5 April 6, 2008 8:35 PM PDT
What's with the stupid comments "The Fat Lady I hears Her"? is CNET or Crave or whatever it is trying to race Gizmodo or Engadget to the Fratboy Stupidity Bottom? Anyway - back on topic BluRay is a stillborn product that will never gain mass adoption. Enjoy your brief time in the sun PS3/BlueRay fanbois - it will be brief.
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