R.I.P. HD DVD: Toshiba reportedly ends the war

Of course, the good guy to whom I’m referring is the technology itself and not its primary backers, e.g., Toshiba and Microsoft. HD DVD was considered the “good guy” in the format war between it and Blu-ray mostly because it was slightly less (shall we say) “intrusive.” That is to say that HD DVD was the lesser of two evils in the format war; a wonderful technology could have emerged, but we must roll with the punches.

This news certainly doesn’t come as surprise to anyone remotely following HD DVD’s format war with rival Blu-ray. HD DVD had suffered a string of defections, with Warner, Netflix, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart all recently pledging their alliance to Blu-ray.

The NHK report says existing HD DVD products will remain in the market for a while, but Toshiba will stop further development of HD DVD. The report also estimates that Toshiba will take a hit to the tune of “hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars” and will close factories in northern Japan.

It’s all rumor at this point, but it seems to be well-founded rumor. Official announcements are set for next week.