Turning the final page in its switch from HD DVD to Blu-ray, Toshiba revealed its first Blu-ray player for the U.S. market.
The BDX2000 is a $250 player that fully supports BD-Live Profile 2.0, with 1 GB of on-board memory for photos and videos, and an SD card slot for storing additional media, according to Twice. An Ethernet connection is required to access Blu-ray's online features out of the box, but third-party Wi-Fi adapters will be available.
The player also supports the old Profile 1.1 Bonus View, but it's missing Toshiba's XDE up-conversion system that appears in its high-end XDE DVD players.
Colored in deep black, the BDX2000 is meant to compliment Toshiba's Regza HDTVs. As such, owners of both will be able to operate them with one remote.
All in all, the BDX2000 looks like a solid player. While it lacks any standout features, it's a significant product as Toshiba's first foray into Blu-ray. The company, which last year abandoned the HD DVD format it pioneered, announced in August that it would officially back Blu-ray and join the Blu-ray Disc Association.
Nonetheless, there seems to be a little hesitance in the air. Marketing vice president John Sally told Twice that the message to retailers with this player is that "we want to support the sales of our high-def TV products" during the holiday season. That's not to say Toshiba won't sell the BDX2000 as a stand-alone unit; the company plans to run promotions specifically for the player.
In addition to the BDX2000, Toshiba announced a new laptop, the Satellite P500, which will also pack a Blu-ray player. Other specs for the 18.4-inch computer include 1080p playback, a Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM.
I think this will be all we'll see in Blu-ray from Toshiba this year. While a pile-on of new Blu0ray products would certainly be interesting, Toshiba's coming into a crowded market, so it's likely putting just a couple products out to see how they fare.
