In a strange move, LG has said it will continue to back, develop and offer HD DVD players.

LG has issued a statement to Pocket-lint following the announcement this morning that Toshiba was stopping support for the HD DVD format.

"LG believes that at this present moment in time, it is necessary to provide a player which supports both formats and therefore create simplicity and convenience for the existing HD DVD consumer."

LG, who currently offer a dual machine capable of playing both HD DVD and Blu-ray discs isn't dumping the format straight away.

Daniel Aziz, marketing manager for LG Electronics told us:

"With the recent announcement from Toshiba, Blu-Ray will now be the format that will pave the way for high definition movies, however this does not rule out HD DVD immediately as there are still a number of consumers who have chosen HD DVD and begun to build a HD DVD collection."

Before going on to say that "The previous confusion in the high definition market [HD DVD vs. Blu-ray] is now clearer and LG welcomes this as it will provide confidence for the end user, to the retailers and overall the home entertainment market."

"Overall LG is still excited about the future of this market, LG has always set out to lead high definition players and will continue to do so with more technology evolutions and hybrids which will launch in due course."

Toshiba might be dumping the format, but it appears LG is still very much a firm believer.