High-definition optical disc format war High-definition optical disc format war The high-definition optical disc format war was between the Blu-ray and HD DVD optical disc standards for storing high-definition video and audio; it took place between 2006 and 2008 and was won by Blu-ray Disc. The two formats emerged between 2000 and 2003 and attracted both the mutual and exclusive support of major consumer electronics manufacturers, personal computer manufacturers, television and movie producers and distributors, and software developers. Blu-ray and HD DVD players became commercially available starting in 2006. In early 2008, the war ended when several studios and distributors shifted to Blu-ray disc. On
Optical disc was written up in Video Pro Magazine's December 1994 issue promising "the death of the tape", it was never marketed. In the mid-1990s, a consortium of manufacturers (Sony, Philips, Toshiba, Panasonic) developed the second generation of the optical disc, the DVD. Magnetic disks found limited applications in storing the data in large amount. So, there was the need of finding some more data storing techniques. As a result, it was found that by using optical means large data storing devices can be made which in turn gave rise to the optical discs.The very first application of this kind was the