Dual Format Player

[Nolan B]

Looks like many of our worries will go away next week.

Great News! I hope its true.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20070104/660000000020070104110044E0.html

http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/003408.html

[Lex]

I would say it is true, could be delayed beyond 1st qtr, that may be optimistic unless they are already sitting in a warehouse ready to go. Price could eliminate it as a realistic possibility for many, we'll see.

Of course, this could perpetuate how long both formats continue as well, maybe a good thing, maybe not?

We should carry this info down to the thread I stickied in HT section too... But this is news worthy, and belongs in the Chalet.

Doug

[Nolan B]

If its priced at $1000, and has analog outputs and HDMI 1.3 ill buy it without a doubt. Im sure more CE companies wont let LG be the only one for long.

[Hdale85]

If its priced anywhere between 800 and 1300 I'd probably buy one. I sure hope it does come out in first quarter. I want to purchase a HiDef player when I get my new display and if this comes out it would definitely be a very viable option. If not I'll stick with my HTPC that has a BD and HD rom drives.

[mattburk]

yea it is legit, the have been talking about it for a few months nice to see a real press release

http://www.engadget.com/2005/09/06/samsung-planning-dual-format-hd-dvd-blu-ray-disc-player/

[Ovation]

One article mentions studios will be puzzled over which format to support if a dual-format player is released. I fail to see the problem. Only Warner and Paramount face an issue. The others are either/or format-wise and could happily continue on that path. There will, of course, be debates about whether a "jack of all trades" machine can equal the performance of a dedicated player (as there was for SACD/DVD-A vs universal audio players) but such a debate will be short-lived, I suspect and, to the masses, largely irrelevant. The only losers will be those manufacturers who refuse to build dual-format machines. Game boxes will be alright, as the movie playing is secondary to their function, but stand-alone players that don't play both formats will suffer (hello Toshiba and Sony--the others will likely eventually go dual-format--certainly companies like Denon, Yamaha and Marantz will, and Pioneer as well, I think).

[gross30]

I was thinking of upgrading my first gen HD player in the spring, but this is great news. I think I will wait a while and see how many "dual format" players we will see. I'm sure once you see one player on the market, a lot of others will be soon to follow. This is great, it's getting interesting !!!

[Eric_C]

I wonder how far BD is going to go as far as market penetration.

The PS3 was going to be the big catapult for it but they are not selling as many as they could with full production.

I played around with a PS3 the other day and really did enjoy it...if it came down another $100 I'd give it a more serious look.

HD DVD on the Xbox is putting them at the right price point but I would not go that route for the main room because of a lack of audio support.

Now what would be sweet giving the price of these consoles and dual useage is distributing the HD to multiple sources. Meaning I could have a good wireless controller and be able to play my Xbox/PS3 on either my main TV or bedroom TV which will shortly be HD also.

[ht_addict]

Since LG was said to be exclusive to BR and now with the move to also supporting HD in a Dual player, how long before they(BR board) pulls the license from LG? Could that happen?

[Chris D]

Well, let's hope this player is true.

[Lex]

hard to say Kevin. (HTA) I am sure there's a long legal agreement that was signed between the two giving rights, and taking rights. Voilation of those rights could certainly be a clause, and grounds for termination, guessing.

But then again, Sony may have to be careful about how they handle the situation legally as well. I just don't know.

[Race Car Driver]

At a 1000$ price tag I would wait for it to be about half. Which shouldnt take long.

Who knows.

[Nolan B]

http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/07/live-coverage-of-lgs-press-event/

$1199

[David Meek]

I'm hoping that means a street price of $999 or so. Fingers crossed.

[Nolan B]

I'm hoping that means a street price of $999 or so. Fingers crossed.

I would say thats reasonable. If you are good with your dealer im sure its not a stretch to get one for that.

I am just not sure I want something called "The Super Multi Blue".

[David Meek]

What's in a name? :

[Nolan B]

What's in a name? :

nothing I guess...just sounds more like a Hello Kitty product then cutting end tech.

[Brandon B]

Made me think of a denture cleaner.
BB

[gianni]

Why do all these new HD players look like plain black boxes? I know performance is what matters, but come on, throw us a bone. Guess we'll have to wait until the mid-fi and high end companies hit the market - if they ever do.

[Hdale85]

Yeah it does look ugly...If its street priced at 999 and it performs well then I MAY pick one up but IDK. I could get 2 stand alone players for the same price just about. Is the samsung BD player bad?

[David Meek]

Bad, no. But it does have a soft image compared to the other BD/HD players. I don't remember the details but it had something to do with a bug in their chip.

[Kevin P]

The Samsung BD player had a bug where it had some sort of noise reduction feature turned on that shouldn't have been, causing the soft image. They issued a firmware update to address this problem, so it is no longer an issue.

As for the dual format player, I'll have to wait 'n see how it performs in real life. Maybe when a 2nd or 3rd gen dual format player comes out, or one format wins out over the other, then I'll jump.

[Chris D]

Why do all these new HD players look like plain black boxes? I know performance is what matters, but come on, throw us a bone. Guess we'll have to wait until the mid-fi and high end companies hit the market - if they ever do.

Yeah, you're right, gianni. I feel like we're back in the early 90's, looking at early DVD players, the way the cases are thin and cheap-feeling, the trays are flimsy, the buttons cheap. Once we start seeing some real quality materials in the casing, we're going to see some awesome players in both camps.

[gianni]

I hope you are right Chris. One more reason I guess for me to lurk in the HD shadows a while longer.

[Nolan B]

No more combo player...not as is anyway.

http://ces.betanews.com/entry/LG_Hy...s_Is/1168407626

[Lex]

well, that didn't last long huh? I can't believe they sprung that without even checking with the appropriate governing organizations first, :roll: Talk about getting everyone's hopes up, then to have it come crashing down. But if you think about it, now HD-DVD has to be the "Bad Guy", and the one to take away the dual mode player. It could have been a giant political ploy all along. Maybe?

[Hdale85]

Well that sucks! And the player in the picture there is MUCH sexier then the one they showed at CES or wherever it was :B. I'm sure they could figure it out and release it still probably just wont be until quarter 2 now.

[Nolan B]

Legally they can release the player as is, but have to provide a firmware updated within 90 days which will correct any missing HD DVD feature.

[Hdale85]

So maybe they will go that route...

[Brandon B]

So it turns out Sony is not the only wanker in the crowd. Although they are still worse for not allowing support of other formats at all, while DVD consortium only wants full support fo their format, which is not really an unreasonable requirement.

BD's choice of the BD-J features is why Microsoft dropped BD support to begin with, as they don't like it when open source choices replace their proprietary formats. So I'd actually call them the bad guy in this case.

BB

[Nolan B]

In the end if LG wants to use the HD DVD name then need to follow the HD DVD spec. Thats not to unreasonable.

[David Meek]

This player is on BestBuy's website:

LG BH100

[mitch57]

And it won't even play a regular CD... Let alone DVD-A or SACDs. Just what I don't need. Another disk player specifically for HD. I think I'll wait until Denon or one of the other big boys comes out with a truly universal player. It's just a matter of time I'm sure.

[mattburk]

They should skip both and go to flash media.

[comeup]

what will I do with my Denon 3910 if I buy one only one year and a half old. I guest I could have two in my setup one for audio and another for video.