Blu-ray players can turn any TV into a “smart TV”, says Toshiba. Toshiba’s new media boxes with Blu-ray offer access to the Cloud TV platform with TV apps and Miracast.

Toshiba’s new Blu-ray players
Four new players will be available, called BDX5500, BDX3500, BDX2550, and BDX1500. The high-end BDX5500 has a compact design in a silver finish. It can stand vertically, too.


BDX5500 does everything that you expect from a modern Blu-ray player, including 3D and 4K upscaling (despite being integrated in all 4K TVs, too). It offers access to TV apps such as Netflix and YouTube, and with Miracast you can mirror your Android device’s screen onto the TV via the Blu-ray player.


The BDX3500 offers all of the same smart features, but has no 4K upscaling or 3D – a sign of the fading importance of 3D. It also has a compact design. The BDX2550 and BDX1500 are low-end Blu-ray players designed in a traditional, larger form factor. They still offer TV apps, but have to be connected with an ethernet cable instead of WiFi.

All of Toshiba’s new Blu-ray players will be available in the second quarter of 2014 in the US and Europe. No prices have been announced.