Toshiba To Swallow Pride, Intro Blu-ray Player

At long last, the inevitable has occurred. Nearly 1.5 years after the curtain fell and HD DVD was deemed dead, Toshiba--HD DVD's biggest fan, backer and producer of players--has agreed to join those on the other side. After years of fighting, the Blu-ray format won out over the other HD disc format, HD DVD, though Toshiba never once showed any indication that it would side with those that helped obliterate the format it poured millions into.

Until now. According to a report originating in Japan over the weekend, Toshiba will shelve its pride and push to market its very first Blu-ray player before the year's end. Unfortunately, details about the deck are nowhere to be found. There's no model number, no specifications list and no expected price tag. In fact, we aren't even certain that the player will ever ship outside of Japan.


Still, this move should be viewed as a big positive for consumers. Blu-ray player prices are still considered rather high, and while adoption of the format has been rising, it's still being held back by prohibitive player prices. If Toshiba enters the fray with a low-cost deck, we could finally see the player price war we consumers have been clamoring for. Cheap Blu-ray machines? Yes, please!