According to a Reuters inside source, Toshiba said its planning on ending the high definition war by conceding to rival format Blu-ray Disc. Toshiba would suffer hundreds of millions of dollars if they scrapped production of their HD DVD players, however stock values for Toshiba Corp Quote increased by 6% at one point, indicating share holders concern over losing more money in the format more.
“They made a clear decision, and this was recognized by the market,” said Takeshi Osawa, senior fund manager at Norinchukin Zenkyoren Asset Management. While the move cannot be verified, Toshiba public relations was not taking any calls regarding the matter.
HD DVD suffered from several announcements in the last two weeks. Big box retailer Best Buy announced it would promote only Blu-ray Disc. Online movie rental company Netflix also announced it would follow Blu-ray. And, what may have been the biggest blow to the HD DVD camp was the Walmart decision last Friday to go with Blu-ray.
