Feb 19, 12:34 PM EST Toshiba Quits HD DVD Business By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi Watch Related Video Toshiba Quits HD DVD Business Buy AP Photo Reprints Your Questions Answered Ask AP: Political Ads, E-Mail’s Hyphen TOKYO (AP) — Toshiba’s decision to no longer develop, make or market high-definition HD DVD players and recorders will mean consumers can start feeling more confident about buying the victorious rival technology – a Blu-ray disc player. Analysts say competition is expected to heat up among the manufacturers of Blu-ray players and recorders, which include Japanese makers Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Sharp Corp. as well as Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea. In making the announcement, Toshiba Corp. President Atsutoshi Nishida said he wanted to avoid confusion among consumers. The decision was relatively quick, coming just several years after the competing technologies arrived. In the last video format [From Wired News - AP News]

I’m pretty excited that there has finally been a decision in the format war. Not that I’m in the market for a high definition entertainment system anytime soon, but I would expect Apple to finally introduce Macs with Blu-Ray drives here shortly and stuff can really get exciting.