That’s right people… Move along, nothing to see here. The long drawn-out ordeal that has been the Salem HD DVD Trials has officially come to an end. Toshiba has finally given in to the pitchfork-wielding lynch mob and tied HD DVD to a tree out back. A shame perhaps, as HD DVD had some real potential. When the tech blogosphere clamps down though, even the Jaws of Life might not save you. From Toshiba’s official press release this morning:
“We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called ‘next-generation format war’ and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop,” said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation. “While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality.”
That leaves high-capacity, high definition physical media seekers with one real option: Blu-ray. Sweet, Blu-ray is great… or… it will be some day maybe. For the time being, Blu-ray is a spec nightmare that changes faster than an OJ alibi. If you do currently have a Blu-ray player, unless it is a PlayStation 3 it’s likely already obsolete and probably not even upgradeable to the current spec. Work it out Blu-ray, you got lucky with HD DVD’s demise.
[Via Gadget Lab]
