Samsung to support both HD DVD and Blu-Ray DVD formats

Samsung to support both HD DVD and Blu-Ray DVD formats

With the market split between the two next generation formats HD DVD and Blu-Ray formats, the hardware manufacturers are confused on whom to support. There is no clear winner in sight with both Toshiba (the maker of HD DVD format) and Sony (the maker of Blu-Ray format) going ahead with their development cycles. Samsung is one such company, which has to decide on the formats they would support in their upcoming products.

The company has for now aimed to support both the formats and they are now planning to release a DVD machine next year capable of playing both Blu-ray and HD DVD. They might change their plans if the makers of these two formats settle down their differences and combine the powers of both the formats to come up with a single next generation DVD standard.

Both these new formats promise bigger storage space and better performance than the current generation DVD drives. Sony is dead sure to launch their upcoming gaming console Sony Playstation 3 with a drive capable of playing Blu-Ray discs. This make things complicated as rivals Microsoft are considering supporting HD DVD format in their upcoming Xbox 360 gaming console.

Samsung’s head of consumer electronics, Choi Gee-sung spoke to a news agency: “We would welcome a unified standard but if this doesn’t come, which looks likely, we’ll bring a unified solution to market. It won’t be simple but you’ll see our solution in the coming year. Consumers will be too confused otherwise.”

The company otherwise supports Blu-Ray format but cannot ignore the audience for HD DVD format.