HD DVD has endured quite a beating this year with Warner, New Line Cinema and HBO all going Blu-Ray exclusive but, the format, which is massively backed-up by Toshiba, is not about to throw in the towel. To show it is still alive and ready to kick some bluish HD behind, HD DVD, through the 'voice' of Toshiba has stepped up the marketing campaign that started last year in North America.

The new promotional campaign starts off with Toshiba cutting the prices of its HD DVD player line-up with the entry-level HD-A3 set to cost $149.99, the HD-A30, with 1080p output, $199.99, and the high-end HD-A35, $299.99. In addition, a new advertising campaign will promote HD DVD as the high-def format of choice while the freebie movement will see the "Perfect HD" offer - a mail-in offer allowing consumers to select five HD DVD titles for free from a selection of 15 with the purchase of any Toshiba HD DVD player - continue to lure people towards Blu-Ray's rival. The price cuts are likely to boost HD DVD hardware sales, to some extent, but we're thinking that it will not be enough to fight off the increasingly-stronger opposition - Blu-Ray.