Chicago (IL) – The end of the HD DVD format may have come faster than many of us would have expected. And despite the outcome of the format war has long been unclear, there have been several reports that correctly predicted the winner as early as July 2005. Join us as we are looking back in time to recap how the defeat of HD DVD developed.
Following the announcement of Toshiba to pull the plug on HD DVD, we felt that it was time to have a closer look at our reports since the beginning of the format war to provide an overview of the events that led up to Sony’s success and Toshiba’s loss. On the following pages, we are listing all important HD format war articles, ranging from the very beginnings in November 2003 to the shutdown of HD DVD today.
The list allows you to recall the role of publishers, hardware companies, the Playstation 3 as well as Microsoft, which may have played a significant role in the downfall of HD DVD, due to its decision not to offer an HD DVD drive integrated in its Xbox 360. Even if we here have dealt with HD DVD and Blu-ray almost on a daily basis for some time, we were surprised to find some instances that predicted Blu-ray as the winner of the format war early on:
In July 2005, a survey claimed that consumers preferred Blu-ray over HD DVD. Following the launch of high-def players, some speculated that enthusiast users gave HD DVD the edge and sales numbers for 2006 appeared to be in a stalemate. In March of 2007, a European Sony executive told journalists that HD DVD would be “dead within one year”. Walking through high-def sales data in 2007 provides an impression how the lead of Blu-ray began to build up and hurt HD DVD.
Another surprising outcome of this format war is that the adult film industry had very little to do with the fall of HD DVD. The format still had the support from most studios that were releasing movies in high-def. The critical component of Blu-ray’s success appears to have been the Playstation 3, which not only put millions of Blu-ray players into the market, but also convinced gamers to purchase lots of Blu-ray movies.
However, the end of HD DVD came very quick and its fate was decided by a few serious blows. In early 2008, Warner Bros. said it would abandon HD DVD. Soon, several retailers, most importantly Best Buy, began focusing on HD DVD and online rental company Netflix said it would be dropping HD DVD as well. Toshiba’s only reaction was the reduction of HD DVD player prices, which, from today’s view, only accelerated the format’s departure.
2003 and 2004: Supporter groups are formed, first specifications and the name "Playstation 3" surfaces
Read on the next page: 2005 - Bondage talks between HD DVD and Blu-ray and a surprising survey that correctly predicted the outcome of the format war
2005: Bondage talks between HD DVD and Blu-ray and a surprising survey that correctly predicts the outcome of the format war
Read on the next page: 2006 - HD DVD and Blu-ray hit the market: HD is believed to get an early lead
2006: HD DVD and Blu-ray hit the market: HD is believed to get an early lead
Read on the next page: 2007 - Sony's PS3 becomes the decisive weapon in the format war and Sony says in March 2007 that the HD DVD will be dead within one year
2007: Sony's PS3 becomes the decisive weapon in the format war and Sony says in March 2007 that the HD DVD will be dead within one year
|
Year
|
Month
|
Day
|
Category
|
Article
|
Source
|
|
| 2007 |
Jan |
5 |
 |
Toshiba to ship HD DVD writer in February |
TGD |
| |
|
7 |
|
Toshiba to offer 1080p HD DVD player for $600 |
TGD |
| |
|
7 |
 |
LG to roll out dual-format Blu-ray/HD DVD player in Q1 |
TGD |
| |
|
8 |
|
Microsoft, Broadcom aim to lower cost of HD DVD players |
TGD |
| |
|
8 |
|
HD DVD slams Blu-ray, talks innovation |
TGD |
| |
|
8 |
 |
Sony plans next Blu-ray attack at HD DVD |
TGD |
| |
|
10 |
|
Warner announces HD DVD - Blu-ray combo disc |
TGD |
| |
|
11 |
|
HD DVD versus Blu-ray - The porn industry says HD DVD |
TGD |
| |
Feb |
1 |
|
Blu-ray discs beating HD-DVD in sales 2 to 1 |
TGD |
| |
|
5 |
|
Numbers are mixed for 2006 format wars |
TGD |
| |
|
26 |
|
Sony ready to drop Blu-ray entry-level player to $600 |
TGD |
| |
|
27 |
|
51 GB HD DVD disc rivals Blu-ray capacity |
TGD |
| |
|
28 |
|
2x HD DVD-RW Rev2 approved, HD DVD 1.1 approved |
DVD Forum |
| |
March |
6 |
|
AnyDVD HD now copies Blu-ray discs, too |
TGD |
| |
|
12 |
|
Blu-ray disc edges out HD DVD in February |
TGD |
| |
|
16 |
|
HD DVD dead in one year? |
TGD |
| |
|
21 |
|
Blu-ray player breaks $500 barrier at Amazon |
TGD |
| |
|
28 |
|
Blu-ray Casino Royale hits 100,000 mark |
TGD |
| |
April |
11 |
|
Toshiba releases entry-level 1080p HD DVD player |
TGD |
| |
|
13 |
|
Samsung announces plans for Blu-ray/HD DVD combo player |
TGD |
| |
|
16 |
|
Microsoft debuts commercial HD DVD encoder SDK |
TGD |
| |
|
17 |
|
100,000 HD DVD CE players sold in the U.S. |
TGD |
| |
|
20 |
|
Blu-ray edges out HD DVD yet again |
TGD |
| |
|
23 |
|
Blu-ray camp claims 70% market share in movie sales |
TGD |
| |
|
26 |
|
HD DVD shipments "near" one million |
TGD |
| |
May |
7 |
|
HP announces Blu-Ray/HD-DVD player/writer plans |
TGD |
| |
|
15 |
|
Planet Earth HD DVD topples Blu-ray sales |
TGD |
| |
|
16 |
|
Toshiba HD DVD player hits sub-$300 mark |
TGD |
| |
June |
1 |
|
Blu-ray Pirates defeats HD DVD Matrix |
TGD |
| |
|
4 |
|
Sub-$500 Blu-ray player to hit stores this month |
TGD |
| |
|
11 |
|
Toshiba claims top hardware sales in HD format war |
TGD |
| |
|
18 |
|
Blockbuster to move high-def, offering only Blu-ray Discs |
|
| |
|
19 |
|
HD DVD 1.1 features outlined |
DVD Forum |
| |
|
28 |
|
Buy a Blu-ray player, get five free movies |
TGD |
| |
|
29 |
|
Warner pushes back Blu-ray, HD DVD combo disc |
TGD |
| |
|
29 |
|
Toshiba opens up next-gen features for HD DVD |
TGD |
| |
July |
2 |
|
Toshiba cuts price for entry-level HD DVD player to $299 |
TGD |
| |
|
17 |
|
HD-DVD group claims success against Blu-ray in Q2 |
TGD |
| |
|
25 |
|
Samsung announces hybrid Blu-ray - HD DVD player |
TGD |
| |
|
26 |
|
Blu-ray format leads adoption of next-gen DVD players in the U.S. |
TGD |
| |
|
26 |
|
Sony: Target says yes to Blu-ray, no to HD DVD |
TGD |
| |
|
26 |
|
Xbox 360 HD DVD player price falls to $179 |
TGD |
| |
|
27 |
|
The brand new $113 Toshiba HD-DVD Player: Are the HD wars over? |
TGD |
| |
|
27 |
|
BJ's Wholesale to back Blu-ray exclusively |
TGD |
| |
Aug |
6 |
|
Toshiba releases third-gen HD DVD players |
TGD |
| |
|
9 |
|
Blu-ray, HD DVD topple VHS sales |
TGD |
| |
|
13 |
|
Samsung Blu-ray Disc player available for $425 |
TGD |
| |
|
14 |
|
Blu-ray "300" outsells HD DVD counterpart two-to-one |
TGD |
| |
|
15 |
|
Blu-ray movie sales smash HD DVD in first half of 2007 |
TGD |
| |
|
17 |
|
Playstation 3 kills HD DVD - opinion |
TGD |
| |
|
21 |
|
Paramount and Dreamworks go HD-DVD: Sony’s curse continues |
TGD |
| |
Sept |
5 |
|
LG announces second-gen HD DVD-Blu-ray player |
TGD |
| |
|
7 |
|
Microsoft touts deployment of its high-definition video encoder tools |
TGD
|
| |
|
11 |
|
China creates rival to HD DVD, Blu-ray |
TGD |
| |
|
12 |
|
Triple Layer Twin HD DVD approved |
DVD Forum |
| |
|
17 |
|
Target reportedly doubles Blu-ray shelf space |
TGD |
| |
|
20 |
|
Disney CEO calls Blu-ray victory a "foregone conclusion" |
TGD |
| |
Oct |
4 |
|
Microsoft steps up support for HD DVD format |
TGD |
| |
|
8 |
|
Netflix sees stronger loyalty for HD DVD than Blu-ray |
TGD |
| |
|
11 |
|
Paramount confirms 30+ HD DVD titles for next year |
TGD |
| |
|
15 |
|
Warner's 300 smashes high-def disc sales records |
TGD |
| |
|
19 |
|
Xbox to get an integrated HD DVD drive? |
Smart House |
| |
Nov |
1 |
|
Wal-Mart to sell HD DVD player for under $100 |
TGD |
| |
|
2 |
|
Best Buy follows Wal-Mart with $100 HD DVD player |
TGD |
| |
|
7 |
|
Toshiba sells nearly 100,000 HD DVD players last weekend |
TGD |
| |
|
9 |
|
Sony CEO considers HD format war to be in a “stalemate” |
TGD |
| |
|
14 |
|
Sony details first BD Profile 1.1 Blu-ray movie |
TGD |
| |
|
27 |
|
HD DVD players pass 750,000 unit sales |
TGD |
| |
|
29 |
|
Wal-Mart puts "cheap" Chinese HD DVD player on sale |
TGD |
| |
|
29 |
|
BD gaining upper hand over HD DVD in PC-use drives |
Digi Times |
| |
|
29 |
|
In Europe, Blu-ray takes in 73% of HD movie sales |
TGD |
| |
|
30 |
|
Blu-ray overpowers HD DVD three-to-one in Black Friday weekend |
TGD |
| |
Dec |
4 |
|
Over 2.7 million Blu-ray players sold |
TGD |
| |
|
5 |
|
Universal says 30% of HD DVD users access Web content |
TGD |
| |
|
11 |
|
Research firm says HD DVD sales will rise |
TGD |
| |
|
12 |
|
LG next-gen HD DVD, Blu-ray combo player hits stores |
TGD |
| |
|
13 |
|
Microsoft releases HD DVD emulator on Xbox 360 |
TGD |
| |
|
20 |
|
Consumers beginning to drive the HD market |
TGD |
| |
|
20 |
|
Porn industry snuggling up to Blu-ray |
TGD |
| |
|
26 |
|
Blu-ray site hacked to redirect to promotional HD DVD address |
TGD |
Read on the next page: 2008 - Blu-ray goes after a quick kill
2008: Blu-ray goes after a quick kill
Workout of the Day
