Available Now - Universal HD-DVD/Blu-ray Hybrid Player

[fitbabits]

Team Xbox (http://www.teamxbox.com) is reporting that LG's Universal HD-DVD/Blu-ray player is now on sale, only two weeks after making its first appearance at the 2007 CES!

You can read more here (http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/12603/Universal-HD-DVD-Bluray-Disc-Player-from-LG-On-Sale/).

Only two weeks after it was announced at CES, LG has shipped to retailers its BH100 high definition player, which can output upto 1080p resolution from HD DVD, Blu-ray Disc movies and standard definition DVDs. The device doesn't spot a HD DVD logo because it lacks one of the technologies, the interactive High Definition (iHD), that are part of the HD DVD standard.


http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/images/products/8203/8203311_ra.jpg


The device also costs ($1,199.99) more than the price of a standalone HD DVD player and a PS3 combined but any of those shortcomings shouldn't deny the fact that this is the first universal HD player. Hopefully others will follow LG steps.
Interesting... It's a shame it looks so unattractive!

[Kamalot]

It does not bother me at all if it is unattractive. I'll put it in my media cabinet and close the door. What concerns me more is what this little box will be displaying on my screen.

[Heretic Machine]

Oh, to be a person with too much money to spend.

[51|RandoM]

Interesting... It's a shame it looks so unattractive!

yeah, it kind of boggles the mind. There is plenty of fascia design out there they could "borrow". It is almost like they went out of their way to make it look like crap.

[Kamalot]

Interesting note on the lack of the HD-DVD logo. From what I understand, the requirements for being an official HD-DVD player are steep. The official spec includes things like multiple video stream decoders, which allow HD-DVD players levels of interactivity unavailable in even the most expensive Bluray players.

[EternalGamer]

I don't think it looks ugly, really. Just very utilitarian.

[Schnoogs]

The price is more unattractive than the styling.

Oh well...I guess I'll wait til CES 2008 to see my next video player.

[Norse]

If it played Wii, X360 and PS3 games it would be worth it.

[Goronmon]

Looks fine to me. Hopefully if there are a few competing products available soon the price will begin to drop.

[Kamalot]

One thing to note, while this costs more than a PS3 and an HD-DVD player combined, it does not cost more than a standalone Bluray player and a standalone HD-DVD player combined.

[Arphahat]

I really don't get the appeal of HD-DVD/Blueray over regular DVD. Is the display really so much better that it justifies paying 10x the cost of a DVD player and 25% more per DVD?

[Kamalot]

I really don't get the appeal of HD-DVD/Blueray over regular DVD. Is the display really so much better that it justifies paying 10x the cost of a DVD player and 25% more per DVD?
The emperor's new clothes are actually worth much more. You, my friend, are getting a bargain for only paying 10x more!

[phantomhitman]

I really don't get the appeal of HD-DVD/Blueray over regular DVD. Is the display really so much better that it justifies paying 10x the cost of a DVD player and 25% more per DVD?
blasphemy
burn the witch!!

Just wait until the end of this year, the format war will have much more meat to it and the players will be under $500.

[jBusy]

I really don't get the appeal of HD-DVD/Blueray over regular DVD. Is the display really so much better that it justifies paying 10x the cost of a DVD player and 25% more per DVD?
Now, the world don't move
to the beat of just one drum,
What might be right for you,
may not be right for some.

[51|RandoM]

The official spec includes things like multiple video stream decoders, which allow HD-DVD players levels of interactivity unavailable in even the most expensive Bluray players.

Cool, i'm sure that will see just as much use as the multiple camera angle feature of DVD.


:)

[51|RandoM]

I really don't get the appeal of HD-DVD/Blueray over regular DVD. Is the display really so much better that it justifies paying 10x the cost of a DVD player and 25% more per DVD?

It is worth it if you have a large screen.

[Arphahat]

Wow, I got responses with references to old fables, heretic behavior and theme songs from 80's sitcoms, all with one post! That HAS to be some kind of record, right? ;)

[Kamalot]

Cool, i'm sure that will see just as much use as the multiple camera angle feature of DVD.Actually, it is already in use. HD-DVD movies are finding new ways of making extras more engaging than ever before.

Edit: Here's an example of the upcoming Harry potter movie coming to HD-DVD.
Along with the normal DVD extras the HD DVD release is going to have Warner's "in-Movie Experience" that features an interactive video commentary, plus, additional making-of content, and interviews. So far Warner hasn't announced any plans to bring this title out on Blu-ray ether. (http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/08/10/harry-potter-hd-dvd-to-feature-loads-of-special-content/)

[nobody99]

Something to note here - the reason they can't put the HD-DVD logo on it is that it only plays the movie portion of the HD-DVD. There are no menus, and no special features of any kind besides multiple language tracks.

[Psykoboy2]

Now, the world don't move
to the beat of just one drum,
What might be right for you,
may not be right for some.

What'chu talkin' bout, Willis?

[gzsfrk]

Somebody buy one of these and get it to the Hong Kong reverse-enginee... I mean, "technology innovators" for study--STAT!

Mmm.... Tri-format (DVD, HD-DVD, Blu-ray) media player for $99 by the middle of the year.

[Kweli]

Who plays those interactive games on DVD's anyways.....

End the wars, pick a format, and give me player thats less then 200 dollars

[51|RandoM]

Actually, it is already in use. HD-DVD movies are finding new ways of making extras more engaging than ever before.

Edit: Here's an example of the upcoming Harry potter movie coming to HD-DVD.

...yes and camera angles were in use in the early days of DVD too. Where are they now?

[Kamalot]

...yes and camera angles were in use in the early days of DVD too. Where are they now?
So, are you saying that you would rather never have the option of some features instead of having them rarely used?

Some feature usage may never catch on. I, for one, would like the features available for any enterprising studio willing to develop them. Perhaps some features will go the way of multiple-angles. Some won't.

People could have poo-poo'd the interactive menus on DVDs at their inception too. "VHS tapes don't have menus. That's just dumb! We don't need no stinkin menus!"

[Atorak]

Who plays those interactive games on DVD's anyways.....
I played a great interactive DVD game starring Jenna Jameson, once.

[mkelehan]

For that price, you could get the higher end models of both PS3 and 360, along with a 360 HD-DVD player. You could also, you know, play some games with them.

[51|RandoM]

For that price, you could get the higher end models of both PS3 and 360, along with a 360 HD-DVD player. You could also, you know, play some games with them.

The man has a point.

[ilian]

Cool, i'm sure that will see just as much use as the multiple camera angle feature of DVD.


:)

I never used the multiple camera angles. But the multiple video streaming was pretty cool on the King Kong HD DVD.

[TheFlyingOrc]

It is worth it if you have a large screen.
a VERY large screen.

And here I am, saying it again -

Resolution is the 4th most important thing for picture quality after, in order:

Contrast Ratio, Color Accuracy, and Color Saturation.

Resolution is clearly necessary (wouldnt' be much to see with just one pixel), but the difference between regular TV and HD is mostly because the color is awful.

[Steele Johnson]

Actually, some of the up-converting algorithms these days are quite impressive. You can get a fairly cheap DVD player with these up-converting technologies that are pretty darn close to HD. For example: the OPPO DV-981HD (http://www.amazon.com/Oppo-DV-981HD-Universal-Player-Up-Converting/dp/B000LU8A7E) is amazing and you can pick it up for roughly $300.

Until the HD-DVD/Blu-ray battle subsides (and prices come down), I'm going to stick with regular DVDs and solid up-conversion.

[phantomhitman]

.......with these up-converting technologies that are pretty darn close to HD.
http://www.biwook.net/gallery/funny-shit/lot-of-images/very-silly-woman-wrong-answer.jpg

[dotbomb]

I'd be tempted if it had all the bells and whistles of fully licensed hd-dvd players.

[beefyjr]

Cool, i'm sure that will see just as much use as the multiple camera angle feature of DVD.


:)
It's actually pretty cool already, and there's some potential from some really awesome stuff to be done with it. Whether it lives up to that potential or not remains to be seen, but I really like the In Movie Experiences that Warner is doing and the U-Control that Universal did for Tokyo Drift is pretty awesome. I wouldn't buy a player that didn't support that.

[MijiT]

a grand for something that looks like that :p

[Steele Johnson]

http://www.biwook.net/gallery/funny-shit/lot-of-images/very-silly-woman-wrong-answer.jpg

I don't get it. What's your point? Are you trying to say that up-conversion doesn't work?

[phantomhitman]

I was just posting elephant humor, neverind me.

[BenkeiHami]

I don't get it. What's your point? Are you trying to say that up-conversion doesn't work?

I thought it was compairing the difference between DVD and HD-DVD to difference in size between an elephant and the moon.

[phantomhitman]

;)
giggle

[sprankton]

I say combine both formats, Blu-DVD!!! Brilliant!

[Ultima Thulian]

The price blows. $1200
360 core $400
PS3 20gb $500
HD-DVD add on for 360 $200

see? Fuck that noise. The price is retarded, this is not debateable.

[Steele Johnson]

I thought it was compairing the difference between DVD and HD-DVD to difference in size between an elephant and the moon.

Well you obviously haven't seen what these guys (http://www.algolith.com/index.php?id=dragonfly&L=0) can do. Get with the picture! (that's a little HD humor :D )

[Kamalot]

The price blows. $1200
360 core $400
PS3 20gb $500
HD-DVD add on for 360 $200

see? Fuck that noise. The price is retarded, this is not debateable.
Well, I suppose you could make fun of the price of any standalone Bluray player. They are all more expensive than the PS3.

[Loganrapp]

The quicker this hybrid player gets cheap, the quicker this format war ends with both sides looking like fools.

[LostToys]

The price blows. $1200
360 core $400
PS3 20gb $500
HD-DVD add on for 360 $200

see? Fuck that noise. The price is retarded, this is not debateable.

It is only retarded if you are a gamer. There are plenty of people who have home cinemas who do not game. They are first and foremost people who just want to watch movies and listen to music.

A Xbox360 and a PS3 doesn't make sense for these individuals. The functionality and setup is too unfamiliar for serious home theater enthusiasts. They would rather pay through the nose for a nice stand alone unit than save money and go with some alternatives.

For all intents and purposes all Blu-Ray users should have the PS3 since it is the best Blu-Ray player on the market (go read Absolute Sound, Perfect Vision, and Sound and Vision for some "professional" reviews). But my 60 year old father would never by the PS3 as a Blu-Ray player. It is not his standard cup of tea.

[Ultima Thulian]

It is only retarded if you are a gamer. There are plenty of people who have home cinemas who do not game. They are first and foremost people who just want to watch movies and listen to music.

A Xbox360 and a PS3 doesn't make sense for these individuals. The functionality and setup is too unfamiliar for serious home theater enthusiasts. They would rather pay through the nose for a nice stand alone unit than save money and go with some alternatives.

For all intents and purposes all Blu-Ray users should have the PS3 since it is the best Blu-Ray player on the market (go read Absolute Sound, Perfect Vision, and Sound and Vision for some "professional" reviews). But my 60 year old father would never by the PS3 as a Blu-Ray player. It is not his standard cup of tea.

No, it's retarded no matter who you are. You can get remotes for each system, and both play movies just as well as any other. Even if you're not a gamer, the price is still ridiculous. I'll say it again. The. Price. Is. Retarded.

[Spudcula]

It is worth it if you have a large screen.

No, it isn't. It's nice to have if you have a large screen, but it isn't worth it unless you're Bill Fucking Gates or something.

[Tennebaum]

I have a 60" DLP RPTV and watching HD-DVD on it blows DVD out of the water. It's like the step up from VHS to DVD. Im going to replace a lot of my DVD's (700+) as soon as they become available on HD-DVD.
And people who spend several thousands of dollars on HT equipment will simply not use a game console for movie playback. 1.200,- $ for a comboplayer will not bother them.

[Wolvie]

Sweet, no more worrying which format wins. Just buy whatever format ya can find and start munchin the popcorn!

[51|RandoM]

No, it isn't. It's nice to have if you have a large screen, but it isn't worth it unless you're Bill Fucking Gates or something.

Hate to break it to you buddy, but there is a large area between poor and bill gates.

I didn't say the player was worth it, btw, I said the higher resolution of an HD-DVD/BD movie is worth it, if you have a larger screen.

I'm not Bill Gates and I could afford HD content if I wanted it. I imagine I'll end up buying some BD movies if I get a PS3.

Looking at what I spend on keeping my PC up to date and on console videogames HD movies look downright cheap...

[Gorvi]

The quicker this hybrid player gets cheap, the quicker this format war ends with both sides looking like fools.

Actually, this shouldn't have much of an impact on the format war at all. It will give consumers a 'safe' choice to pick a player if they only want one unit in their A/V cabinet, but sales of individual players and the formats themselves will determine a winner. The industry will still want to set a standard format eventually, not all consumers interested in HD content will be buying these hybrid players.

[dirtbag]

Actually, this shouldn't have much of an impact on the format war at all. It will give consumers a 'safe' choice to pick a player if they only want one unit in their A/V cabinet, but sales of individual players and the formats themselves will determine a winner. The industry will still want to set a standard format eventually, not all consumers interested in HD content will be buying these hybrid players.

I totally agree. I myself think of this as a cop-out to the format war, and may result in a slower path to determining the actual 'winner'. What I want is a bloodbath between B-R and HD-DVD to get it over with so I can pick an appropriate player - none of this half-ass crap.

[Spudcula]

Hate to break it to you buddy, but there is a large area between poor and bill gates.

I didn't say the player was worth it, btw, I said the higher resolution of an HD-DVD/BD movie is worth it, if you have a larger screen.

I'm not Bill Gates and I could afford HD content if I wanted it. I imagine I'll end up buying some BD movies if I get a PS3.

Looking at what I spend on keeping my PC up to date and on console videogames HD movies look downright cheap...

Hey, what people spend on games these days is fucking goofy, too. Fifty or sixty bucks for a game? Four hundred bucks for a console? The hell? If there was no such thing as bargain bin and used games, I would be out scouting for a new hobby.

[phantomhitman]

Hey, what people spend on games these days is fucking goofy, too. Fifty or sixty bucks for a game? Four hundred bucks for a console? The hell? If there was no such thing as bargain bin and used games, I would be out scouting for a new hobby.
Maybe over my head or maybe just a broken sarcasm detector...but I do not get your point. I guess you never buy brand new games? Does that also mean you never buy new cosoles either? Or are you a pc gamer only?

[Mason]

a VERY large screen.

And here I am, saying it again -

Resolution is the 4th most important thing for picture quality after, in order:

Contrast Ratio, Color Accuracy, and Color Saturation.

Resolution is clearly necessary (wouldnt' be much to see with just one pixel), but the difference between regular TV and HD is mostly because the color is awful.
Very true. I could repost my usual spiel going through the mathematics of the perceptibility of various resolutions, but few if any have ever found that interesting.

I'd add artifacting between saturation and resolution. Sadly, the HD-cable services I've seen compress the crap out of the picture, making it disintegrate during any sort of fast motion. Broadcast HD is far superior but of course limited and local, and I don't know if there are any HD providers that offer many channels and decent picture quality (enlighten!). It's a moot point for discs or games, but quite relevant for HD programming.

And I keep on hearing about incompatibilities (both with TVs and discs) with these HD formats, so this is clearly a 2008 technology.

[XenonCJ]

a VERY large screen.

And here I am, saying it again -

Resolution is the 4th most important thing for picture quality after, in order:

Contrast Ratio, Color Accuracy, and Color Saturation.

Resolution is clearly necessary (wouldnt' be much to see with just one pixel), but the difference between regular TV and HD is mostly because the color is awful.

That's just dumb. They are all very important, but what if your resolution was 25x25 pixels? But my Contrast Ratio, Color Accuracy, and Color Saturation are GREAT!!!

Dumb dumb dumb. Who comes up with this crap?

[Kamalot]

That's just dumb. They are all very important, but what if your resolution was 25x25 pixels? But my Contrast Ratio, Color Accuracy, and Color Saturation are GREAT!!!

Dumb dumb dumb. Who comes up with this crap? :rolleyes:

Within reason. People are so quick to take thing to extremes.

Enjoy your 25x25 TeeVee.

[Ultima Thulian]

I like my tv's to be nice looking. I don't care what order of importance things go, I just want to pop in GoW and look at it and go, "Ooohh...awwwww...." Just me though. :D

[XenonCJ]

:rolleyes:

Within reason. People are so quick to take thing to extremes.

Enjoy your 25x25 TeeVee.Extreemes are where errors get exposed.

[Sense Field]

I got the Toshiba HD-A2 for $375 and Toshiba is going to send me 3 free movies and the upscale quality is amazing for regular dvds. I'm cool on the $1200 monster. In 3 years when are low priced dual players I will buy one. This LG does not even play the special features of the HD-DVDs it will only play the movie. Its a gimped HD-DVD player with full Blu-ray support

[Spudcula]

Maybe over my head or maybe just a broken sarcasm detector...but I do not get your point. I guess you never buy brand new games? Does that also mean you never buy new cosoles either? Or are you a pc gamer only?

Even if you're willing to pay for it, that doesn't make it any less ridiculous. I only buy new games/systems if it's something that I'm really excited about.