Dropped HD DVD costs Toshiba $1bn

Losses mount as US chain offers $50 gift token to customers who backed format war loser

Toshiba will have lost an estimated $665.5m (£330m) on its ill-fated HD DVD business in the year up to 21 March, the company says.

The loss is lower than some estimates but higher than that forecast by the company last October, according to the US trade magazine Twice.

Toshiba was the major backer of HD DVD but pulled out in February, tacitly conceding victory to the rival Blu-ray high-definition storage format.

HD DVD cost Toshiba £348.1m in the year up to March 29, 2006, so that it has lost $1bn on the technology in just two years.

The US Best Buy chain is offering a $50 gift token to customers who bought an HD DVD player from one of its stores before 22 February, Twice reports.