LG showcases the BH100 Blu-ray / HD DVD player

LG showcases the BH100 Blu-ray / HD DVD player

LG electronics has displayed their hybrid DVD player BH100. The device is capable of playing both Blu-Ray and HD DVD media.

This device is the first one of its kind in the market to support both the next generation formats. Sony is the force behind Blu-Ray format which Toshiba develops the HD DVD format.

LG would launch the BH100 player in the US market in the US, with a retail price of $1,199. The device supports 1920×1080p HD resolution, has touch sensor buttons.

The player also supports HDMI Out and Optical / 5.1CH out.

LG BH100 also supports the traditional DVD discs through people looking for Audio CD support would be disappointed. Dr H.G. Lee, LG Electronics’ president and CTO spoke about this missing feature: “We decided not to include the CD this time. It was an engineering decision to make it simpler. We felt for most consumers it would not be a limitation.”

Another disappointing thing is that the player does not support the full range of HD DVD interactive features. This is mostly due to hardware limitations.

Lee added on this product launch: “Most consumers feel they are confused, and they are not really sure what format player they would like to buy. So naturally they are reluctant to purchase players or the DVD content. The growth of this exciting new technology is much slower than it could be, and that’s a concern for everybody in the industry. LG has been a member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, and we’re still very active in that camp, but sometime in the last year we decided and recognized that the two formats are here to stay, and there won’t be a unification of the formats anytime soon. So this is our approach to solve at least part of the problem.”