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It’s taken a while but the dual-format Blu-ray/HD DVD player we’ve been dreaming of for so long is finally here, with the announcement of LG’s Super Multi Blue player at CES. The 1080p player will be out in the US by April for $1,199 and can also upscale standard DVDs to 1080i.
The biggest risk inherent in this new approach to high-def is that consumers take the cue offered, realizing that no one knows which format to back and simply delay buying anything at all — after all, DVD is good enough for now, right? Alternatively, movie studios will pump out their releases regardless of the format and everyone will be happy because they can play both kinds of disc on a single machine.
The latter scenario depends on dual-format players becoming the norm, which in turn depends on the cost of the new breed of machines coming down quickly. If it remains prohibitive to make the two-way players (and $1,199 is a pretty hefty chunk for most of us) then it’s inevitable that one format will eventually win out anyway, as those players will definitely see a price drop before long, which brings us right back to square one.
09:27 AM 
Mark Hiratsuka •
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