Plays Blu-ray Disc, Plays HD-DVD, Doesn't Play Favorites
One on side you have Sony (et. al.) with Blu-ray Disc. On the other you have Toshiba (and friends) with HD-DVD. And right in the middle, you'll find LG. The first to market (early in 2007) with a dual format Blu-ray Disc/HD-DVD player, LG has now announced its second generation dual format player, the Super Blu BH200 ($999, coming in October) and it does everything the last one did, only better.
LG took some criticism with their BH100 player. It only supported Blu-ray Disc's BD-Java interactive layer and did not support HD-DVD's HDi feature. It could play movies in both formats, but as a full-featured player, it definitely favored Blu-ray Disc.
LG has learned from their mistakes and is now coming to market with a fully-featured combination BD/HD-DVD player with next generation audio format support via bitstream as well as full support of both BD-Java and HDi.
 |
| LG Super Blu BH200 dual format HD-DVD/Blu-ray Disc player, on display at CEDIA Expo 2007. |
Many believe that a universal player will help alleviate the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) currently associated with buying players and discs of either format. No one wants to get stuck with a "boat anchor" if and when one of the next generation disc format emerges victorious, particularly not a $1000 boat anchor.
For those who are still on the fence, and who do not want to buy one of each type of player, a universal player is an attractive option. It is not much more expensive than a standard Blu-ray Disc player, but it plays both Blu-ray Discs and HD-DVDs. And if one format eventually goes the way of the dodo, the BH200 will still be able to play all of those great High Definition movies you've been buying in the meantime, regardless of format.
With full networked interactivity available from select HD DVDs (such as Warner's "300") and the capability to handle networked "BD-Live" interactivity in forthcoming Blu-ray discs, the BH200 is ready for the future. It's also well-equipped for the present with 1080p-upscaling of standard definition DVDs over its HDMI 1.3-compliant output. The player supports full 1080p output of HD-DVD and Blu-ray Discs as well, at frame rates of 24, 30 and 60 frames per second.
In terms of audio/video codec compatibility, the Super Blu Player handles pretty much all of these as well, including MPEG-2, VC-1, H.264 video, MPEG1/2 audio, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital+, Dolby TrueHD, DTS and DTS-HD audio. All Dolby and DTS formats (including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio) can be passed via a bitstream over HDMI to a compatible surround sound receiver or processor.
The new player incorporates LG's SimpLink™ connectivity solution (via HDMI-CEC). This enables simple remote operation of other LG SimpLink-compatible gear. The BH200 also includes a USB Media Host so that it can display photos or playback MP3 music files connected via a USB hard drive or thumb-drive.
