Toshiba Applies to Join the Blu-Ray Disc Association

Remember HD DVD? The HD format that never could? Well, it’s been well over a year since Toshiba officially pulled out of the HD format scheme of things, and since then, the only HD optical format has remained Blu-ray. It’s been long-rumored that Toshiba would shift over to the Blu-ray camp, and begin releasing players there, and that’s just what’s going to happen, according to a company-issued press release.

In what is no doubt one of the shortest press releases I’ve seen recently, Toshiba says not much more than  the company has applied to join the Blu-ray Disc Association, and has intentions to release related products in the future. This is a long-time coming, and I have to say I’m mostly impressed that it took them so long, as Toshiba is a well-known brand when it comes to HD and high-end media in general.

Could this also be confirmation that there is still hope for Blu-ray to hit the mainstream? Many have doubted that it will happen, and since HD DVD’s death, Blu-ray demand hasn’t exactly exploded. But, things are indeed improving. This past spring, prices for Blu-ray players dropped, and as a result, sales soared by 72%. We’ll have to wait a wee bit long to see if the trend continued into the current quarter.

Not to raise another rumor from the dead for the hundredth time, with Toshiba seemingly being the exclusive vendor to produce external ODDs for Microsoft’s Xbox 360, I can’t help but wonder if there’s any chance we’ll see Blu-ray come to that console anytime soon. Something tells me no, but stranger things have certainly happened. After all, if an add-on such as that could sell for around $100 retail, there might actually be a market for it.

Tokyo-Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) announced today that the company has applied for membership of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) and plans to introduce products that support the Blu-ray format. As a market leader in digital technologies, Toshiba provides a wide range of advanced digital products, such as DVD recorders and players, HDTVs and notebook PCs that support a wide range of storage devices, including hard disk drives (HDD), DVD, and SD Cards. 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.