HD DVD is gasping its last breath.

In a move that all but rang the death bell for HD DVD, Toshiba announced today that they "will no longer develop, make or market HD DVD players and recorders". Bu-Ray has been the next gen DVD format backed by 5 major Hollywood studios and the adult industry. And really, we know whoever the adult industry is behind will be the winner (need I remind you of the VHS-Beta war?) but the announcement that Warner Bros. made last month stating they would "...only release movie discs in the Blu-Ray format..." was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Both HD DVD and Blu-ray deliver crisp, clear high-definition pictures and sound, and were touted as "the" best next gen DVD. HD DVD however, was supposed to be cheaper because it was based on existing DVD technology while Blu-Ray boasted bigger recording/storage. In the end, size does matter (and I'm sure a lot of back door dealing) and Blu-Ray won.

Both Blu-Ray players and DVDs are likely to pick up now that a decision has been made becuase most of us were waiting for the dust to settle before runnning out and buying a new player and spending $20+ dollars on DVDs again. And Toshiba is expected to make out as well. Goldman Sachs has said that by having Toshiba only support one format could improve the company's profitability between $370 million to $460 million a year (Note to self, buy Toshiba stock).

The other thing not to overlook here is that Sony helped fuel the fire with the launch of its PS3 next gen game console which of course is also a Blu-Ray DVD player. Oh by the way, last estimate was the console had sold 10.5 million worldwide and with the recent price drop and this announcement you can expect quite a few more to sell now.

My advice to you? Go get yourself the cheapest Blu-Ray DVD player around that oh by the way also happens to be a next gen gaming console in the $399 PS3.

The War is over!

No, not the war in the Middle East silly goose. That will continue to go on for years as we fight for Democratic Supremacy and try to wipe out terrorism but that's a discussion for a politically themed blog. I mean the war for the next generation Hi-Definition content.

And the winner is...(drum roll please)...Blu-Ray.
What's brought me to this conclusion? Well this week at the Geekgasm Convention of the year (CES, Computer Electronics Show...duh!) Warner Brothers it will pull its support of HD DVD in favor of going to Blu-Ray exclusively. That was followed by both New Line Cinemas and HBO making similar announcements. Throw in that Disney has already announced that their titles will only be Blu-Ray and that the Adult industry is adopting Blu-Ray (probably the first time Disney and porn have been in the same sentence) and you have nails in the coffin of the HD DVD format.

Honestly I can see no major difference in the picture quality or sound in either of the new formats on my home theater set up. I'm also not stoked about the price of Blu-Ray DVDs either. Especially when you consider that I can now buy regular DVDs new for under $6 and let me video game consoles upconvert the image to my HD TV. But hey, I'm glad that I at least have a reason to use my PS3 now!