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Microsoft Pulls Plug on HD DVD Players
By Shane Sturgeon
Publisher & Chief Technologist
Posted on February 24, 2008
Category: HD DVD & Blu-ray
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Microsoft Pulls Plug on HD DVD Players

SEATTLE (AP) - Microsoft Corp. said it will stop making HD DVD players for its Xbox 360 video game system after Toshiba Corp. ceded the high-definition video format battle to Sony Corp.'s Blu-ray.

Microsoft said Saturday it would continue to provide standard warranty support for its HD DVD players. Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida last week estimated about 300,000 people own the Microsoft video player, sold as a separate $130 add-on for the Xbox 360.

"HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room, along with playback of the DVD movies they already own," Blair Westlake, a corporate vice president of Microsoft's media and entertainment group, said in a written statement.

Microsoft was one of HD DVD's main backers, along with Intel Corp. and Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp., and its support for the format was seen as a big win for Toshiba's format.

But support for the HD DVD waned as major movie studios - Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Co., News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. Entertainment - picked Blu-ray to distribute high-def DVDs. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. struck what seemed to be the final blow just over a week ago when it said it would only sell Blu-ray players and discs.

Microsoft said it is looking at how the HD DVD technology it has developed, such as HDi, which adds interactive features to DVDs, and its VC-1 video encoding technology, can be applied to other platforms.

The Redmond-based software maker said the decision to stop selling HD DVD players won't have a material impact on its video game business.

Posted by Shane Sturgeon, February 24, 2008 12:05 PM

Reader Commentary

See Forum Topic: Microsoft Pulls Plug on HD DVD Players (8 replies)
Feb 24, 2:19pm
I would think the demise of HD DVD puts Microsoft in a somewhat difficult situation. It's my understanding that the XBox is an analog system, which means that the HD DVD was simply a way to provide for the large memory required for modern video games, w
Feb 24, 2:23pm
This time it better come with HDMI support as standard!
Feb 24, 2:26pm
I would think the demise of HD DVD puts Microsoft in a somewhat difficult situation. By keeping the unit separate as they did, they made it so they could easily divest of it and have only los
Feb 24, 2:27pm
This time it better come with HDMI support as standard! All current Xbox 360 sku's support HDMI ... have since released this past holiday. Only the original Xbox 360 Core and Premium sku's were without HDM
Feb 24, 4:45pm
I was referring to the lack of support for HD DVD encoded games. I suppose technically Microsoft could go to Blu-ray, but that would put them head to head with Sony that already has a powerful integrated concept of game downloads, movie downloads, Intern
Feb 24, 6:29pm
I was referring to the lack of support for HD DVD encoded games. You know, I've wondered about this. You are correct that the Xbox does not support HD DVD format games, but what is the demand
Feb 24, 7:32pm
I'm currently playing "Uncharted:Drake's Fortune" and "Ratchet and Clank:Tools of Destruction" which are both Blu-ray games, but there are many others in about every genre you can think of. Both of these games are simply amazing and are a quantum leap be
Feb 25, 9:46am
All current Xbox 360 sku's support HDMI Thanks, it sure hasn't been clear... so the elite is all black and just a bigger HDD for the most part.
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About Shane Sturgeon

Shane Sturgeon is the Co-Publisher and Chief Technologist of HDTV Magazine, an industry publication with HDTV roots going back to 1984, when Dale Cripps founded The HDTV Newsletter. Today, HDTV Magazine is a leading online resource for HDTV news and information and captures the eyes and imaginations of over 3 million visitors annually. Mr. Sturgeon has a background in information technology and has served in various consulting capacities for Fortune 500 companies such as J.P. Morgan Chase, Verizon Communications, Proctor & Gamble and Nationwide Insurance. He has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Wright State University.