Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Toshiba Corp., the main backer of the HD DVD standard for new video-disc players, said customers aren't returning their purchases in favor of devices that use Sony Corp.'s competing Blu-ray format.

While industry support for HD DVD has shrunk, sales of the players remain ``robust,'' said Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing for Toshiba America.

``I've heard of no return issues at all regarding this,'' Sally said yesterday in an interview with Bloomberg Radio from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Time Warner Inc., the largest publisher of DVD titles, said last week it will stop offering movies with Toshiba's high- definition technology. By the end of May, the studio will only sell high-definition DVDs in Sony's Blu-ray standard. The decision gives Sony a boost in the industry's biggest format war since VHS beat out Betamax in the 1980s.

``There's no doubt about it, it was a surprise to us,'' Sally said. ``Warner being a partner with Toshiba for many years, it certainly was shocking.''

Walt Disney Co. and News Corp.'s Fox already back Blu-ray. Video players using the Sony format outsold HD DVD by 2-to-1 in the first half of 2007, according to Home Media Research.

Toshiba will continue to support the HD DVD format for home video players, Sally said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Fred Fishkin in Las Vegas at ffishkin@bloomberg.net; Rochelle Garner in San Francisco at rgarner4@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 9, 2008 20:51 EST