Toshiba has formally conceded victory to Blu-ray in the high-definition format war and announced that it is dropping its HD DVD business.

The widely anticipated move follows a series of setbacks for the format, notably the surprise announcement in January by movie giant Warner Brothers that it is to stop support for HD DVD. The last straw appears to have been an announcement by the US chain Wal-Mart that it was dropping the product.

Toshiba president Atsutoshi Nishida said in a press statement: "We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the 'next-generation format war' and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop.

"While we are disappointed for the company and, more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high-definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality."

Shipments of HD DVD players will end before April, the company says.

The decision is a shot in the arm for Blu-ray's main backer Sony after a troubled period. Sony knows well what Toshiba is going through: it lost its last big formats battle when its Betamax video recorders lost out to JVC's VHS.

It is also good news for people people who have not already bought HD-DVD products. Gartner principal research analyst Paul O’Donovan said: "Now everyone can focus on creating content and equipment for the pent-up demand for high-definition video in the consumer market.

"Consumers can now look to building their library of high-definition content in one format that will be around for many years."