When consumer electronics stalwart Toshiba finally announced their first Blu-ray Disc player, the BDX2000, there was a small but perceptible collective sigh of relief. The once champion of the rival HD DVD format decided to cut their losses and join the Blu-ray bandwagon in order to carve out a slice of that high definition disc player pie. But the message it sends to the industry, and to the consumer is clear: Blu-ray Disc is the successor to the DVD. Now, with the full weight of the top studios and consumer electronics manufacturers behind it, there is little to stop the format from becoming successful.
At CEDIA EXPO 2009 in Atlanta last week, I had a chance to chat with Jodi Sally, VP of Marketing of Toshiba's Digital AV Group, perhaps the most vocal and most visible supporter of the now defunct HD DVD format. "We've always wanted to give consumers a choice," said Ms. Sally, "from good to better to best." "Good" would be Toshiba's standard upconverting DVD players and recorders, "Better" refers to their advanced XDE line of upconverting DVD players, and "Best" of course refers to a full high definition 1080p disc player with highest quality picture and sound. Now, with the BDX2000, Toshiba is finally able to offer all three options to the consumer.
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| After months of intense therapy, Toshiba VP Jodi Sally is able to stand within 2 feet of a Blu-ray player. It helps that it has a Toshiba badge. |
The BDX2000 player itself offers a sleek design with a simple one-piece faceplate that swings down to reveal the disc tray, SD card slot and playback controls. Feature-wise, the BDX2000 offers all the essentials, including 1080p/24 and 1080p/60 output, on-board decoding of the latest surround formats including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. The player features an ethernet jack for firmware updates and to take advantage of interactive internet-based BD-Live features. In addition to CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray Discs, the unit can play back AVCHD videos such as those recorded on a digital camcorder. The unit's competitive $249.99 list price should allow it to sell well, particularly to customers who own or are purchasing Toshiba HDTVs.
When asked about the player's lineage, Ms. Sally would not reveal any details, "we don't reveal our OEM partners, but there are a number of players on the market that share technology from certain manufacturers." From a superficial inspection, I expect the player is made by either Funai or Panasonic, but it would take a more detailed review to really gauge the performance of the player. "What's important is that Toshiba customers can enjoy the full high definition experience by combining a Toshiba REGZA HDTV and Toshiba disc player." When asked about online content streaming features, Ms. Sally said that Toshiba is speaking with a number of different content providers in order to provide the richest streaming offerings on future Blu-ray player models. So while the BDX2000 is the first to bear the Toshiba badge, it certainly will not be the last.
The BDX2000 is expected to be available in November at authorized Toshiba dealers.
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