Toshiba surrenders

That outlook was assured Tuesday, 19 February, when Toshiba officially backed away from the HD DVD format against Sony's heavily fortified Blu-ray technology.

The Blu-ray format had gathered momentum in recent months, having won over a number of major film studios, including Warner Bros., Walt Disney and 20th Century Fox, in addition to its own Sony Pictures.

Sony shares were up nearly 4% in the wake of the announcement, trading at US$46.50 midday on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock had a year's range of $42.73 to $59.84.

Although the high-definition format war is officially over, don't expect explosive growth for Blu-ray, said Phil Leigh, senior analyst with Inside Digital Media. "Unless you have a really big screen, you won't see the difference. I know the people that seem to notice it the most are the people that have home theaters."

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