Things, they are a-changing at Netflix. It implements HD streaming on the Xbox 360, hires a new fellow to focus specifically on digital distribution, cans the art of selling secondhand DVDs and now, it's putting the kibosh on the remnants of HD DVD. If you'll recall, the rental firm chose to go Blu-ray exclusive back in February, and frankly, we're surprised the dangling love affair with the now-defunct format has lasted this long. Based on e-mails shot around to HD DVD renters, we're informed that the outfit will "no longer carry HD DVDs" effective December 15th; if you insist on keeping your HD DVDs in your queue, Netflix will kindly replace them with DVDs and go about its merry way. One more reminder of the brutal format war that was, but we'll never (ever) forget.

[Thanks, Shawn]

Sure, sure, the format war is over, but we never expected HD DVD to just disappear overnight, and it looks like the combination of deeply-discounted hardware, cheap media, and a weak economy are keeping Red alive even as Toshiba pretends no one really wants true HD anyway. Players are going for as little as $60 with movies available for $10, and retailers like Buy.com say that "sales are still very strong." Of course, eventually all this stock has to run out, so we doubt this'll be a long-lasting phenomenon, but hey -- stranger things have happened.

Honestly, we were taken aback when Toshiba released version 3.0 firmware for its launch HD DVD players two years after release, but that has been replaced by absolute shock, at a 4.0 software update for the long-dead format. The whole family can join in on this one, either via the player or downloading and burning a copy from the website, with updates available for the whole line: HD-A1, HD-XA1, HD-D1, HD-A35, HD-A2, HD-A2W, HD-A2C, HD-D2, HD-A20, HD-XA2, HD-A3, HD-D3, HD-A30. The only official word is this patch "addresses certain playback issues" -- forum posters report 1080p/24 playback jaggies on MPEG-4 AVC-encoded titles like Transformers is no longer a problem. If everything is working fine (and, of course, you're still using your HD DVD player) it may be best to wait until more reports to avoid any potential compatibility problems.

[Via Slashgear]

Read - AVS Forum
Read - Resource for : Firmware Update Information for Owners of Toshiba HD DVD Players:

Toshiba almost had to mess up its thirty-seven hundred dollar lynx coat, at the thought of seeing its HD DVD walking in the rain with some alley-cat-coat wearing hush-puppy-shoe-wearin' Taiwanese crumb cake. According to China's Economic Daily News, some Taiwanese manufacturers apparently sought to buy out the company's blue laser patents and use them negotiate a reduction in the cost of Blu-ray licenses. Whatever the master plan was, it's all for naught since Toshiba's not keen on giving up its licenses, which EDN sees as related to the upcoming China Blue High Definition discs still set to roll out based on HD DVD. HD DVD without Toshiba is like corn flakes without the milk, so it's unlikely we'll ever see it with anyone else, Tosh's own XDE dalliances notwithstanding.

While scads of HD DVD adopters took advantage of extended return periods in order to rid themselves of the defunct format, we wonder who ran out to acquire a player at rock-bottom prices? Even now, the cost of entry into Blu-ray is still ridiculously high, and it's not like we ever had any issues with the image / audio quality of HD DVDs. Rather than beating around the proverbial bush, we'll get right down to it: did you rush out to buy an HD DVD player soon after the format war concluded? Did you stock up on HD DVD titles at bargain basement prices? Are you still enjoying your HD DVD player right now? Tell us how your unit is faring after a few months of being shunned by everyone else, and don't even think of being shy.

CBHD, née CH-DVD -- the Chinese version of the now-deceased HD DVD format -- is in production, gearing up for a fourth quarter launch. DigiTimes cites reports from enorth.com.cn that Shanghai United Optical Disc has laid out the first production line, although Taiwanese disc makers (already burned by HD DVD) aren't as confident it can take on Blu-ray, even with considerably lower royalty fees and hardware costs for disc replicators. Coming alongside news that Chinese-built Blu-ray players based on increasingly affordable hardware is on the way, plus a decided lack of studio support, it's not hard to see how this one will turn out (again.) Not to underrate China's national pride, but unless it can gain an unexpected foothold among DVD pirates, CBHD will probably be on the high definition scrap heap alongside HD DVD, EVD and the rest before long.

Okay, so we really have no clue what's going on inside of Toshiba's labs, but one thing is for certain: it has upscaling on the brain. After hearing of an elusive super-resolution DVD player and seeing an all-too-curious new DVD logo, in flies word from Germany that the outfit is prepping an updated line of Picture Frame LCD HDTVs for release at IFA 2008. On the surface, there's not too much different about these REGZAs compared to any others, but internally, the newcomers are expected to tout Cell-based Resolution+ technology, which will upscale SD images in an attempt to make something (read: HD) out of nothing. Granted, Tosh has been talking up this stuff since CES, so it's not an entirely new concept, but we'll be interested to see if this has anything to do with those rumored DVD deck plans.

[Via Big-Screen, danke Joel]

We keep hoping that Toshiba will come to its senses and just let this whole thing die, but no. Apparently insistent on keeping the last-generation format alive for as long as it possibly can, it seems the outfit is getting ever-closer to a super-resolution DVD player that would reportedly upscale DVD content like nothing we've ever seen. The latest tidbit in this woefully depressing saga is a newly approved DVD Download DL logo, which was given the final thumbs-up by the DVD Forum Steering Committee last month. In reality, no one outside of Tosh's headquarters has any idea if this development is indeed intrinsically related, but at this point, we wouldn't be shocked one bit to find that it was. Then again, the June 11th meeting also saw specifications for CH-DVD approved, so here's to hoping Toshiba isn't jumping on that bandwagon fiery wreck.

[Via TG Daily]

Read - DVD Forum approval
Read - Discussion / rumors

Nothing too notable here -- just that Toshiba is apparently fixing to unveil a brand new DVD player in the age of Blu-ray that will be "capable of producing high-resolution images from regular DVDs." As you're laughing heartily, ponder this: are we looking at a simple upconverting DVD player? Or will that Cell-based SpursEngine chip bring "super-resolution" to a standalone deck? According to unnamed sources cited by Daily Yomiuri Online, the planned release "signifies an effort to recover from a humiliating setback suffered in March after announcing its decision to withdraw from its HD DVD business." We really cannot fathom why Tosh would even dream of fighting BD with souped-up DVD, but reportedly, it plans on marketing the unit "as a device with which consumers can enjoy a broader array of content than is available in the Blu-ray format." Congratulations Toshiba -- we thought it couldn't get any lamer than HD VMD, and you handily proved us wrong.

[Via VNU Net / Yahoo, image courtesy of DangerousIntersection]

Although the €9.99 Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on over in Ireland is likely still the cheapest way to snag one from a retail location, that flight to Dublin is apt to offset any potential savings. Nevertheless, those in Canada can come awfully close to said deal by visiting FutureShop, which is currently offering the once-molten hot unit for a mere $19.99. Unfortunately, it seems sold out online, but you can certainly phone up your local B&M location and hope for the best.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Last we heard, LG was hanging tight to HD DVD in hopes of accommodating early adopters who still yearned for a dedicated player that handled both formats. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. In a recent report put out by the Korea Times, a spokesman for LG was quoted as saying that the "decision for it to halt the production of the combos" was "very tough," but he maintained that the outfit would "stop manufacturing the Super Blu series from the second half of this year." For those unfamiliar, the Super Blu crew contained the two-faced BH200 and BH100. Interestingly, the same individual noted that LG would be "unveiling a new Blu-ray player to catch up with the industry trend" at IFA in just a few months, but no further details were disclosed. August 29th just got a lot more interesting, yeah?

[Thanks, Harmin]

Although it's all water under the bridge now, we still find it interesting that Viacom's recent earnings statement confirmed that Paramount received compensation for dumping Blu-ray. But contrary to the New York Times article, Variety is reporting that it was only $29 Million, instead of $150 Million. This is of course only cash, and it is still entirely possible that the other $121 Million included future revenues that didn't materialize once things fell apart, but we have a hard time believing Paramount received that much in promotional services or free replication. And while the Warner payoff rumors weren't from a source as sound as the NYT, we'll still be keeping an eye on revenue statements from Engadget and Warner's shared parent company all the same.

[Via Format War Central]

And you thought $49.99 was cheap. Word on the street has it that Microsoft's Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, which has been seen as slightly less valuable since Toshiba pulled the plug on the once mighty red format, has stooped to €9.99 across the pond at GameStop (among other locales). For those not savvy on the absurd depreciation of the US dollar, we're talking $15.47 -- and that's with a Media Center remote bundled in, too. We're totally straight-faced when we say that's actually not a half bad deal if you're a fan of the media already out there, but the parsimonious among us are definitely waiting for these to come bundled with our favorite cereals before pulling the trigger.

[Thanks, Conor]

There's simply no question that the beauty of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (above) can only truly be appreciated after a winding drive down from Kailua Kona (or Hilo, for those who love the rain), but for folks without weeks on end to spare waiting to see lava flow from some of those majestic creations, a forthcoming film should give you the next best look. Volcanographer Mick Kalber has assembled an hour-long movie entitled Kilauea's Flow to Waikupanaha, and while we'd generally brush something like this off, a recent writeup about it most definitely caught our eye. We thought we had already seen HD DVD's last hurrah back in March, but if KHNL-8 is to be believed, the forthcoming flick will be available on Blu-ray and HD DVD. Granted, there's no release date mentioned, but given that red has been decomposing for months now, we're tempted to believe someone was simply misinformed.

A year ago today Toshiba was announcing ¥26.17 billion in profits for the quarter. Today, just ¥1.25 billion or about $12 million. In addition to the $580 million hit on account of its withdrawal from HD DVD, Toshiba also saw a swift decline in flash memory prices. While bad news for Toshiba on all accounts, we consumers are basking in a market dominated by a single high-def optical disc standard and cheap NAND and DRAM pricing. Sorry Tosh, but you won't find any tears around here.