More fallout from Warner Bros. announcement that they are going Blu Ray exclusive: the HD DVD Promotional Group has cancelled their CES conference that was scheduled for the eve of the show on January 6.

 

The following was sent to press and invited guests of the conference via email late Friday (thanks to High Def Digest for posting the text):

 

Toshiba has made a terse press release regarding Warner Bros. announcement that they will be going Blu Ray exclusive.

 

Toshiba expressed surprise at the move, and one must wonder if talks had been taking place between the three parties in the weeks leading up to CES. They cite contracts that exist between the two parties, and it is unclear at this time if this will be the beginning of a legal skirmish between Toshiba and Warner Bros. if that is the case, or if Warner will have to buy their way out of whatever arrangement they may have with Toshiba. Note that this is speculation, and more details will become clear as this story continues to develop. Toshiba goes on to say that they are disappointed, and cites that HD DVD player and HD DVD-equipped  personal computers outsold rival Blu Ray in 2007.

 

Toshiba seems genuinely shocked by this development, and I would love to be a fly on the wall for some of the conference calls that are taking place regarding this situation. It's hard to imagine HD DVD will have anything that looks positive at CES in light of this, but we'll find out soon enough.

Warner Bros. has made the press release that will end the Format War: they are going Blu Ray exclusive.

 

The press release speaks for itself, and can be read by following the Read more link. While I know that picking a side, any side was the right thing for them to do, it's sad that it marks the beginning of the end for what I still feel is the superior format. While my preference for HD DVD was always firm, ultimately it's about the movies and I will be buying a Blu Ray player sooner rather than later.

 

Blu Ray fanboys: go ahead and gloat, this is the end for HD DVD. 

An anonymous hacker altered the official Blu Ray Disc Association's web site to redirect to the official HD DVD web site today.

 

Starting around 3pm Eastern time today visitors to the official Blu Ray web site found themselves on the front page of the official HD DVD web site. Checking as I write this, the redirect is still in effect. While this may be the most humorous blow struck in the Format War, AV Enthusiast has to disapprove the actions of the hacker. No one wants someone tampering with their web site, and the attention HD DVD will receive from such an act is dubious.

 

AV Enthusiast initially decided not to publish this story because we don't condone such actions, but upon further review decided it still qualifies as relevant news.