Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Sony Corp., whose Blu-ray high- definition DVD competes with Toshiba Corp.'s format, said it plans to release a player in Japan after October, giving Toshiba at least a six-month head start.

The Japanese player, which can also record, will be released after a planned U.S. model in October, Kiyoshi Nishitani, the executive in charge of Sony's Blu-ray business, said at a news conference in Tokyo today. Toshiba started sales of its HD DVD player in March.

"We hope to start selling a recorder player in Japan within this year," said Nishitani. About 75 movie titles in Blu-ray will be released in "autumn," the company said.

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