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Polaroid, founded in 1937 by Edwin Land, became a high-tech success story with its invention of instant photography in 1948. The company thrived through the 1950s and 60s, dominating the instant photography market and becoming a popular choice for both consumers and businesses. However, in 1974, technical issues with the SX-70 camera led to financial troubles, exacerbated by a recession. Leadership changes in 1975 saw attempts to diversify, but competition from conventional cameras and Kodak’s instant camera, along with the rise of electronic imaging, posed significant challenges. Despite winning a major patent infringement suit against Kodak in 1991, Polaroid struggled to monetize its innovations. Gary DiCamillo’s appointment as CEO in 1995 brought cost-cutting measures, but these efforts were insufficient. Polaroid filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and was sold in 2002, leading to asset liquidation and a significant reduction in operations.

Analysts attribute Polaroid’s downfall to its inability to transition effectively from conventional to digital photography. Key questions remain about whether earlier diversification, different manufacturing strategies, alternative business models, better customer engagement, or different leadership decisions could have prevented its decline. Could some combination of strategic, financial, and market-oriented changes have altered Polaroid’s trajectory?

The long-running war between Blu-ray and HD DVD ended in a quick series of events in early 2008.

On January 4, 2008, Warner Bros., a studio that had been issuing DVDs in both formats and one of only three major studios releasing films in HD DVD, announced that it would henceforth release movies only in the Blu-ray format. Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros. Entertainment said, "Today's decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner."

In an attempt to maintain its position, Toshiba cut prices drastically on players January 15, and paid $2.7 million for a 30-second TV spot on the Superbowl broadcast. However little improved. Data for the week of January 26 showed sales of Blu-ray players were still ahead by 65% to 28% (with the rest combo players).  According to media sources, Toshiba's efforts were costing the company dearly as HD DVD players were being sold at considerably less than the cost of production.

On February 11, Toshiba absorbed another blow to its franchise. Netflix announced that it would no longer purchase high-definition discs in the HD DVD format. (Blockbuster had announced its intent to do the same in mid-2007.)

Just one week later, Best Buy and Wal-Mart announced that they would be phasing out both HD DVD players and discs. The retailers explained that consumers prefered Blu-ray and that they would not use precious store space to offer HD DVD formatted products. (Target had already made such a decision a few months earlier). Writers for major newspapers published obituaries for the HD DVD format.

Acknowledging what the media argued was inevitable, Toshiba announced the end of the HD DVD format on February 19, 2008.