Toshiba drops out of HD DVD war

Toshiba has said it will stop making its high definition DVDs, ending a battle with rival format Blu-ray over which would be the industry standard, reported The BBC.

Following a review of its business, Toshiba said it would stop production of HD DVD players and recorders.

The HD DVD format has suffered as major US film studios backed the Blu-ray format, which is being developed by electronics firm Sony and partners.

Analysts said the move would allow Toshiba to focus on other products.

"We concluded that a swift decision would be best," Toshiba president Atsutoshi Nishida said.

Toshiba said the tipping point came last month when Warner Bros' followed a number of other film studios in deciding to release its movies only in the Blu-ray format.

"If we had continued, that would have created problems for consumers, and we simply had no chance to win," he said.

Toshiba will continue to supply retailers with machines until the end of March this year.

After that, Toshiba will continue to provide technical support to the estimated one million people worldwide who own HD DVD players and recorders.

A number of studios, including Universal, Paramount and DreamWorks, signed up to produce movies in HD DVD, but Toshiba's withdrawal is expected to reduce the number films available in the format.

Video rental firms, including Blockbuster and Netflix, have said they will phase out the Toshiba-backed format.

And last week, Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, announced it would only sell high-definition DVDs in the Blu-ray format at its 4,000 US stores.

The HD DVD versus Blu-ray battle has been likened to the VHS versus Betamax war of the 1980s.