Paramount is said to be about to switch to Bluray according to CrunchGear, the final fatal blow in Microsoft’s and Toshiba’s effort to establish HD DVD as the Next Generation DVD standard.

HD DVD had been in trouble leading up to this weeks CES conference after Warner Bros decided to switch to Bluray exclusively January 4.

In the longer term the battle may well end up being irrelevant as online video continues to surge, both in a stream format, by purchase, and by rental. Apple is expected to confirm next week at the MacWorld Expo a set of deals with Hollywood studios that will see movies being available for rent on iTunes. I’ll be live at the Macworld Keynote January 15 for TechCrunch to cover the announcement.