UK retailer Woolworths drops HD-DVD

Another nail for HD-DVD's already groaning coffin arrives in news that major UK high street retailer Woolworths has dropped the format following slow Christmas sales. Blu-ray will be the only HD disc format now stocked in the store.

“Sales figures clearly show that the market is moving towards one format of high definition DVD,” said Woolworths DVD buyer Steven McGunigel. “The main reason is the success of Sony’s PlayStation 3 machine. Because it plays Blu-Ray discs, there are over three quarters of a million homes in the UK that can view the new high definition format. There is nowhere near that number of HD-DVD players around. Switching to Blu-Ray only will provide one clear offer to customers in the format they want to watch high definition movies in.”