I'm not sure how many more of these kinds of hits HD DVD can take before it stays on the mat...

According to a story by Reuters, Netflix has announced that it will only buy Blu-ray high definition discs going forward, and will phase out HD DVD stocks "by about the end of the year."

Netflix has been stocking high definition discs of both formats, and I've been touting them as a shining example of how to make the most of both formats without investing a lot of money into buying discs. This has been especially true after HD DVD's biggest blow to date back in January, when Warner Bros. announced that it would discontinue new releases on HD DVD after May 31, 2008. 

This isn't good news for the unfortunate people (like me) that bought into HD DVD players. While the purchases were a good choice (in my opinion) while Warner was still making discs for both formats, especially since Paramount and Dreamworks shifted to HD DVD exclusively in August, the one saving grace for those of us on the side of the apparent loser has been that 400+ discs are still available for rent on Netflix. It appears that resource is going to disappear by the end of the year.

I wonder just how much longer Universal, Paramount, and Dreamworks will hold onto their HD DVD exclusive stance with news like this seemingly coming every week since the beginning of the year?