Toshiba on Monday said it will start making products integrating Blu-ray technology, abandoning the HD
DVD format it created. Additionally, Toshiba has applied to join the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA).
Toshiba's move to Blu-ray comes as HD DVD dies an untimely death and Blu-ray starts gaining more traction. In response, Toshiba said it will start making products integrating Blu-ray, including Blu-ray players, drives and notebooks.
Here are five reasons Toshiba ditched HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray.
1. Blu-ray is necessary to stay competitive: Toshiba rivals such as Sony and Panasonic are already strong proponents of Blu-ray, and as Blu-ray support becomes a necessity not only for home entertainment but for notebooks and other devices, Toshiba was painting itself into a corner with HD DVD and Blu-ray was its only way out.
2. Blu-ray will become the dominant platform: HD DVD and Blu-ray battled mightily until Warner Bros. came out with its plan to offer its HD movie titles exclusively in Blu-ray. That didn't bode well for Toshiba and HD DVD. Blu-ray is also embraced by Netflix and others, such as Blockbuster, as the dominant HD movie format. If Toshiba wants to continue to gain market share, Blu-ray support is a necessity. According to figures from the NPD Group, Blu-ray player sales were up 72 percent in the first quarter of 2009. While Blu-ray has yet to eclipse standard DVD, it's fighting its way there and, as Blu-ray players continue to drop in price, they will become more ubiquitous. That, coupled with Digital Entertainment Group noting that Blu-ray sales are up so far in 2009, increasing 91 percent in the first half of the year, shows that the format will be here to stay.
3. Not embracing Blu-ray means smaller retail presence: Stores won't stock it if it won't sell and HD DVD players and HD DVDs proved that. And several retailers turned their backs on HD DVD and sided with Blu-ray. Wal-Mart and Best Buy, the big daddies of retail electronics, led the charge and others are sure to follow. The NPD Group study found that retailers made 14 percent more money off of Blu-ray players in the first quarter than a year before, bringing in $107.2 million, a number that will only increase. Toshiba wants a piece of the Blu-ray retail pie.
4. Blu-ray is just better: Blu-ray offers better picture and sound quality than its digital video rivals DVD and HD DVD. Add to that the new line of 3-D movies being churned out, including Coraline, Up and a host of others, and it's apparent that Blu-ray's quality has become a necessity to replicate the viewing experience of a theater in the home.
5. HDTV sales are bound to increase: Though HDTV sales have been up and down while the economy continues to struggle for stabilization, they will eventually go up again and Toshiba wants to be there to reap the benefit when they do. And signs that the HDTV market is getting its second wind are already starting to show. In May, research firm iSuppli said sales of new flat-panel TVs totaled 7.8 million in the first three months of 2009, a 17 percent jump from the year before, following a fourth quarter sales decline. Toshiba said it will begin making products, including HDTVs, that are Blu-ray compatible, which is a smart move as TV prices drop and sales hit their inevitable upswing.
