The impending death of HD-DVD

In a week that has seen media heavyweight Warner Bros abandon its HD neutrality in favour of signing with Sony’s Blu-ray format – a move quickly echoed by the defection of New Line Cinema – the future of Toshiba’s HD-DVD looks decidedly grim. Will the departure of Warner Bros see Universal, Paramount and Dreamworks following close behind as HD-DVD fights for its survival? Credit: HD-DVD.

Will the departure of Warner Bros see Universal, Paramount and Dreamworks following close behind as HD-DVD fights for its survival? Credit: HD-DVD.As things stand, amassed Blu-ray backers in Hollywood seriously outweigh those standing firm with HD-DVD, with only Paramount Pictures, Dreamworks, and Universal still offering their movie content to the ailing format. However, it is yet to be seen whether that studio backing remains intact in the face of increasing Blu-ray support, which now includes the likes of Warner Bros, New Line, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Co., and Lions Gate.Bearing that in mind, reports from this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas suggest that a lack of new HD-DVD title announcements from Universal indicate that the studio is close to opting for a place in the swelling Blu-ray camp. Universal has offered no comment regarding rumours of its imminent defection.Similarly, Paramount Pictures has said it will not be unveiling any new HD-DVD titles at CES 2008, but it has insisted during the course of the show that its support for Toshiba’s format is still in place. Earlier this week, numerous unconfirmed Net reports claimed that Paramount has a HD-DVD get-out clause reliant on the departure of Warner Bros. Other related speculation presently doing the rounds includes a Gizmodo report citing "reputable sources at CES 2008," that indicates consumers who purchased a low price HD-DVD player during the recent holiday period are frantically returning their players in light of this week’s run of Blu-ray defections.And, if online petitions are a sign of terminal desperation, then HD-DVD is close to emitting a final death rattle. Specifically, one such online petition pleading for HD-DVD to be saved has duly appeared this week. So far it has collected some 2,200 signatures from existing format owners who fear that remaining studio backers are about to take their movie content to Sony’s rival Blu-ray platform."Bring out yer dead!"