Toshiba Opens up on HD DVD

A Monday-morning announcement attempted to stave off rumors of certain death for HD DVD, but left a lingering cloud over the format's fate.

Following leaks predicting the demise of HD DVD, Wal-Mart’s announcement to stop carrying the format, and news reports from the Japanese press declaring the format war over, Toshiba finally commented publicly about its ailing technology on Monday morning. The official word: HD DVD is up for review, but still not dead.

Company representatives said that Toshiba has not officially declared a stance to kill HD DVD, but acknowledged that it’s up on the block. “The media has reported that Toshiba will discontinue its HD DVD business. Toshiba has not made any announcement concerning this,” the company said, according to vnunet.com. “Although Toshiba is currently assessing its business strategies, no decision has been made at this moment.”

One anonymous source told the Associated Press that HD DVD’s fate would be decided at an upcoming board meeting, possibly as soon as Tuesday. Meanwhile, the stock market has not waited for an official word to start moving, as Toshiba stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 5.7 percent on Monday.