The reports were right on: Toshiba is quitting the HD DVD business, leaving Blu-ray as the last format standing. The recent history is well known, as Blu-ray has racked up an impressive string of wins, both from studios and electronics retailers, leaving HD DVD with little room to maneuver. Toshiba…

With various reports all but confirming the end of the high-def format wars, HD DVD backer Toshiba is getting rewarded for giving up. Shares of Toshiba are up over 5 percent in Japanese trading following the news, and analysts have weighed in with positive comments on the stock, according to…

Toshiba is about to give up on its HD DVD format after a string of major setbacks, reports Reuters (NSDQ: RTRSY) and WSJ, citing sources. Thus ends the grueling battle dating back several years on the HD DVD vs Blu-Ray formats for the next generation DVDs. Reuters quotes local agency…

See update below: This would be a big blow for HD DVD, if true: THR reports, citing unidentified industry sources, that Toshiba may soon pull the plug on HD DVD, in response to the wave of companies that have gone Blu-Ray only. Of course, Toshiba is the primary CE backer…

Updated below: Online movie renter Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) is switching over to Blu-ray exclusively, following four major movie studios in selecting the Sony (NYSE: SNE) technology over the HD DVD format marketed by Toshiba. Netflix has stocked both formats since they became available in 2006. “From the Netflix perspective, focusing…

Now, Toshiba is fighting back—a week after the death-bed stories, if not obits, in response, first, to Warner Bros.‘s embrace of Blu-Ray from Sony (NYSE: SNE) and then to Universal’s decision not to date HD DVD exclusively. The consumer electronics company, which has placed a large bet on HD DVD…

What a week for the two camps: after Warner Bros. pulled out of HD DVD camp, and denials by Paramount of going completely Blu-Ray, comes the news from Variety that Universal’s commitment to backing HD DVD exclusively has ended, though it has not pulled out of the camp completely. Universal,…

So now it turns out that the DVD format wars aren’t completely over after all. Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA) Paramount Pictures is denying earlier reports (see our post here) that the studio is preparing to quit its home video agreement with Toshiba’s HD DVD format to follow Warner Bros. Entertainment in…

Just when Sony’s (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray may have thought the Hi-Def video war was over, the format is likely to face a much tougher challenge from Comcast’s (NSDQ: CMCSA) Wideband internet service. Comcast will launch Wideband in “millions of homes” this year, said the cable operator’s CEO Brian Roberts, speaking…

It looks like Toshiba’s booth at CES is going to look a little lonelier: Paramount is ready to switch its allegiance from HD DVD in light of Warner Bros. Entertainment’s decision to choose Sony’s (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray disc technology, FT reports. Viacom-owned Paramount and Dreamworks Animation signed on with Toshiba’s…