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HD DVD promo body dissolves itself

High Definition DVD is officially dead. The HD DVD Promotion Group this week formally dissolved itself, marking the termination of the format.

Toshiba's decision to end HD DVD hardware production, announced last month, put the format on life-support. The signals began to slow and fade as the likes of Microsoft, Universal Studios and Paramount Studios said they were abandoning HD DVD in the light of Toshiba's move.

However, the plug was finally pulled yesterday, when the organisation charged with persuading World+Dog to adopt HD DVD finally called it quits, and voted itself out of existence, gone without even a whimper, let alone a bang.

For now, HD DVD exists in a kind of format purgatory. The specification remains under the guardianship of the DVD Forum, along with all the branding, but it seems unlikely the Forum will do much with it now. Eventually, the DVD format will fade too, as VHS has, and the DVD Forum will have come to its natural end.

Leaving the world coloured Blu - unless, of course, even that's failed to prevail against movie downloads and memory cards.

Obituary: HD DVD 2002-2008 ®

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