Here's some tantalizing news for those still refusing to choose sides in the perpetual
format war. Turns out,
LG seems to be readying its
second HD DVD / Blu-ray standalone player for a fall release, and unsurprisingly, it's likely to be dubbed the BH200. Reportedly, this device will support
BD-Live functionality,
HDi (er,
Advanced Navigation), and "1080p output at 60Hz / 1080p upscaling of standard DVDs." And while it wasn't confirmed, LG's product development manager for consumer electronics brand marketing suggested that it could boast "wider support for audio CDs as well as HD DVD network connectivity." Moreover, you can expect it to play nice with MPEG1/2, VC-1, H.264, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS and DTS-HD, tout HDMI 1.3 and Ethernet ports, and to arrive on store shelves for around $999 "in mid-October."
UPDATE: It's official -- as a matter of fact, this sucka will be debuting at CEDIA tomorrow, so we'll be trying our best to snag some hands-on time with it, cool? For now, though, check out a few more press shots posted after the jump.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Andrew @ Sep 5th 2007 9:02AM
They're likely releasing it in October because it's Blu-Ray 1.0 and they want to beat the deadline. The Samsung dual player is also 1.0, which really doesn't make sense since if they have the hardware to meet HD DVDs requirements then the hardware should also support BD 1.1.
Amiable-Akuma @ Sep 5th 2007 9:03AM
I'd be willing to bite if the price was a little lower - doesn't LG know its competing with Samsung now?
The Samsung player looks gorgeous and seems practically perfect for this point in player standards. If the LG doesn't have a lower price, I don't know why the hell any of us would buy it over the Sammy.
WallyB @ Sep 5th 2007 9:04AM
Sounds like a winner - call me when it's $399. :)
Xyzzy @ Sep 5th 2007 9:23AM
Exactly, Andrew. And if it doesn't support 1.1 (or 2.0), why would anyone buy it?
Oh yeah, BD fans apparently only care about the movie, not the special features. Whatever.
reddplague @ Sep 5th 2007 11:00AM
Why do you always bring up
"And if it doesn't support 1.1 (or 2.0), why would anyone buy it?"
All it needs is a firmware update?????? MAN give it a rest for crying out loud!!!!!!!!
Why are you such a fanboy did you get a cut of that $150mil from MS??
SimbaDogg @ Sep 5th 2007 2:43PM
i dont know why you refuse to believe that people dont watch special features, i picked up superman, the departed, 300 and black hawk down on bluray...haven't watched a single special feature on any of them. the same is mostly true for the 200+ dvds that i have as well...and there are a lot of people that are like me, why you refuse to believe it is beyond me
ckelly @ Sep 5th 2007 11:04AM
Andrew: 1.0 has to be released BEFORE Oct 1st. After Oct 1st, 1.1 is a minimum. Also:
-Expect some funky interactivity from selected HD DVDs, as well as BD-Live. You can also use options such as Blu-View or Picture-in-Picture available from many Blu-ray discs. That means more directors commentary, storyboards and other tidbits.
-Don't these features indicate 2.0?? This whole "level of BR" is confusing - and a load of crap.
TheMallrat @ Sep 5th 2007 1:27PM
ckelly, you have the date wrong. Blu-ray players don't have to conform to profile 1.1 until after October 31st, not the 1st, so Andrew could well be right.
Region Free HD @ Sep 5th 2007 11:16AM
Or you could just buy two standalone players for less money.
Xyzzy @ Sep 5th 2007 11:24AM
@reddplague: "All it needs is a firmware update?????? MAN give it a rest for crying out loud!!!!!!!!"
No, profile 1.1 or 2.0 needs HARDWARE, nor firmware. Now this player MIGHT have the hardware necessary since it can supposedly do the picture-in-picture from HD DVD. But the current BD players? No amount of firmware will help them, sorry.
domerdel @ Sep 5th 2007 1:12PM
you might want to enlighten us how its hardware only, because if the PS3 will be able to get the firmware update, why not any other player?
Tim @ Sep 5th 2007 11:43AM
I'm still waiting for these dual format players to not cost significantly more than it would cost to buy a Blu-Ray and HD-DVD player individually. Space is not at that much of a premium to me that I am going to pay more than $200 extra just to save space on my shelf.
Jeff N. @ Sep 5th 2007 12:03PM
Space is a premium for me and since it appears HD-DVD & Blu-ray are on very even footing these days and the format war may go on for several more years both the new LG Hybrid & the Samsung Hybrid are on my radar.I wonder which one will be better?
Dave @ Sep 5th 2007 1:31PM
"you might want to enlighten us how its hardware only, because if the PS3 will be able to get the firmware update, why not any other player?"
I believe you need a second video decoder (for PiP) to be 1.1 compatible. You also need an ethernet jack to be 2.0 compatible--as well as more available storage. The minimum storage requirements for 1.0 were pretty weak. I think the PS3 may already have a second video decoder--or the processing power to handle two video streams. Either way, that's why most standalone blu-ray players will not be upgradeable.
ckelly @ Sep 5th 2007 3:21PM
Mallrat-ok but what about the Blu-Ray PiP options? That definately isn't 1.0 doing all of that - at least my 1.0 doesn't.
Joe @ Sep 5th 2007 3:30PM
Jeff N.
It's going to be no contest. The Samsung player will be better then the LG.
IMPORTANT NOTE!
Dual format players do not have to conform to either the HD-DVD or BluRay specs. I'm not aware of any multi-format player being certified by either group. They may support all of the features but unlike the Toshiba equipment there is 100% promise.
mntwister @ Sep 21st 2007 7:21AM
Interesting...has anyone heard since about what profile this player will be, or the Samsung?