HD DVD
- Cause of death
- Killed by a successor
- Made by
- Toshiba
Warner Bros. defected to Blu-ray in January 2008 and Toshiba abandoned the format within six weeks.
HD DVD was the loser of the last great format war, and it lost fast. Toshiba shipped the first player in March 2006 and announced the format's discontinuation twenty-three months later, after Warner Bros. went Blu-ray exclusive and Walmart followed. Toshiba's CEO framed the surrender as a service to the market: a swift decision would let high-definition video actually develop rather than stall in a standoff.
Replaced by Blu-ray.
Standing in the archive
Rank 116 of 127 by lifespan. HD DVD outlasted 9% of everything else on file.
Cite this entry
"HD DVD." How Long It Lasted, https://www.howlongitlasted.com/thing/hd-dvd.
Died nearby
- Adobe Flash Playerabout 24 years · killed by a successor
- Amazon Dash Buttonabout 4 years · killed by a successor
- Apple AirPortabout 18 years · killed by a successor
- Betamaxabout 41 years · killed by a successor
- Blockbusterabout 28 years · killed by a successor
Sources
- Toshiba Announces Discontinuation of HD DVD Businesses — Toshiba (archived)
- Toshiba Kills HD DVD, Official — Gizmodo (archived)
Last checked by a human on 24 July 2026