Toshiba will finally launch its first Blu-ray player later in 2009, according to the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun.
Blu-ray.com says the player is called the BD-18, and it will read both Blu-ray discs and DVDs. No specs have been released.
The Yomiuri Shimbun, quoting unnamed sources, adds that Toshiba may consider a recordable Blu-ray player in the future, depending on the market.
Toshiba, of course, lost the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray format war in early 2008 and subsequently suffered a 95 percent loss in profits.
It’s long been wondered whether Toshiba would release a Blu-ray player since the end of the format war. But in August 2008, Toshiba released the XD-E500 upconverting DVD player, promising “a near HD experience with enhanced detail and richer colors.”
Then Toshiba released a second firmware update for its HD DVD players in October 2008, addressing playback problems and other issues. A Blu-ray player certainly didn’t not appear to be in Toshiba’s plans.
But now Toshiba appears to have given in. Not only is this a surprise given Toshiba’s persistence of promoting HD DVD, but Toshiba’s UK CEO recently said Blu-ray would be rapidly outdated by digital downloads.
Toshiba must have changed its mind after seeing Blu-ray disc sales were up 91 percent in the first half of 2009.
Is Toshiba too late to the Blu-ray game? Let us know in the comments.
Name:
Email:
Remember my personal information
Notify me of follow-up comments?
Please answer the question below:
Type the 2nd letter of the word "television":
Electronic House is now available in a digital edition. Learn more.
They need to bring out affordable recordable players from day one so they can stand out from the already well established crowd that backed BR from day 1. You can get a BR R-RW drive for a couple hundred $$ these days so why should a CE free standing recorder cost much more?? Then, the discs will come down in price just like DVD-R-RW did a few years ago.
No brainer really.