Toshiba developing Blu-Ray player

Toshiba is preparing to offer a new Blu-ray disc player, according to media reports.

Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun cited unnamed sources in reporting that the company will release a new player which reads both Blu-ray and standard DVD discs.

Releasing a new line of Blu-ray devices could prove bittersweet for Toshiba, which was once amongst the format's toughest opponents.

The company had previously pushed its own HD DVD standard as an opponent to Blu-ray. The two formats and their respective backers engaged in a heated battle until January of 2008, when film studios formally endorsed Blu-ray as the eventual successor to DVD.

Toshiba ceased production of its own line of Blu-ray players in February of 2008.

No word was given on any possible plans to use Blu-ray in any of Toshiba's other systems. While video remains the dominant use of the Blu-ray format, some have suggested that the 50GB capacity of Blu-ray could make the format attractive as a removable storage medium.