Toshiba may surrender to Blu-ray, finally

Consider it the final phase in the HD format war. Toshiba may be releasing its first ever Blu-ray player, after having dropped its own contender, the HD DVD format, in February of last year, and trying to pitch an enhanced DVD player as a cheap alternative to Blu-ray late last year. Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper was reporting last week that Toshiba is now preparing the BD 18 player for a 2009 release.

The article apparently had been removed by the publication without comment by the time of this writing.

The release of a Toshiba Blu-ray player has been a question of when, not if. The company announced the shutdown of HD DVD on February 19, 2008 and has repeatedly stated since then that Blu-ray players are pricey, but has remained quiet about its Blu-ray product plan otherwise. Mainstream Blu-ray players have broken the $300 barrier in 2008 and are now close or below the $200 mark, apparently convincing Toshiba that there is not enough room for a premium DVD player equipped with its “eXtended Detail Enhancement” XDE technology. And it seems that Toshiba is finally over its $1 billion HD DVD adventure.

From a technology point of view, the production of a Blu-ray player has never been an issue for Toshiba. Back in January of 2006 we reported that Samsung would be producing Blu-ray players through Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Korea (TSST Korea), a joint venture between Toshiba and Samsung. Toshiba holds 51% of that business, Samsung the remaining 49%. TSST Korea was founded in April of 2004 as a subsidiary of TSST.

Back in 2006, we were told that TSST is an "independent company" that Toshiba understands as being a developer of both formats in a "neutral position." But TSST has been focused on products that were in line especially with Toshiba's product strategy: For example, the company announced a slim HD DVD drive in September 2005, long before the actual introduction of HD DVD players. Even if TSST Korea seemed to have catered to Samsung's needs with Blu-ray players, it was clear that Toshiba is covering its bases just in case HD DVD would fail. By the way, Sony did the same through a joint venture with NEC, which guaranteed the company access to HD DVD manufacturing equipment.

Toshiba has come a long way and may enter the Blu-ray market when there is still room to claim its stakes. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, unit shipments of Blu-ray players will jump 112% this year, reaching nearly six million. Even as prices drop, revenues are expected to top $1 billion for the first time, representing an increase of 48% over 2008.