Samsung to bring out hybrid high definition player

Samsung has admitted that its rumoured dual format high definition player will come out later this year in the US.

It follows hot on the heels of LG’s dual format player, which was announced in January at CES in Las Vegas.

The Duo HD player (BD-UP5000) will play both Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs. Hybrid players and discs will become more common, because they give consumers greater freedom to buy the films they want, particularly as many are released in one format or the other, but not both standards.

But that freedom will come at a cost. Although the company has not revealed the priced, Samsung told Twice that it would be in the same ballpark as LG’s Super Multi Blue (pictured right), which cost around $1,200. There was no news on when it will come out in the UK, but it is unlikely to be until early 2008.

HD sales are now rising rapidly. In the first quarter of this year, around 1.2 million discs were sold, although the bulk of these were of the Blu-ray format. But there is still a great deal of confusion around the standards – and reluctance to make the HD plunge for fear of backing the wrong standard.

Reid Sullivan, marketing VP for Samsung's Digital A/V division, said: “Consumers are hungry for more HD content but are currently confused about competing formats. Samsung's Duo HD player will allow consumers to access to every HD movie title available regardless of the authoring format.”