HD DVD Group Recoils; Cancels Press Event

The North American HD DVD Promotion Group will not meet with the press in Las Vegas on Sunday, the group said in a statement.

"We are currently discussing the potential impact of this announcement with other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps," the group said "We believe the consumer continues to benefit from HD DVD's commitment to quality and affordability -- a bar that is critical for the mainstream success of any format."

Warner, which had been supporting both formats, will drop HD DVD by the end of May in favor of Tokyo-based Sony Corp.'s Blu-ray. Toshiba, a major backer of HD DVD expressed its disappointment with the decision during its own press event today.

"Unit sales of HD DVD in Q4 were the strongest yet. Therefore we were surprised by Warner Bros. announcement that it plans to abandon HD DVD later this year," lamented Akio Ozaka, CEO of Toshiba America's consumer division. "We were particularly disappointed this decision was made in spite of the momentum HD DVD has gained in this market."

Toshiba also said it sold 1 million HD DVD digital video recorders in North America last year.

Time Warner will join News Corp. and Walt Disney as exclusive backers of Blu Ray, while HD DVD still maintains support from Paramount, DreamWorks and Universal.

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