Toshiba BDX2000 Blu-ray Player Kills HD-DVD [Toshiba's First Blu-ray Player, Full HD 1080p, 24fps Playback, BD Live (profile 2.0) Support]

Bring out yer dead…bring out yer dead…That’s exactly what owners of the ill-fated HD-DVD format players are expected to be hearing as Toshiba has officially announced the release of its first-ever Blu-ray disc player, the BDX2000. It’s a safe bet that this spells the end for the red-headed stepchild to Sony’s Blu-ray format. End of story. Nothing more to be written. It’s finally over. Well, there is a bit more.

The Toshiba BDX2000 Blu-ray player was announced today in Berlin at the IFA show and it couldn’t have come at a better time. I knew it, you know it, hell, most of the world knew it. HD-DVD was dead. Taken off of life support the minute all of the major movie moguls had signed exclusivity with Sony. We had to wait several painful months for the executives at Toshiba to get on their knees and beg the public’s forgiveness. On to the boring specs. The BDX2000 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.

What about the design? Not much. It’s black, it has buttons on the front, and there’s a digital display. Snore. I’m also thinking that Toshiba is going to make a push for this thing to be on store shelves in time for the Christmas holiday shopping rush. Signs point to yes. You should expect it sometime in November for around $250. What about all those HD-DVDs you bought last year? According to the Toshiba press release, “This product does not play HD DVD discs.”? You’d better hope that your HD-DVD player keeps on truckin’, or it looks like you just got yourself a new set of coasters.