In what is beginning to sound frighteningly like the plot from a daytime soap opera, the epic HD DVD vs. Blu-ray showdown has come to what some are calling a "definitive end."

The drama has been ongoing for months, with various outlets aligning behind the respective camps and verbal volleys being exchanged. The latest — and perhaps, final — episode of the saga has played out over the weekend, with Warner Brothers announcing — in a manner not unlike Alexis Carrington — that it would scrap it's alliance with Toshiba-backed HD DVD and join forces with Sony's rival Blu-ray format. The decision was apparently shocking enough to cause the HD DVD Promotional Group to issue last-minute cancellations of it's press events at the Consumer Electronics Show, leaving some supporters in the lurch.

Still more troubling for the now-faltering format are rumors that Paramount — one of the last two studios still backing HD DVD — is planning to exercise a clause in their contract that lets them back out as well.

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