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LG has apparently abandoned plans to ship a Blu-ray DIsc player this Spring, and appears instead to be preparing a dual-mode system that incorporates HD DVD support too. So, at any rate, claims a memo allegedly sent by the company's US sales chief to staff last week.

The memo, cited by consumer electronics industry-watching website CE Pro, says the BD199 Blu-ray Disc player will not ship when originally intended because of "uncertainty in this early stage of the market for pre-recorded high-definition optical discs".

LG launched the BD199 in January at the Consumer Electronics Show. At the time, it said the player would ship in Q2. However, the company was notable by its absence from a statement put out last week by Blu-ray backers preparing to release hardware and content on or after 23 May.

LG - which signed an optical disc drive pact with HD DVD leader Toshiba in February - now seems to believe a dual-format player would be a better product to ship than one supporting just one of the two rival next-generation formats.

Curiously, Samsung indicated last Autumn that it had a dual-format device in the pipeline, but has since distanced itself from the scheme. It looks set to be the first company to ship a Blu-ray player into the US market.

The LG memo says the company's dual-format player is planned for late Summer or early Autumn, according to CE Pro. ®

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