About this news article

Since the launch of Blu-ray and HD DVD formats, so far, it is not that clear which format is the best to get a HD player for.  For example, while Blu-ray is well in the lead of movie sales, a few of the major studios so far have no sign of taking on Blu-ray, while several others only back the Blu-ray format.  With the Total Hi Def hybrid Blu-ray / HD DVD disc shelved, it looks like the only way to avoid the format war is to either hold off to see if one format eventually wins, get both players or fork out on the LG dual-format player.

So far, LG's dual format player has come down very little since its launch, likely due to it being the only dual-format player on the market.  However, this is set to change with Samsung set to launch its dual-format player, the BD-UP5000, mid-December in North America and Europe.  However, the price will not be cheap either with pre-order prices ranging from US$780 and US$1,100 at several online stores going by PC World.

While dual format players may end up being the final solution to the format war like how the majority of PC DVD burners and set-top DVD recorders handle DVD+R/RW & DVD-R/RW blank media, one significant drawback here is that the combination of the two incompatible technologies in a single player and the licensing costs of both formats will almost certainly prevent a dual format player from ever coming close to the pricing of what the average basic DVD players are currently priced at.