LG to launch first combo Blu-ray/HD DVD Device

LG Electronics on Wednesday announced its plans to launch the first dual-format high-definition disc player capable of handling both Blu-ray Discs and HD DVD discs, adding fuel to the high-definition DVD formats war.

South Korea based LG said it would launch the dual-format HD player at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, due next week.

Details about the availability and pricing of the combo Blu-ray/HD DVD device will likely become clear by Sunday, when LG holds its press conference at CES, according to a LG press release issued in Korea early Thursday morning.

Blu-ray format, backed by a group led by Sony Corp. and the rival HD DVD format, backed by a consortium headed by Toshiba Corp., have been indulged in battle for the $24-billion-a-year home video market share since their launch in Year 2006.

Both the standards are promising and provide increased data storage on the same disc dimensions to allow higher definition multimedia, but at the same time, they are incompatible, forcing consumers as well as the dealers to choose.

Sony’s Blu-ray format has support of Samsung, Hitachi, and JVC, while Toshiba’s HD DVD format is backed by Microsoft, Intel and NEC.

LG was once a high-profile supporter of the Blu-ray format and even showed the BD199 Blu-ray player at last year's CES, but later it also joined the HD DVD camp.

Despite the announcement of arrival of LG’s combo unit, the supporters of Blu-ray and HD DVD formats expect that both the standards would get a boost this year as more studios release films in the formats and more players become available.

Movies released in high-definition formats provide five to six times more picture detail than the standard definition used in normal DVDs.

On the other hand, LG expects its yet to be launched Blu-ray/HD DVD device would “end the confusion and inconvenience of competing high-definition disc formats for both content producers and consumers.”