The High-Definition format war is over

It's all over but the cryin'. If you've been following the battle between Sony's Blu-Ray and Toshiba's HD-DVD as the fight to replace the DVD as the universal standard, you know it's been a long fight (and a rematch of VHS vs. Betamax). 

Over the past several weeks, Toshiba has been dealt some significant blows; First, Warner Bros. jumped into the Blu-Ray camp, leaving only one major studio with HD-DVD (Universal). Then, video giant Netflix announced that they would stop carrying HD-DVD (Blockbuster did the same thing last June). That same day, Best Buy announced that they would begin training their employees to recommend Blu-Ray. Yesterday, rumors began to surface that Toshiba is getting out of the business of making HD-DVD players. 

But the final blow comes this morning, when WalMart, owner of the free world, and ruler of all kings, announced that they are dropping the HD-DVD format.

If you own an HD-DVD player, congratulations: you now own a collectable. 

USA Today has a nice recap.

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