Toshiba to begin selling Blu-ray players
By Sean P. Aune
Normally it isn’t very exciting when a company announces that they will be releasing a new Blu-ray player, but when that company was the one that was behind HD-DVD, it seems like a bittersweet announcement at least.
Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun (and a summarized translation by PC World) is reporting that Toshiba has announced that they will be producing its first Blu-ray player by the end of this year. It certainly isn’t that exciting normally when a company announces a Blu-ray player, but seeing as Toshiba was the driving force behind the HD-DVD format, the lost in the high definition format war, it does seem like the final shovel-full of dirt has been thrown on the format.
Considering how HD-DVD lost the war all the way back in Feb 2008, it is unlikely that the majority of consumers will even blink at this announcement, but to video enthusiasts it will either make them snicker at Toshiba finally having to come over to their side, or make them sad that the format they chose was the losing one. Either way it is a smart business move for the company as the Blu-ray format is gaining market share, and in Japan has actually climbed to as high as 70 percent of the market.
Toshiba has always been known for its quality DVD players, so one could expect the same love and attention to be lavished on its Blu-ray players, the only question will be price point. With consumers in the United States becoming more and more price conscience, and other brands already dropping well below the psychological benchmark of $200 long ago makes you wonder how much of the market Toshiba will be able to capture. And if the suspected release date of “end of the year” is to be believed, it could put them launching squarely in the middle of holiday shopping season sales.
This new entry into the market could have a long slog ahead of it, but it should be an interesting one to watch as the company attempts to catch up.
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Read more entries by Sean P. Aune.
Stumble It!
July 19th, 2009
Combined with their reportedly sooper dooper DVD upscaling could make for a nice player.
July 19th, 2009
Where is the Toshiba announcement then?
Rather than a 3rd party saying that ‘they said…..’ where’s the source?
I’ll believe this one when I see it in my local store.