Toshiba’s U.S. unit may delay the launch of its next-generation DVD player for several weeks to coincide with the April debut of movies that play in the new HD DVD format, the company said on Thursday.

HD-DVD’s once vaunted 6 month lead on Blu-ray looks like it will be down to 4-6 weeks. HD-DVD now looks like it won’t launch until April 18th, with Blu-ray scheduled for late May. HD-DVD will have a cost advantage, with current player prices at $500 and $800, while BD looks like $1000. But I do expect the player prices to come down quickly over the summer, and, if plans hold, BD should have more launch titles.

When the first HD DVD players arrive in stores this month, there won’t be any movies to watch for at least another three weeks.