Toshiba to join Blu-ray party (finally)

Fwd Tech  Monday 10 August 2009

With its application to join the Blu-ray Disc Association Toshiba's turnaround is complete

Toshiba may have been one off HD-DVD’s sternest supporters during the great Hi-Def format war, but now the dust has settle on Blu-ray’s victory the home cinema company is preparing to swallow its pride and deliver a Blu-ray player by the year’s end. How do we know? Well, Tosh has just applied for membership of the Blu-ray Disc Association.

Should Toshiba’s application to join the Blu-ray Disc Association (and it should be), we can expect a Tosh Blu-ray player before the year’s out. Choosing the wrong side in a war is never a good thing, and Toshiba has been forced to swallow a large portion of humble pie, saying: “In light of recent growth in digital devices supporting the Blu-ray format, combined with market demand from consumers and retailers alike, Toshiba has decided to join the BDA.”

What does all this mean? Firstly we can expect standalone Blu-ray players aplenty from Tosh. But the company also plans to integrate Hi-Def players into its computer range and possibly other devices. Toshiba says: “Toshiba aims to introduce digital products that support the Blu-ray format, including BD players and notebook PCs integrating BD drives, in the course of this year. Details of the products, including the timing of regional launches, are now under consideration. We will make announcements in due course.” We say: “Better late than never!”