Update: Gizmodo is reporting that Wal-Mart will be dropping HD-DVD in June. That’s pretty much it for HD-DVD then. Put a fork in it, it’s done. Wal-Mart is huge and losing them as an outlet is very bad indeed.

An article in The Hollywood Reporter says that rumors are swirling that Toshiba is poised to announce the death of HD-DVD in the coming weeks:

[...] Officially, no decision has been made, insists Jodi Sally, vp of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products. “Based on its technological advancements, we continue to believe HD DVD is the best format for consumers, given the value and consistent quality inherent in our player offerings,” she said.

But she hinted that something’s in the air. “Given the market developments in the past month,” she said, “Toshiba will continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of our recent price reductions on all HD DVD players.”

[...] But in the end, sources say, the substantial loss Toshiba is incurring with each HD DVD player sold—a figure sources say could be as high as several hundred dollars—coupled with a series of high-profile retail defections has driven the company to at last concede defeat.

“An announcement is coming soon,” said one source close to the HD DVD camp. “It could be a matter of weeks.”

I found it particularly amusing that in that article they had an ad promoting a contest where you predict who will win an Oscar in hopes of winning, among other things, a Blu-ray player. As for HD-DVD it’s looking more and more like it’s death is inevitable. Netflix just switched to being Blu-ray exclusive and Best Buy announced that, while they’ll continue to sell HD-DVD to folks who want it, they’d be promoting Blu-ray as the format of choice. Even smaller independent studios such as anime-importer ADV Films have gone Blu-ray only.