Aside from the new JournE touch, the other main thrust at IFA's booth is Blu-ray -- at least, one would think. In reality, when we finally found the lone BDX2000, the LCD it was plugged into was
off, while numerous DVD players and upscaling tech demos littered the surrounding booth area. Once we got a rep to turn it on for us, the Blu-ray player seemed to work just fine, as should be expected. The new Blu-ray equipped P500, however, wasn't so successful: our colleagues at
Engadget Spanish watched an
attempted Blu-ray showing on the laptop go awry, and by the time we'd dropped by the booth, any Blu-ray models of the P500 had been pulled from the show floor due to crashiness. In talking with a Toshiba rep, it's clear that the company hasn't abandoned its ideas of internet distribution and other alternatives to the once rival format of Blu-ray. The company is looking into a solution that uses a Blu-ray disc and BD Live to stream internet media to the player, and has packed in decent codec support for playing back media off of the BDX2000's SD card reader. We're sure Toshiba will figure out its P500 woes before the laptop ships to consumers, but there's no lack of
interestingness in these first displays of Toshiba's "commitment" to the Blu-ray format.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
xemumanic @ Sep 4th 2009 2:50PM
Doesn't look too promising for any Toshiba player at this point. It seems like they're only going through the motions.
Much rather spend my money on another brand, and unless things change, I'm making sure don't suggest it to anyone else either.
GhostDoggy @ Sep 4th 2009 2:52PM
Yeah, its just that HD DVD ain't one of them. :)
Multi-format-mayhem @ Sep 4th 2009 3:09PM
"In talking with a Toshiba rep, it's clear that the company hasn't abandoned its ideas of internet distribution and other alternatives"
You say that as if you're surprised.
Everybody is looking into a range of distribution methods, not just Toshiba.
There's nothing weird about that.
The really interesting question (which we still await any answer for) is whether Toshiba are making their own Blu-ray models or rebadging somebody else's.
It seems to me this is all as much about satisfying the Toshiba HD TV customer with a Toshiba high def video player, when they ask what they have to offer in that line, rather than point them at a competitors offering.
Whether that actually really means very much in terms of them 'committing to Blu-ray' remains to be seen.
Jonsson @ Sep 4th 2009 3:45PM
Toshiba still have the "sour grapes syndrome". They will accept reality soon enough.
WebDev511 @ Sep 4th 2009 4:09PM
"it's clear that the company hasn't abandoned its ideas of internet distribution and other alternatives to the once rival format of Blu-ray"
Is anyone surprised that Toshiba is framing Blu-ray the same way it framed HD DVD? The final optical format is the bridge between DVD and downloads/SDXC. The fact that it's BD actually gives anyone that's interested in doing so more time to develop follow on formats.
Will I buy or suggest a Tosh BD player? Depends on the price and performance. With quality players finally dropping below $200 that suggestion may be a challenge.
DrXym @ Sep 5th 2009 5:17AM
I agree a player should be judged on its merits. I think if Toshiba pull off a decent player the brand should not be a factor in deciding if its any good. After all, Funai (a brand NOBODY has heard of) make plenty of respectable players in plenty of guises. Brand snobbery / hate gets my goat. I have stuff purchased in Aldi / Lidl which works perfectly for what I bought it for.
On the subject Toshiba the company and their scatter brained direction or lack thereof, it is probably because they still think there is a possibility of salvaging some kind of relationship with Microsoft. Hence noises about kiosks, digital distribution even if reality forces them to go Blu Ray. IMO, I think the relationship with MS was disastrous and abusive (for Toshiba) so I don't see why they'd want to prolong it.
glenn s @ Sep 4th 2009 6:52PM
Is that the Toshiba rep in that picture? He looks like he'd rather be doing just about anything else besides feigning enthusiasm for blu-ray.
Darren @ Sep 5th 2009 12:28AM
Why does Toshiba deserve any respect or attention, whatsoever?
Their way too late, lacklustre adoption of Blu-ray is pathetic.
lakersin2025 @ Sep 5th 2009 11:35AM
Hey where is Truth Teller and that other douche bag? I got all excited to see their post in here like a flashback from 2 yrs ago. I guess they were banned. :)
internetBrowser @ Sep 8th 2009 4:14PM
It's all about selling Toshiba HDTVs. Without a branded feed for HD content, Toshiba has a hard time selling their HDTVs. Some geographic locations also are big on bundling packages with their HDTVs, and if Toshiba wanted to stay on selling TVs, they need that toshiba bd player to be available.