The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that HD-DVDs main backer and parent Toshiba is expect to pull the plug on the format. Though nothing is official yet, “reliable industry sources” are saying this should happen in a matter of weeks.

This move has obviously been expected by me for a while (have I written about anything more often recently?) and was my Prediction #3 in the 2008 list. Though I wrote that I expected it to happen towards the end of the year, I did say that when and if Warner Brothers sided with Blu-ray it would be all but over. That, of course, was the catalyst that started this fall from grace back on January 4th.

Shortly thereafter Paramount was said to be wavering on their deal with HD-DVD – and though they wouldn’t officially say they would trigger their opt-out clause, you got the feeling they were almost just waiting until they had sold all their HD-DVDs and had some Blu-rays to unleash. Next several retail chains began announcing they would stop selling the format and soon Blu-ray sales were said to be accounting for over 90% of the market – something which HD-DVD called a fluke.

Sony, the parent of Blu-ray, meanwhile got some good news about PS3 sales figures (which of course has a Blu-ray player built-in) and that they had a breakthrough in creating cheaper Blu-ray lasers which should drive prices down in 2008. In what I called their “last stand” the HD-DVD group decided to spend $3 million dollars on a Super Bowl ad – essentially trying to trick people into buying their newly very cheap HD-DVD players. Microsoft followed these price cuts by making their Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on next to free.

The final blows came last week when on the same day, Netflix decided to pull their HD-DVD support and Best Buy announced they would promote the Blu-ray format over HD-DVD. The HD-DVD group responded to this with news trying to be positive, but there it was very clear that this war was over.

Interestingly enough, Microsoft, HD-DVD’s other main player isn’t mentioned as being a part of this decision by Toshiba to pull the plug. Microsoft of course has the HD-DVD external player for the Xbox 360, but their support of the format is much deeper than that (even if they now downplay it).

The New York Times last year also called them “the most prominent technology company supporting HD-DVD”. And as The Hollywood Reporter notes, when Paramount sided exclusively with HD-DVD last year, it was Microsoft that was sending out the PR to journalists around the country about the deal. Today saw a very different picture:

Several phone calls to Kevin Collins, Microsoft’s normally accessible “HD DVD evangelist,” were not returned.

Though Bill Gates all but gave the format a vote of no confidence in an interview at CES (right after the Warner Brothers announcement), he’s no longer running the company. Whoever is might want to give Toshiba a call, if for nothing else to see when the service for friends and family is going to take place.