Bentonville (AR) - Perhaps the biggest blow to HD DVD yet, the country's largest retailer Wal-Mart announced today it will drop HD DVD and focus exclusively on Blu-ray in the high definition video battle.

Wal-Mart joins a round of big-name players in the home media market that have recently sided with Blu-ray. Online video rental service Netflix announced its decision earlier this month, followed pretty much simultaneously from Best Buy, though the retailer has not finalized its HD move.

"We've listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-ray products and movies with their purchases," said Wal-Mart's head of home entertainment Gary Severson.

Before this month, almost all retailers still supported both formats, though many began to tilt away from HD DVD. Wal-Mart said it will begin phasing out all HD DVD products by June.

Source : Tom's Hardware US