It's official: Toshiba finally went Blu-ray today

Serkan Toto

Dr. Serkan Toto is an independent consultant and advisor focusing on Japan’s web, mobile and social gaming industries. Based in Tokyo, he works together with financial institutions and startups worldwide. Serkan has been the Japan contributor for TechCrunch.com since 2008. He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics. → Learn More

Monday, August 10th, 2009

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They’ve announced it back in June and executed the plan today: Toshiba is now officially a Blu-ray supporter. The company issued a short press release (in English) today, stating Toshiba has applied for membership of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). The BDA is a voluntary membership group aimed at fostering the development of the Blu-ray format on a global scale.

Toshiba took a long time for this decision, as the company buried their own HD format, HD-DVD, as early as February 2008. It also said customers can expect the first Blu-ray players and Toshiba laptops with built-in Blu-ray drives within this year. As to be expected, the word HD-DVD isn’t mentioned in the press release even once.

It’s a good move from Toshiba to finally overcome their pride: In Japan, at least, Blu-ray products are enjoying brisk sales. Blu-ray recorder sales, for example, have been topping DVD recorder sales since November 2008.

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