Great article Brandon. Even though they say HD DVD will still be supported, you just have to wonder for how long. I mean, this is truly only the second era of the actual physical movie rental industry (Meaning non-downloaded rentals). The first was VHS. The second, which we are currently in is DVD. At one point, early movie rental outlets supported both VHS and Beta. Little by little, they eliminated the Beta leaving VHS as the "preferred" format. Now take a look at movie rentals today. With the advent of DVD, VHS has pretty much vanished from rental outlets after most were supporting both formats for a few years. (Some still are I suppose) So, here comes the third era, High Def. Once again, there's two competing formats. I do believe that Blu-Ray is becoming the victor.

 I think what we're seeing here in the actions of Blockbuster is really the bell tolling for HD DVD. It's only a matter of time before it becomes the 21st Century's Betamax. This time though, I honestly don't think the movie rental industry will be the major catalyst in this battle. I really do believe it's the gaming industry, and more to the point, the PS3 that has taken the lead in determining the fate of HD DVD. I mean the gaming console has become THE home entertainment system. Families aren't going to buy a PS3 for the kids AND an HD DVD player. The college student won't be doing that either. Hell, the 30-something guy like myself will just buy a PS3 for $600 and get more bang for the buck. Clearly, it's all about the Blu-Ray. :) Perhaps Sony had a plan after all? ;) So, that North American HD DVD Promotional Group can say whatever it wants. I think it's plain to see where to start placing your chips.