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Netflix to end HD DVD availability

by on17 November 2008

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No longer to offer them after December 15th


Those still clinging to HD DVD players out there will have one less option to get HD DVD content, as Netflix has announced that they will stop offering HD DVD rentals after December 15th. Those customers with HD DVD titles in their queue will automatically have them converted to standard DVD offerings as of December 15th.

The announcement really comes as no big surprise, as Netflix announced that it would be moving to Blu-ray for high definition content rental shortly after the announcement was made that Warner Brothers and New Line would be going Blu-ray exclusive. At the time of the announcement Netflix indicated that they would continue to rent the HD DVD titles that they already had, but would not be adding new titles.

HD DVD has not received any new titles in quite some time and it is not expected that any additional titles will be released in the HD DVD format going forward. Those HD DVD owners that still have an HD DVD player and are still using it regularly are either enjoying the HD DVDs that they currently own or are able to still rent. However, In most cases the player is being used for nothing more than a standard upconverting DVD player.

With the HD DVD format essentially abandoned it is hard for many of those who were committed to the format to make the transition to Blu-ray unless they were lucky enough to be able to get a combo player that can play both HD DVD and Blu-ray, or they were able to unload the HD DVD titles that they owned and get at least something out of them.

As the format becomes even more abandoned, deals on HD DVD titles are still to be had. However, one has to question the logic of buying more titles for a dead format. Still, the ability to enjoy these titles in high definition for a fraction of what you can expect to pay for the same title on Blu-ray has kept many HD DVD owners interested in the now-defunct format. With the exit of Netflix as an option to get HD DVD titles, we suspect that many HD DVD owners will finally be ready to move on.

Last modified on 17 November 2008
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