JohninKansas - the stories were actually floating over the weekend after Wallmart pulled out.

Blu-ray had several advantages over HD DVD. For one thing, it could reproduced HD signals from camcorders, which HD DVD could not. Blu-ray also has a higher storage capacity and have a higher bandwidth. Unlike the VHS-Betamax war, where betamax was actually a better technical product, it seems that Blu-ray has many signficant advantages.

Having Sony as a partner was the deciding factor.