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Details for Toshiba Blu-ray Player...Should We Care?

September 3, 2009 So Toshiba has revealed details on its first Blu-ray player, and I'm feeling a little ho-hum about it. 
Don't get me wrong - this is a perfectly acceptable model. It's fixed up with BD-Live and is priced like the rest of them at about $250. It also seems like it's a nifty design, with something called a 'smoked mirror front.' And it streets this November - putting it in good shape for holiday purchasing.
However, I wonder if Toshiba can launch this product without adding anything 'extra' to the Blu-ray player itself. Where is the Netflix or Amazon Video on Demand streaming? You get that stuff with similarly priced Samsung and Panasonic Blu-ray players. And at $299 with the newly discounted Playstation 3, you get a gaming system, Blu-ray player and the ability to download additional movies and games at the PS3 online store.
However, it's fun seeing the old, fierce Toshiba HD DVD team re-emerge with promoting Blu-ray products. Toshiba marketing guru Jodi Sally, the admirable format war fighter, is back in action hyping its coming player.

"Toshiba is a technology leader in high definition products," said Sally, in a press release sent out today. "From listening to our consumers we know they demand access to full high definition content. With the introduction of our BDX2000 we are offering consumers what they want with a breath-taking HD viewing experience to meet the needs of today's home theater."


Posted by Susanne Ault on September 3, 2009 | Comments (2)

September 4, 2009
In response to: Details for Toshiba Blu-ray Player...Should We Care?
Paul Suarez commented:

Have some of us still not reached a point wherein we can discuss "format war" principals without residual animus? I understand this is a blog post not a hard news piece.

It's that very understanding that has me opining that Ms. Ault should be commenting on items such as how remarkably short the time frame was between Tosh's announcement that they would release a BD player and the BDX2000's actual announcement. Personally, I'm wondering/speculating that Tosh's membership the DVD Forum might lead to supporting DVD-Audio in a future BD player (not unlike their SD4960 DVD player).

In any event, not all other manufacturers' BD players currently on the market offer 'value-added' functionality such as streaming (which not all BD player consumers are interested in). And not all other manufs' first BD players were impressive. Let's see what Tosh's sophomore effort brings. If it moves forward as much as their second generation HD-XA2 HD DVD player did versus their first gen HD-A1, it could be very impressive.

Ms. Ault may not care, but some of your audience does. The latter portion of your blog post title is inappropriate.




September 9, 2009
In response to: Details for Toshiba Blu-ray Player...Should We Care?
bathswana commented:

"...how remarkably short the time frame was between Tosh's announcement that they would release a BD player and the BDX2000's actual announcement".

Probably a rebadged player made by Panasonic or Sharp. Which is why we should NOT care.

Yet another ho hum optical disc player in a field of ho hum optical disc players. I have stacks and stacks of CDs and DVDs gathering dust.

Toshiba should have skipped this ridiculous "me-too" player and went directly to download players with HDDs and SD Cards.





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