Toshiba thinks about joining the Blu-ray bandwagon

blu-ray_hd_dvd_foot.gif

Remember HD DVD? The video format developed by Toshiba that lost the format war against Blu-ray? Today Toshiba held a pretty interesting annual shareholder meeting in Tokyo during which president Atsutoshi Nishida didn’t say they will revive HD DVD but that his company thinks about producing Blu-ray products.

Nishida said that Blu-ray recorders in particular appear to be a viable option, adding one reason is that the video disc format war is lost once and for all for Toshiba. Another reason might be that demand for Blu-ray recorders is on the rise (especially in Japan) and Toshiba wants to have a share of that market segment.

Another factor is surely pressure from the shareholders, as Toshiba is in a devastating financial state. For the current fiscal year, Nishida said his company is on track to save $3.5 billion after he apologized for the bad numbers in fiscal 2008.