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TechConsumer News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The goal is to provide a concise, compiled overview of the most intriguing stories from the last few days. Feel free to give us feedback or send us tips. If you like what you find, you can subscribe via email or RSS.

Here’s the latest in TechConsumer news:

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Toshiba today announced that, “it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders.” March 2008 will be the month when the plug is pulled. Just in the last month, we’ve seen Warner Brothers become the latest Hollywood studio to go for Blu-ray while both Blockbuster and Netflix announced plans to phase out HD DVD.

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Notwithstanding the price slashing Toshiba has been doing (HD DVD player with 7 movies for $129 compared to Blu-ray players starting in the $300’s), Netflix choosing to drop HD DVD by year’s end in favor of Blu-ray exclusivity is quite the blow to the HD DVD crowd. Thanks a lot, Netflix. Give me an online streaming experience in HD by year’s end, and you’re forgiven. See below for full text of the email going out to any Netflix HD DVD users:

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I admit it; I’m really not into football but am one of those that tend to tune into the Super Bowl mostly to check out the commercials. I’m not alone, apparently.

TiVo, the company known for its digital video recorder by the same name, usually makes it so that consumers can record TV minus the commercials. But last year Todd Juenger, TiVo’s vice president and general manager of audience research and measurement, explained how it was actually the commercials themselves that consumers were watching:

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Even if plenty of news is out already assuming HD DVD is dead, other sources are pointing us to facts that show the battle isn’t over yet. After all, you can now get HD DVD players with 7 movies for $126 whereas Blu-ray’s alternatives are, at best, nearly three times as expensive with players starting in the $300’s.

Most all coverage, positive or negative, is relying on data from the NPD Group. Interesting, then, that the NPD Group had to issue a statement addressing how its numbers were being used:

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The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) commissioned a study in 2005, which resulted in a claim that 44% of industry losses (domestically) came from college students illegally downloading movies across U.S. campuses. Well, it turns out the real number is 15%.

This study and, more specifically, this particular statistic have been the basis for the MPAA pushing legislation to force universities to monitor and shut down certain online activities. Officially, the error is being called a “human error” and the MPAA still thinks that the new figure is significant even if one third the original number.

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Once upon a time, earlier in the battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray, supporters of each side loved to point out the major tech company backing each format to strengthen their positions. It made sense, after all, how could HD DVD fail if Microsoft was behind it? And, of course, Blu-ray would win if Apple was there beside it.

But then, neither company will be affected much if both formats eventually fail. And that’s because, in the end, both Microsoft and Apple minimized their involvement with either format. more…

I’m not usually one to go for the top 10 list method of discussing limitations of a product. But then again, products don’t usually have 10 weaknesses I care enough about to compile a list. Apple TV, on the other hand, falls into this category. And it’s not even a first generation product!

But to be fair, I should point out that this is a product I sincerely want to work. After all, I already use iTunes to manage my music, and the iPod is my music player of choice. Too bad, then, that Apple TV simply isn’t ready for prime time. Here are the top 10 reasons you should wait:

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