Toshiba scraps HD-DVD as hi-def war ends

It’s official – the hi-def format war is over, with news of Toshiba’s decision to cease production of HD-DVD equipment, handing victory to Sony’s Blu-Ray technology.

Reuters reports that the news was broken by Japanese broadcaster NHK, with the outlet predicting that Toshiba’s losses could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars. The firm will continue to sell its existing hardware but will not fund resources for further product development.

This decisive development follows a string of high profile studios and retailers abandoning the format, lead by the devastating defection of Warner and subsequent abandonment by the likes of Best Buy and Netflix in the US and Woolworths in the UK.

The victory could also prove to be a turning point in the next-gen console battle, with Sony’s PS3 instantly gaining another notch on its hi-tech bedpost.