Toshiba has reportedly decided to compete with the Blu-ray camp with the release of a new series of DVD players that offer high-definition picture quality from regular DVDs.

The report appeared yesterday on The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, citing unnamed sources at Toshiba.

Toshiba seems to bring the advanced upscaling capabilities of its HD DVD players to its upcoming DVD players. The new players will reportedly feature an integrated circuit that will convert the standard definition DVD video to high-definition, in real time. The players will be also compatible with standard DVDs.

The technology makes it possible to reproduce high-quality images comparable to Blu-ray video from current standard DVDs, according to the paper.

Toshiba has not commented on the newspaper's report.

The players are expected to be released by the end of 2008.

The planned release of a model compatible with the current DVD format signifies an effort by the major electronic manufacturer to recover from a humiliating setback suffered in March after announcing its decision to withdraw from its HD DVD business.

Provided that Toshiba will not release players compatible with Sony's Blu-ray format, the company seems to be ready to take advantage of the established DVD market and advertise the new player as an affordable alternative to the Blu-ray players. The device would also offer a broader array of content, compared to the content available in the Blu-ray format.