Samsung HD Universal BD/HD-DVD Player

polkatese

Jun 21, 2006Samsung Mulling Dual Blu-Ray/HD DVD Player
JUN 21, 2006 07:03:33 AM | Add Comment (0) | Permalink

Samsung Electronics will consider later this year if it will launch a high-definition movie player compatible with both the Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats, it said Tuesday.

Samsung is a supporter of the Blu-ray Disc format, and its first player will go on sale in the United States in the next few days. The BD-P1000 is the first consumer Blu-ray Disc player from any manufacturer, and its launch will kick off full competition between the rival formats. Toshiba, which is the main backer of the HD DVD format, started player sales in March.

There are only a few technical differences between the formats, but they’re big enough to make them mutually incompatible. That’s a headache for consumers because most Hollywood studios have initially committed to releasing movies on one or the other disc format but not both.

Samsung is already working on a drive that handles both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD, said Kim Du-Hyon, an assistant manager in Samsung’s home-platform product planning division, in a briefing with reporters at the company’s headquarters in Suwon, South Korea.

"We don’t have a plan to make an HD DVD-only player but are considering a universal player," he said. "We are preparing HD DVD [support] now, and if we launch a universal player, it will be the end of this year or early next year."

Kim underlined Samsung’s belief that Blu-ray Disc will beat HD DVD in the commercial marketplace, but said Samsung will consider a universal player should HD DVD prove as successful as Blu-ray Disc.

Samsung is not alone in working on drives that support both formats, according to industry sources.

While LG Electronics has publicly declared its plans to make drives for both formats, many of the leading Blu-ray Disc backers are also members of the DVD Forum and so have access to HD DVD technology and specifications.

In addition, some companies on each side of the battle have optical disc production joint ventures. Samsung is partnered with Toshiba in Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology and Sony and NEC, which back Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD, respectively, formed Sony NEC Optiarc in April this year.

Samsung’s BD-P1000 will go on sale in the United States on June 25 for US$1,000. It will hit Korea in August, Australia and Europe in October and be available worldwide by the end of the year, Samsung said.

-Martyn Williams, IDG News Service (Tokyo Bureau)

Wait? or Wait?

cheddar

Stable HDMI 1.3. Universal players. Drop in prices. You don't lose much by waiting.

I think there's a lot of fragmentation ahead especially if HD-DVD wins the HD market. Hard to argue with 200GB 8-layer storage capacity being useful for the computer industry.

Sami

cheddar wrote:

I think there's a lot of fragmentation ahead especially if HD-DVD wins the HD market. Hard to argue with 200GB 8-layer storage capacity being useful for the computer industry.

Useful yes but how practical would it be? They are having problems with dual layer discs right now, imagine how it is going to be with even more layers. Call me skeptical on this one, I remember DVD was supposed to be 8 layers too but in practice we are using single layer discs as dual layers are much more expensive and quite honestly not that practical.

cheddar

Sami wrote:

Useful yes but how practical would it be? They are having problems with dual layer discs right now, imagine how it is going to be with even more layers. Call me skeptical on this one, I remember DVD was supposed to be 8 layers too but in practice we are using single layer discs as dual layers are much more expensive and quite honestly not that practical.

Well, something's gotta fill the void. We're already up to terabyte arrays of hard drive storage. Not like you can just drop those babies in the mail...:rolleyes:

Sami

cheddar wrote:

Well, something's gotta fill the void. We're already up to terabyte arrays of hard drive storage. Not like you can just drop those babies in the mail...:rolleyes:

Yes, it would be nice, but just because they *might* go up to eight layers doesn't mean they will actually go over 2 layers. Even 50GB would be very nice though.

aaharvel

1080i and 720p upscaling is good enough for me.
If I want more I'll go out and buy a 9ft. screen or better yet pay a visit to the local IMAX.

Until a true standard is set and (format, resolution, etc.) I'm not messing with it myself.

cheddar

When universal players come out at a low price, I think that's my entry point for a stand alone player. It would suck not being able to buy certain movies because I didn't have the right format.

mantis

My best advise on all this is to wait awhile. No camp is superior to the other yet. The movies are slow to come out and the players are first generation.

We sell the HD DVD Toshiba and it's nice but I'm sure alot of it's flaws will be worked out in time.

I want a new DVD player so bad I can taste it but I don't think right now is the time to jump into the new formats. I would buy a better then what I got DVD player for now. I'm considering doing that.

Dan

polkatese

Dan, give the oppo a try. I am actually rather impressed with the 970HD. For the price, pic is very good, comparable to my dv-37, if not slightly better (on component). Of course, with HDMI, it is also future-proof. It plays all format of Hi-Rez audio too.