Toshiba eyes Blu-ray Disc Association membership

Toshiba has finally admitted defeat and signaled its support for Blu-ray the rival to its ill-fated HD DVD format.

HD DVD lost out to Blu-ray during the format wars a couple of years ago, with Toshiba supporting the loser until the bitter end.

But today the company unveiled an official change of heart, confirming that it has applied to join the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) and plans to launch a range of products that support the format going forward

"In light of recent growth in digital devices supporting the Blu-ray format, combined with market demand from consumers and retailers alike, Toshiba has decided to join the BDA," the company said in a brief statement.

"Toshiba aims to introduce digital products that support the Blu-ray format, including BD players and notebook PCs integrating BD drives, in the course of this year. Details of the products, including the timing of regional launches, are now under consideration. We will make announcements in due course."

Click here for a timeline of the HD DVD vs Blu-ray format war.

Maggie has been a journalist since 1999, starting her career as an editorial assistant on then-weekly magazine Computing, before working her way up to senior reporter level. In 2006, just weeks before ITPro was launched, Maggie joined Dennis Publishing as a reporter. Having worked her way up to editor of ITPro, she was appointed group editor of CloudPro and ITPro in April 2012. She became the editorial director and took responsibility for ChannelPro, in 2016.

Her areas of particular interest, aside from cloud, include management and C-level issues, the business value of technology, green and environmental issues and careers to name but a few.