LG Kills Hybrid HD/BR with BD199 Blu-ray player

It had been reported in March the LG Electronics had shelved plans to release its BD199 Blu-ray player. Instead the company considered working on a hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD player to cover both sides of the field. Well, it looks as though LG is now falling back to supporting just the Blu-ray disc standard. While it appears that LG won't be resurrecting the BD199 for a quick release, the company will make an announcement later this year as to its future Blu-ray product plans.

Late last year, LG Electronics claimed the company would sit in the Blu-ray-only camp. Although LGE is not as popular as some of the other Japanese brands in the US, in Asia and Europe LGE remains one of the largest electronics brands. Now with LGE firmly back in Blu-ray territory, many analysts are already starting to adjust their high-definition outlooks.

There were also previous rumors that Samsung would release a hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD player, but company representatives shot down that notion rather quickly. Ricoh, on the other hand, has already announced a set top hybrid player that is scheduled to hit store shelves before the end of next year. And to add another twist to the whole hybrid craze, Toshiba has been pushing for a unified disc standard which combines the best of Blu-ray and Bluetooth instead of complex hybrid players.


Source: dailytech