If you’ve been worrying that either one of the high-definition video technologies – Blu-Ray or HD DVD could become the next Betamax, then worry no further. It seems that Korean company LG Electronics has come to the rescue with a dual format system that will cope with both.
It seems like an obvious idea – combine both capabilities in one machine. Why not? My DVD recorder can read and write positively and negatively and it’s not as if the new formats suffer from the differing form factor and mutually exclusivity issues as VHS tapes and Betamax tapes.
“We’ve developed the Super Multi Blue Player to end the confusion caused by the current competition between Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. Customers are no longer forced to choose between the two formats,” explains Hee Gook Lee, president and chief technology officer of LG Electronics in a press release disseminated on January 7. “As Full HD TV is already gaining ground, we are hoping that the Super Multi Blue Player will play the trigger role in expanding and advancing both Full HD TV and high- definition DVD market volume together.”
You can read more techie details in that press release and I won’t bore you with them here, suffice to say that it’s pretty unlikely these machines will appear in the UK in the very near future, but early adopters Stateside will be able to go dual blue some time in the next couple of months.
Both high-def DVD formats were introduced in 2006 and 2007 is expected to see film studios release more of their output in these formats as more players become available. With the advent of dual-format players, the studios will not be forced to opt for an either-or scenario nor have to offer both formats in a single product package.