It’s the final nail in the coffin for HD-DVD as Toshiba has announced it will release a number of products that will play Blu-Ray discs. The electronics firm was the main champion of the now defunct HD-DVD format for high definition movies.

Toshiba will begin to produce stand alone Blu-Ray players as well as drives for PCs and laptops, with its first products expected in shops by Christmas this year.

Blu-Ray won its first victory in early 2008 when it was announced that all four of the biggest movie studios would support the format.

Sony largely developed Blu-Ray, and used the best-selling PlayStation 3 to boost the format’s popularity by fitting the console with a Blu-Ray player.

In what is good news for consumers, Blu-Ray products look set to now become cheaper as more intense competition should result in a bit of a price war. This linked to the build-up for Christmas sales in a recession means that you may be able to afford “Tyson” and “Visions of Italy” in HD without having to compromise with the spouse.