Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/03/06/lg_blu-ray_hd-dvd_plans/
LG Blu-ray Disc player to support HD DVD too?
Ditched single-format product, apparently
Posted in Hardware, 6th March 2006 12:25 GMT
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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 [1] 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 [2] 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 [3] 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 [4] 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. ®