Buried under predictions that 2012 will bring dominance for Blu-ray over DVD and breaking news that the PS3 just may have had a hand in winning the format war the Entertainment Merchant's Association 2008 Annual Report on the Home Entertainment Industry holds survey results showing 87% of PS3 owners reported they watch Blu-ray movies on their console. That's a stark contrast to last year's NPD survey indicating 60% of owners didn't even know it played them. We don't know what's behind the jump, be it better marketing/consumer education, or something wrong with how one the surveys were conducted. You can mull that one over during the fast money round while also peeping results that say 22% of HDTV owners think they're watching HD programming, but in fact are not -- not like we haven't heard that before.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

While Toshiba still hasn't announced any new HD moves since withdrawing from the format war earlier this year, its Brazilian arm may be moving on with a hybrid HTPC. Powered by a Core Duo 6300 and Vista Home Premium, Semp Toshiba's Spectra packs a TV tuner and an optical drive ready for Blu-ray and HD DVD and should be available later this month. Society Eletromercantil Paulista merged with Toshiba in 1977 and has operated as Semp Toshiba in Brazil ever since, but it might be working a little more independently of its parent company than usual on this project, unless there are more Toshiba-branded Blu-ray products on the way. We'll keep this one on rumor status pending a more official announcement (or a significant improvement in our Portuguese skills.) Check out another image after the break.

We won't have to wait long to find out Universal's plans for Blu-ray, Reuters just noted that later today the studio will announce plans to release about 40 movies on the format in the second half of the year, including Doomsday. The only studio to support solely HD DVD from the beginning will come out with all three of its Mummy films: The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, and The Scorpion King July 22 (sounds like someone's bitter about HD DVD and taking it out on Blu-ray owners to us), with catalog releases jumping over from red like Miami Vice, Knocked Up, American Gangster and others before the year is out. Keep an eye out for specifics later on, like whether those U-Control and community features from the HD DVD versions will make the jump intact

If you're suddenly overcome with a feeling akin to déjà vu, go ahead and kill that speed dial to your physician. For the second time in a month, Microsoft has actually come forward to squash a Blu-ray Xbox 360 rumor. This go 'round, an alleged statement from Redmond states quite outrightly that "Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360," and it continues on by noting that "customers who want a premium movie experience [can check out the] library of on-demand HD content" available to console owners. Still, we've grown accustomed to these denials by now, and while you'd think that having a pair of rumors on the matter smashed would put the issue to rest, we've all ideas this one isn't quite dead and buried just yet.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Well, it's no surprise that it was going to happen, but the HD DVD Promotion Group officially dissolved today, leaving behind nothing but this terse message directing us to individual "selling agencies." And so, with literally nothing left of HD DVD, we formally close the sad chapter of consumer electronics history known as the HD Format War, remembering those times when HD DVD rode high, with low prices, more features and less restrictive rights management as its rallying cries, and the rantings of Michael Bay still only the delusional fantasies of a fool. May the resistance live on, and our PS3s always be reminded of a time when their ascension was not guaranteed. Red's dead, baby.

Best Buy is following Future Shop, Circuit City and others in reaching out to casualties of the format war. In this case, anyone who bought an HD DVD player from Best Buy before February 23, 2008 can request a complimentary $50 gift card for each player. For those too traumatized to even look at their discontinued hardware and software, Best Buy also announced it's adding HD DVD players and media to its Trade-In Center program, starting March 21. No word on how much a player can net you, but once it's updated, check BestBuyTradeIn.com to get an estimate and decide how much holding onto the past is worth.

[Thanks, Harmin C.]

Update: Best Buy just issued a press release with additional information about the more than $10 million in gift cards it plans to distribute, and details on how to make sure you get yours, check out the full PR after the break.

While entering a format war is still worthy of a cautionary tale or two -- Sony, you may have been on a winning side this time, but we remember Betamax -- Toshiba appears to have escaped the fall of HD DVD a bit more intact than expected. Its official forecast for the financial year shows a loss of 65 billion yen ($669 million U.S.), a bit less than the ¥100b/ $1b U.S. figure anticipated last week. Unfortunately, the company as a whole is expecting slightly lower profits, so former red campers may not want to light cigars just yet.

Update: That's actually 65 billion yen PLUS an additional one-time charge of 45 billion yen for a grand total ¥110b ($1.12 billion) going the wrong way in 2007's books. Hey Toshiba, uh, you guys want a Best Buy gift card?

There are spicy meatballs, and there are spicy meatballs -- and now there's a figure that will be tossed around for decades to come, one which will instantly represent the caution companies should take when embarking on another format war: a billion dollars. At least that's what Nikkei is reporting that Toshiba's losses on HD DVD totaled in 2007 alone: a ¥100b, or about $982m USD. It won't drive Toshiba under or anything, but you seriously have to ask yourself, was it really all worth it? [Warning: subscription req'd]

[Via Reuters]

Slowly but surely, we're seeing retailer after retailer conjure up its own trade-in / exchange program to deal with the finality of the format war. Canada's Future Shop, however, has certainly put an interesting twist on things. First off, it'll accept standalone HD DVD players purchased from anywhere until April 3rd. In exchange, you'll receive $100 off the purchase of an LG or Samsung Blu-ray / HD DVD combo player, but not a standalone Blu-ray player of any kind. Unfortunately, that means your options are pretty limited, but we can certainly understand the retailer's desire to wash its hands of anything with an HD DVD logo on it. Better still, Future Shop will be donating all of the returned HD DVD players to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada "for use in their after-school and evening programs." Now if that's not a reason to trade-up, we don't know what is.

[Thanks, Josh]

Given the finality of the format war, we can't say we're totally shocked to hear that Samsung will be pulling the plug on its recently announced BD-UP5500 HD DVD / Blu-ray combo player, but still, it's not good news for folks planning to pick it up for kicks (or watching their library of HD DVDs). Interestingly enough, Sammy had already planned to axe its current flagship hybrid player -- the BD-UP5000 -- this May, just months after it went on sale and began taking heat for not meeting expectations. On the plus side, the firm's latest BD-only player was a real gem, so hopefully we'll see lots more where that came from in the future. Oh, and if you're weeping this very moment at the thought of never getting to see one in person, feel free to click here and live vicariously through us.

Although Rock began offering a Blu-ray option on its pricey gaming rigs soon after Toshiba threw in the HD DVD towel, prospective buyers were forced to specifically inquire in order to get one. Now, however, the company has finally bit the bullet and began offering internal BD drives as an option on its gamut of gaming laptops. Reportedly, Rock's CEO Nick Boardman proclaimed that he was "disappointed that HD DVD didn't make it," but noted that even if you have a machine on order right now, you can "stick with HD DVD, downgrade to DVD-RW or upgrade to Blu-ray" sans issue. Interestingly, the company is still offering up HD DVD drives as "standard," but we suppose it has to move that suddenly worthless inventory somehow, eh?

[Via Tech Digest]

We had an inkling that the format war was soon to be over when Warner announced it was going Blu-ray just before CES and HD DVD canceled its press conference, but we didn't realize how quickly things would come to an abrupt end. It looks like Toshiba CEO Atsutoshi Nishida was decisive in ending the battle, telling the Wall Street Journal that HD DVD didn't stand a chance after Warner left, and that if HD DVD wasn't "going to win then we had to pull out, especially since consumers were already asking for a single standard." That's interesting, especially since Toshiba issued all those jilted-lover press releases as former partners defected and continued to waffle for another month or so and even air a Super Bowl ad, but we suppose PR people can't go running around saying things like "One has to take calculated risks in business, but it's also important to switch gears immediately if you think your decision was wrong," like the CEO can. Of course, the CEO probably shouldn't be saying Toshiba's upconverting DVD players are so good "consumers won't be able to tell the difference from HD DVD images" either, but give the man a break -- he's still in mourning.

[Thanks, ogscorpion]

Just when the members of the Blu-ray Disc Association were settling down to enjoy the fruits of victory, another challenger has entered the ring -- oh wait, it's just NME, makers of VMD, so it's really more like "remained in the ring and basically ignored." The company just issued a press release saying "All indications are that VMD can fill the void left by HD DVD," and that "The way is now clear for VMD to be embraced by the industry." We suppose that's true -- the Asian bootlegging industry really hasn't weighed in with a format choice yet, has it? In any event, VMD players have apparently been shipping to the US for a month now, so all you HD DVD fans out there looking to back yet another losing horse can probably find one -- start at the shadiest retailer you can think of, and then move downwards.

[Thanks, Chris]

We don't know if Jeffrey Katzenberg got a text message, fax, e-mail or smoke signal indicating the format war was over, but Video Business has confirmed Paramount and Dreamworks Animation will (rather abruptly) to stop releasing HD DVDs after next week. If you were looking forward to Bee Movie on March 11, Sweeney Todd on April 1 or the just announced There Will Be Blood, those are cancelled. Into the Wild and the appropriately-named Things We Lost in the Fire will be Paramount's last reminders of its exclusive agreement. Not specifically mentioned was Star Trek: TOS Season 2, but don't hold your breath. Blu-ray release plans are still up in the air but we wouldn't be surprised to hear something soon. As far as HD DVD movies still scheduled, that leaves two from Universal (for now) and twelve from Warner Bros, who may have been the first to leave red, but will apparently be the last major studio out the door.

Read - Video Business
Read - High-Def Digest

Engadget reader Raheem spotted this cheap shot on the door of Sony Centre in London, just in case anyone's not sure of the latest developments in the high definition format war. Ouch, still, they may want to fax that over to Dreamworks Animation, cc: Jeffrey Katzenberg. Check after the break for another pic of the atrocity.
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