RIP HD DVD - Toshiba announces end of HD DVD production

HD DVD or High-Definition DVD was a high-density optical disc format designed for the storage of data and high-definition video.

HD DVD was designed to be the successor to the standard DVD format and is derived from the same underlying technologies. Since all variants except the 3x DVD employed a blue laser with a shorter wavelength, it can store about 3¼ times as much data per layer as its predecessor (maximum capacity: 15 GB per layer instead of 4.7 GB per layer).

As of February 12, 2008, 386 HD DVD titles have been released in the USA. As of February 19, 2008, 214 HD DVD titles have been released in Japan, with 44 titles pending to be released.

HD DVD was in a "format war" with rival format Blu-ray Disc to determine which of the two formats would become the leading carrier for high-definition content to consumers. On February 19, 2008, after major content manufacturers and key retailers began to withdraw their support of the format, Toshiba made an official announcement to no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders, effectively ending the High definition optical disc format war.

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