HD DVD (short for High Definition/Density Digital Versatile/Video Disc) is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video. Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format.On 19 February 2008, after a protracted format war with rival Blu-ray Disc, Toshiba abandoned the format, announcing it would no longer develop nor manufacture HD DVD players or drives.