The format war looks to be coming to an official end with Toshiba widely expected to pull the plug on its HD DVD format sometime in the coming weeks says The Hollywood Reporter.

Officially no decision has been made, but a marketing exec for the company has given definite hints that something is about to happen.

The fledgling format cut its prices after the notable defection of Warner Bros. Pictures to Blu-ray in January, but the hoped for sales increase never materialised.

This week's defection of major retailers Best Buy and Netflix have said to have finally sealed the format's fate.

The question that now remains is when will HD-DVD exclusive studios Paramount and Universal be making the jump to Blu-ray?