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TOKYO: Japan’s Toshiba, which has led the HD DVD video disks
format, plans to withdraw from the business as it is losing the
battle against rival Sony’s Blu-ray format, a report said
Saturday.
The company is in the final stage of deciding
the pullout, public broadcaster NHK said without naming sources.
The report came after top US retailer Wal-Mart
on Friday drove another nail into the coffin of HD DVDs by
announcing it would shift to exclusively selling movies on Blu-ray.
Toshiba would take HD DVD machines off store
shelves and cease production and research for future models, NHK
said.
Losses could reach tens of billions of yen
(several hundred millions dollars) if the company decides on the
pullout, it said.
No comment was available from Toshiba on
Saturday. The HD DVD camp also includes Microsoft, Intel,
Universal Home Studios, and Paramount Home Entertainment.
Wal-Mart’s announcement came in the week that
major electronics seller Best Buy and online video rental giant
Netflix declared their allegiance to Blu-ray, a new high-definition
format promoted by a coalition led by Sony.
-- AFP
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