Wal-Mart Ends the DVD Format War
Firing what industry experts believe is the fatal shot in the DVD format war, Wal-Mart, the largest DVD retailer in the nation, has announced that it will stop selling HD DVD discs and players in June of this year when supplies are depleted.
In a recent blog, we mentioned that Blu-ray seemed to be gaining the upper hand in this battle and now Wal-Mart’s decision has cemented Blu-ray’s position as the victor.
While no official announcement has been made, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Toshiba, the company behind HD DVD, is likely to pull out of the high-definition DVD business this week. Should this occur as expected, the movie studios that were aligned with Toshiba in this format war – including Paramount, Universal and Viacom - would likely be released from their contracts and free to go to the Blu-ray camp.
While admitting to being a bit surprised by the sudden turn of events, we are glad that the end is in sight. Now a clear path exists for consumers that have been waiting to make the jump to the high-definition format. As this outcome unfolds, we expect sales for Blu-ray hardware and software to skyrocket over the coming year.
What does this mean if you already have an HD DVD library and player? The Connoisseur would recommend looking into one of the new universal players from either LG or Samsung. These will play your current HD DVD discs as well as handle the future of Blu-ray.
In a recent blog, we mentioned that Blu-ray seemed to be gaining the upper hand in this battle and now Wal-Mart’s decision has cemented Blu-ray’s position as the victor.
While no official announcement has been made, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Toshiba, the company behind HD DVD, is likely to pull out of the high-definition DVD business this week. Should this occur as expected, the movie studios that were aligned with Toshiba in this format war – including Paramount, Universal and Viacom - would likely be released from their contracts and free to go to the Blu-ray camp.
While admitting to being a bit surprised by the sudden turn of events, we are glad that the end is in sight. Now a clear path exists for consumers that have been waiting to make the jump to the high-definition format. As this outcome unfolds, we expect sales for Blu-ray hardware and software to skyrocket over the coming year.
What does this mean if you already have an HD DVD library and player? The Connoisseur would recommend looking into one of the new universal players from either LG or Samsung. These will play your current HD DVD discs as well as handle the future of Blu-ray.