Reuters is claiming that a "source" has said Toshiba will be announcing the end of their HD DVD push soon, conceding defeat to Sony’s Blu-ray format. High definition DVDs are being used not only for movies, but for interactive games as well. Sony learned from it’s loss in the 1980s VCR wars, where VHS beat out Sony’s Betamax. Since Sony now owns their own studios and is a game console maker, they already had guaranteed content to provide for the Blu-ray format. Disney, like most other studios, went with Blu-ray. Viacom (Paramount and DreamWorks and distributor for DreamWorks Animation) has been in the Toshiba’s HD DVD camp.
Recently, if I recall correctly, Blockbuster, Best Buy, Netflix, and, just the other day, Wal-Mart all decided to stock Blu-ray instead of HD DVD. (Stores and warehouses only have so much space.)
If the format war is indeed over, will there be a rush by consumers to buy Blu-ray players? Will that boost Disney’s Blu-ray sales? The announcement would come at an interesting time, as scores of millions of Americans who file tax returns will soon be getting hundreds of dollars "back" per a recent piece of legislation, designed to spur spending on the part of consumers.