According to the Japanese-language Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, Toshiba is launching HDD/DVD player/recorders in the US and UK. It launched versions of these products in Japan last year. Toshiba will release the RD-XS30 HDD/DVD player/recorder in the UK in April. This HDD/DVD player/recorder, which Toshiba claims to be the thinnest DVD player in the market at 78mm, features a built-in 60GB HDD for recording. The company launched the same model in Japan last November. Toshiba projects selling 1,000 RD-XS30s in the first month of release and up to 10,000 units per month this summer in the UK. The device allows users to dub data/recordings from HDD to DVD-R, DVD-RAM, CD-R and CD-RW discs.

In the US, Toshiba released a modified version of the RD-X2 HDD/DVD player/recorders. The company projects monthly shipments could reach 10,000 units by the summer. In Japan, Toshiba earlier launched a more updated version, the RD-X3, with a 160GB HDD for recording and supporting dubbing data/recordings to DVD-RAM and DVD-R discs.

According to the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), demand for DVD players and DVD players/recorders in North America may reach 20.5 million units this year, up 10% from last year, while in Western Europe, demand may reach 13.21 million units, up 15% from last year. For Japan, it projects that demand will be 4.5 million units, of which 1.25 million units will be DVD players/recorders.