Tues., Feb. 19 was a bad day if you happen to own an HD DVD player. Following a number of setbacks--including a slew of retailers and movie studios jumping ship--Toshiba officially pulled the plug on the HD DVD format. For all your high-def needs, the future is all about Blu-ray.

For most people, that's good news: not that one format won over another, as most of us don't care which one survives. No, the good news is that a decision has been made, we can now buy a player and discs with less anxiety, and the cost of both should come down now that economies of scale have kicked in.

Toshiba's decision to walk away from HD DVD is bad news, however, for the estimated 600,000 suckers in North America who already forked over the money for a player and discs. For example, say you're a serious Star Trek fan and last week you walked into Futureshop to buy the original Kirk, Spock and McCoy series. The excellent-quality DVD seasons cost around $60 each now, but you decided to go all the way and pony up $160 for each of the three seasons in HD DVD. If you didn't already have a player you add $170 for a Toshiba model.

One week later, Toshiba says "Sorry, we're out." After spending $650, you can enjoy classic Trek only as long as that Toshiba player works, because once it busts those discs are garbage.

As I said, it's a good thing we now only have one high-def format, but spare a thought for all those HD DVD victims who now join the legions of those who fell before, those who bought into 8-tracks, Sega game systems or Beta VCRs. We feel your pain.

Peter Wolchak