Toshiba, the creators of the HD-DVD format have announced that they are shutting down the manufacturing facilities and pulling the plug on the format, leaving the market wide open for Sony’s Blu-Ray technology.

The move will likely put an end to a battle that has gone on for several years between consortiums led by Toshiba and Sony vying to set the standard for the next-generation DVD and compatible video equipment.

The format war, often compared to the Betamax-VHS battle in the 1980s, has confused consumers unsure of which DVD or player to buy, slowing the development what is expected to be a multibillion dollar high definition DVD industry.

Whilst many may argue that HD-DVD is a superior system, much like Betamax is superior to VHS, I always backed Blu-Ray to come out on top. Simply because “Blu-Ray” just sounds so much sexier and geekier than “HD-DVD”.

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