Toshiba signs up to Blu-ray

Toshiba, the electronics firm that spearheaded the development of HD-DVD, has applied to join the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA).

Although the company officially gave up on its HD-DVD business back in February 2008, the move is heralded by many as the final nail in the coffin for the competing high definition format.

Confirming rumours from a few weeks ago, the company has also said it is in the process of developing a range of Blu-ray products, including BD players and notebook PCs integrating BD drives, in the course of this year.

While video and other multimedia has been the primary focus for Blu-ray, the large storage capacity of these optical discs has created some interest as an archival and removable storage medium.

Those businesses that may have opted for HD-DVD for this purpose will now have to reconsider their investment and probably look to transferring all their data to Blu-ray.