You would think that owners of high-end home theater systems would be right in Blu-ray Disc's early adopter sweet spot. But at least one maker of high-end home theater servers is hedging its bets. Kaleidescape Inc., on Wednesday introduced two new players with advanced upscaling features designed to produce 1080p images from standard DVDs. One of the new players has a disc tray that allows advanced playback directly from the disc, without first having to load it to the Kaleidescape server, making it suitable for watching rented DVDs in 1080p.

Seattle - Online retail giant Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) has announced that it will offer any consumer who purchased an HD DVD player on its site a $50 store credit, following similar moves by retailers Best Buy and Wal-Mart. The deal is good through April 9 for anyone who purchased an HD DVD player before Feb. 23, the day that Toshiba said it would abandon the format and cede victory in the next-generation DVD "format war" to rival Sony's Blu-ray.

Tokyo - Toshiba is likely to report a loss of about $986 million at its HD DVD business for the year, after deciding to discontinue the format and cede victory to Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray, according to an estimate in Japan's Nikkei business paper, Reuters reports.

Minneapolis - In light of the format's impending demise at the hands of Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray, electronics and media retail chain Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) announced on Wednesday that it will provide $50 gift cards to customers who purchased an HD DVD player or HD DVD attachment from its U.S. stores before Feb. 23 -- and expects to shell out more than $10 million during the program.

Seattle - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) said over the weekend that it will discontinue the $130 HD DVD player add-on for its Xbox 360 video game console, in the wake of Toshiba's announcement that it cede victory in the next-generation DVD format war to rival Sony's Blu-ray. An estimated 300,000 of the devices had been sold thus far, and Microsoft will provide standard warranty support for consumers who have purchased them. "As we stated earlier, we do not believe this decision will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace," Microsoft said in a statement.

DMW’s CEO & Publisher provides a wrap-up of the top stories of the week. Who’s hot, who’s not and what’s the industry buzz?

It was a crazy week for all of us at DMW with much of our time spent on planning three major events we are producing in the coming weeks: Digital Music Forum East in New York City, February 26-27; The Millennials Canada in Toronto, March 5; and Future of Television West in Los Angeles, March 24-25. We have been producing the entertainment industry’s leading digital events for years, but developments over the past year have really increased the profile of our events, which now attract large (often standing room only) crowds and camera crews from leading media outlets, such as CNBC, CNN, PBS and the BBC.

Los Angeles - Universal and Paramount (NYSE: VIA) have become the last of the major Hollywood movie studios to pledge support for Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray next-generation DVD format, after Toshiba decided earlier this week to abandon its rival HD DVD format, ending a costly battle between the two companies to establish their respective format as the standard. "We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer," Paramount Home Entertainment told The Hollywood Reporter.

Wayne, N.J. - Following several high-profile withdrawals of support from retailers and movie studios, Japan's Toshiba announced on Tuesday that it will discontinue its next-generation HD DVD format, handing victory in the much-hyped "format war" to Sony's rival (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray technology. "While we continue to believe HD DVD is the best format for consumers, based on its technological advancements and the value and quality inherent in our player offerings, recent market developments have led us to the decision to choose new and different paths," said Yoshi Uchiyama, group VP of Toshiba's digital A/V marketing group.

Bentonville, Ark. - Following similar recent announcements from Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Netflix (NASD: NFLX), retail giant Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) announced on Friday that it will drop its HD DVD offerings in favor of Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray next-generation DVD format. Meanwhile, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Toshiba "is expected to pull the plug on its HD DVD format in the coming weeks." THR noted, however, that Toshiba says no official decision has been made.

Beverly Hills, Calif. - In another bad sign for Toshiba's next-generation HD DVD format, online DVD rental service Netflix (NASD: NFLX) announced on Monday that it has decided to begin exclusively stocking high-definition DVDs in Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray format. The company has stocked both formats since early 2006, but said the decision of four of the six major movie studios to exclusively support Blu-ray influenced its decision.

London - Large U.K. retailer Woolworths has announced that it will no longer carry HD DVD format movies in its stores as of March, opting instead to feature only Blu-ray titles. The company said that Blu-ray titles outsold HD DVD titles by ten-to-one over the holiday period. "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," Woolworths DVD buyer Steven McGunigel told The Retail Bulletin. "While we're disappointed by Woolworths' decision, it is extremely early to spot which format will eventually win," Oliver Van Wynendaele, European assistant general manager of Toshiba's Consumer Products Division, told GamesIndustry.biz.

Hollywood, Calif. - Confirming its support for Toshiba's HD DVD format in the wake of Warner Bros. defection to Sony's rival Blu-ray format, Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paramount Home Entertainment on Thursday announced its slate of HD DVD releases for the first quarter. The will include "Zodiac," "Beowulf," "Into the Wild" and "The Kite Runner." Viacom's DreamWorks Animation also remains committed to HD DVD, and will offer "Bee Movie" in March.

New York - Japanese consumer electronics firm Toshiba on Monday announced that it will dramatically cut prices on its range of next-generation HD DVD players, in a bid to counter recent momentum from rival Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray format. "While price is one of the consideration elements for the early adopter, it is a deal-breaker for the mainstream consumer," said Yoshi Uchiyama, group vice president for Toshiba's digital A/V group.

Los Angeles - Universal Studios' commitment to exclusively back Toshiba's next-generation HD DVD format has expired, Daily Variety reports, in a development that gives Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray, which gained exclusive support from Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX) earlier this week, another leg up in the DVD format war.

Las Vegas - Consumer electronics firm New Medium Enterprises (NME) on Wednesday announced that its HD VMD players, which deliver 1080p resolution using standard red-laser technology and multi-layered discs, are now shipping in the U.S. market. Unlike the next-generation Blu-ray and HD DVD formats, which utilize blue lasers, NME's red laser multilayer discs can store up to 30GB of content on s single side disc. The company said the $199 devices will ship with the films "Mother Ghost" and "Cutting Room," adding that it recently signed a deal with SFM Entertainment to offer rare and classic film and TV titles on HD in NME's new format.

Los Angeles - Warner Bros. Entertainment (NYSE: TWX) announced on Friday that, "in response to consumer demand," it will now exclusively release its high-definition titles on Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray disc format, ending its dual support for Toshiba's rival HD DVD format. "The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger," said Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Barry Meyer.

London - Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray format accounted for 73% of all high-definition discs sold in Europe so far this year, outpacing the rival HD DVD format developed by a consortium led by Toshiba, Reuters reported, citing industry sales data provided by Media Control Gfk International.