HD DVD

HD DVD or High-Definitio n Digital Versatile Disc is a high-density optica l disc format designed for the storage of d ata and high-definition video.^[1] HD DVD was designed principally by Toshiba, and was envisaged to be the successor to the standar d DVD

format. However, in Februar y, 2008, Toshiba abandoned the format, announcing it would no longer develop or manufacture HD DVD players^[1]. This manufacturing cessation of the HD DVD format and its associated discs and players leaves Blu-Ray Discs as the dominant format for the new generation of high-capacity versatile/video disc s.

HD DVD is derived from the same underlying technologies as DVD. Since a ll variants except the 3x DVD employe d a blue laser with a shorter wavelength, it can store about 3¼ times as much data per layer as its predecessor (maximum capacity: 15 G B per layer instead of 4.7 GB per layer).

Much like the VHS vs. Beta max format war during the late 1970s and early 1980s, HD DVD was in a "format war" with rival format Blu-ray Disc to determine which of the two formats would become the leading carrier for high-definition content to consumers. In 2008, major content manufac turers and key retailers began withdrawing their support for the format. Toshiba's withdra wal from the format ended the high definition o ptical disc format war, effectively maki ng rival Blu-ray the dominant format for high d efinition video discs.^[2] The HD DVD Promotion Group dissolved on March 28.^[3]