After losing support from a series of key industry players, including Warner, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy, HD DVD looks set to join Betamax in the graveyard of forsaken media formats. Last Friday, we reported on the latter of those losses, and we pointed to a report that suggested Toshiba could be about to call it quits and discontinue the format.
Today, we’ve spotted an article by Reuters that quotes a source who claims Toshiba is "in the final stages" of setting up a plan to pull out of the HD DVD business. Word comes from an anonymous source inside the company, who adds that an official decision will be made in the near future. Reuters also mentions another story from a Japanese broadcaster that says Toshiba will suffer losses of hundreds of millions of dollars as it stops producing HD DVD players and recorders and kills the format.
According to the folks at Ars Technica, who quote another source with knowledge of the situation, an announcement from Toshiba may come as early as Tuesday. Reportedly, Toshiba and other companies in the HD DVD camp want to show they’ll be able to bury the format while minimizing financial losses. Unsurprisingly, though, recent developments are pushing them to make an announcement sooner rather than later.
