Toshiba has officially announced what was only a matter of time - the discontinuation of their HD DVD businesses. They have already begun reducing shipments of HD DVD players and recorders, and expect the phase out to be complete by March.

"We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop," said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation.

While HD DVD itself is finished, Toshiba remain committed to innovative ways to distribute high definition content to the masses - whether it be visual processing technologies, small form factor hard drives or the potential Blu-ray killer - high capacity NAND flash memory.