Toshiba BDX2000 Blu-ray player coming November for $250, gives HD-DVD the final cold shoulder

And so it is. Toshiba, the one-time cheerleader for HD-DVD, has now officially gone to the azure side with the BDX2000 Blu-ray player. It supports BD-Live (Profile 2.0) and REGZA-LINK (HDMI-CEC), outputs 1080p at 24 frames per second, and does Dolby True HD / DTS-HD Master Audio... but really, all that needs to be said here is that it's a Toshiba Blu-ray player. Look for this one-time paradox this November for a penny under $250. As for yesteryear, we think this line from the press release says it best: "This product does not play HD DVD discs." It's at once both sad and poetic that this very well may be the last official line ever uttered in the once-promising format's story.

[EatingPie Posted Sep 3rd 2009 11:57AM]

Well so much for their awesome DVD upscaling technology beating Blu-ray. Turns out 6x the resolution really is 6x the resolution! :p

It was inevitable. They had to wait long enough to save some face. Hopefully these are good players, and we have another CE company in the fray to drive prices down and quality up. Though it's intro at the standard $249 price point puts it on par with both Sony and Panasonic.

-Pie

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 3rd 2009 12:13PM]

I was hoping that their BD products would include their cell-based upscaling technology for DVDs. That way we could have the best of both worlds in one box. My guess is that they had to leave it out in order to be cost competitive.

[HC Posted Sep 3rd 2009 5:05PM]

I don't know why they wouldn't add hd-dvd support and make it a combo? I still got 65 hd-dvd's that can only be payed on my LG Bh200 combo, HD-A3, xbox 360 add-on or my toshiba hd-dvd equipped laptop lol.

I guess I really got shafted when hd-dvd lost.

But I see no harm from them adding hd-dvd support as kind of an acknowledgment that there are still those with hd-dvd's around. I mean I still see DVD-A and SACD support.

That being said, I'll probably see how the reviews for this are before I decide whether or not to get it. Already have a bh200 and samsung bdp-1500 for watching blu-rays though.

[mugatu Posted Sep 3rd 2009 5:36PM]

@chumley

Why would it cost them more money to include an upscaling tech they have already developed? That's called maximizing your sunk costs on R&D. You don't just shut it down and throw it out.

And why did you name your screen name after the retarded kid on Pawn Stars?

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 3rd 2009 9:14PM]

@ mugatu

It would be more expensive to manufacture the player if it included the extra upscaling hardware. I'm talking about the "super resolution" upscaling technology that requires a cell processor. That's a bit much to hope for at a list price of $250. Perhaps they will produce a more expensive "premium" player with this technology in the future. It would be a feature that would set their product apart from the competition.

Never heard of Pawn Stars. Why did you name your screen name after a fictitious fashion designer with goofy hair?

[EatingPie Posted Sep 3rd 2009 10:54PM]

There are likely two reasons for no HD-DVD support.

1) HD-DVD is dead, gone and not ever coming back. I know that sounds harsh, but it really just boils down to a very limited audience for this feature.

2) It would have required an additional laser, making the total three.

As a possible 3rd reason, it looks like Toshiba licensed HD-DVD's disc format to China for their CBD. They probably no longer own the rights to make players with it.

-Pie

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 3rd 2009 12:36PM]

Can't wait to see more details. If this has the guts of the XA2 with a BD drive instead of an HD DVD drive, this will be awesome.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 3rd 2009 3:08PM]

Toshiba will have to seriously upgrade the player and not just "drop a BD drive in there".

I own a XE1 (European model of XA2) and my Oppo BDP83 wipes the floor with it. Both when it comes to speed and the quality of the DVD upscaling and deinterlacing.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 3rd 2009 1:24PM]

If it had been HD DVD compatible, i'm pretty sure many people who have an extensive HD DVD collection and still no Blu-ray player would have considered buying this player. But since it's BD-only, this Toshiba unit is only one amongst all the others. I for one have picked up many HD DVD movies during the firesale, some for as low as $1.52!!! And since I barely watch 2 HD movies a month (I watch all the supplements...) and I still own 55 HD DVD movies that I haven't seen yet: I can still wait another 2 years before I buy my first BR player. But like I said before, had this machine been HD DVD compatible: I would have been definitely tempted. Cause for now everytime i feel like buying a BR player i remind myself that I still have more than 50 movies to watch in HD (and another 100 still to watch on regular DVD format): so what's the rush?!?

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 3rd 2009 1:56PM]

For the love of god, can you just let it go?

HD-DVD is dead, gone, and buried. The HD-DVD fanboys fantasies of 'a comeback' is hilarious and pathetic.

There are so few HD-DVD owners in the world (and many of them have either thrown them away, sold them, given them away, etc.) that making a new player that supported HD-DVD would be a waste of time and money for Toshiba or anyone else.

You just need to let it go. It is over.

[mugatu Posted Sep 3rd 2009 3:09PM]

All they had to do was add laserdisc support and I would have been first in line. Enjoy bankruptcy Toshiba, you don't know your customers at all.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 3rd 2009 8:10PM]

mugatu wins the thread.

[ben55124 Posted Sep 3rd 2009 1:35PM]

This would have been a good gadget to integrate a media center extender. Would have added more justification to that $250.

Is Toshiba still planning media center extenders?...

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/01/07/toshiba-integrating-extenders-for-windows-media-center-in-new-a/

[DrXym Posted Sep 3rd 2009 3:05PM]

HD DVD compatibility would have made more sense last year.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 3rd 2009 3:14PM]

@ Ken

Not trying to start anything, but how can you be sure of the number of "HD DVD owners in the world" who have simply discarded their movies and/or players? That really doesn't make sense if it means one less Blu-ray version to buy. And chances are good that the codecs and supplements will be the same to save studios time and money instead of developing a Blu-ray version from scratch. I have yet to see an AVC version of a VC-1-encoded disc from Universal, Warner, or Paramount.

If I can find an HD DVD on the Web for two bucks, it's mine---even it's a title or genre I'm not crazy about. I'm sure there are plenty of discs out there that haven't been given the Blu-ray treatment. It's just economics for most of us, not "fanboyism" or spiteful stubbornness.

[mugatu Posted Sep 3rd 2009 5:28PM]

Please, just rent your movies already.

[Mr Real Nice Posted Sep 4th 2009 2:17PM]

Am I the only one who hates the name Blu-Ray? I was practically hoping HD-DVD would win just because of the name. The term Blu-Ray is just so corny, I can't stand it.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 6th 2009 11:35AM]

There I agree with you. I've had to explain what Blu-ray is over and over to people, who respond with blank stares. They just don't retain it - it's not self explanatory.

People know HDTV. Thus the analogy TV : SDTV :: DVD :HD-DVD would have been very clear and intuitively obvious.

I also wish that HD-DVD - like combo technology had won and become standard, to simplify adoption. It's just horridly clunky to buy a Blu-ray that throws in a redundant DVD disk of the same movie so you can play it in your minivan or whatnot.

And I say this as a Blu-ray guy who bought a PS3 during the height of the format war, never bought an HD DVD player, and strongly advised a friend NOT to buy HD DVD (he ignored me, to his regret).

I simply saw Blu-ray's victory as inevitable due to PS3, more movie studio support, and greater hardware selection.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 6th 2009 11:36AM]

Oops, drat. Screwed up the analogy.

I meant

TV : HDTV :: DVD : HD-DVD

Stupid, primitive, non-editable Blogsmith/AOL comment system. Catch up to 1996, guys!

[minimalist Posted Sep 5th 2009 10:09AM]

I understand all the arguments about Toshiba needing to be price conscious and all. But what makes this player different than all the other 250 dollar players? It seems like it would have been wise for them to put SOMETHING different in their player as a bonus add so they can compete with all the Pandora, Netflix, and Amazon streaming players at the same price point. You can't put out "me-too" products and succeed. You have to be as good as all the rest and offer one thing they don't have.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 7th 2009 3:59AM]

I also agree with eggnog

I like the name of HD-DVD better, too bad it lose is result of bad markening and microsoft didn't save them, hd dvd can easily win if was build in in every 360, since 360 was outsold ps3 for a while and was sold way before ps3.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 17th 2009 3:19PM]

Ummm, I haven't thrown out any Beta tapes lately, despite no working player at the moment. I haven't thrown out any HD-DVDs either so the lack of support in this player does not encourage me to buy it. Support included and I'd have bought one in a heartbeat...

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 23rd 2009 3:00PM]

my HD-DVD player still best at upcoverting DVDs
no idea why they woud ever bundle the grainy look of "300" with their hd-dvd players.....

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 23rd 2009 2:12PM]

Just hit the Best Buy I work at for $199.99. Not on our website yet though. SKU: 9563279