LG announces dual-format Blu-ray/HD DVD player

While the Blu-ray and HD DVD camps are still at each other's throats, LG Electronics has announced its dual-format high-definition video player. If you just don't want to end up in the middle of the high-definition battle between Sony (Blu-ray) and Toshiba (HD DVD), then LG's new Super Multi Blue BH100 is your first opportunity to be on the safe side - no matter which format will gain the upper hand in the end. The device is the first player to supports both formats.

The specifications of the device do not indicate that buyers will have to deal with a whole lot of compromises. 1080p resolution is supported for both Blu-ray and HD DVD, and the player can cope with the formats MPEG-2, VC-1, H.264, MPEG1/2 audio, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital+, DTS and DTS-HD audio. This means that you can throw any currently available high-definition video at the BH100 - including upcoming Blu-ray discs that hold HD video that is encoded with H.264 and 18 Mb/s. While it won't be cheap at $1200