LG BH200 Blu-ray HD DVD hybrid player generation 2
LG Electronics has announced their 2nd generation “Super Blu” standalone player, dubbed the BH200. LG was the very first company to debut a hybrid HD DVD/Blu-ray player, the BH100, which was announced at CES in January, earlier this year. LG’s original hybrid model, the BH100, was not capable of playing the interactive features of HD DVD (HDi). Due to this handicap, the BH100 did not display an HD DVD logo on the unit.
The new LG BH200 exceeds where its’ predecessor, the BH100 failed. The new player can play back both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc high definition movies along with supporting both BD-J and HDi features. This player is fully HD DVD compliant and will proudly bare the HD DVD logo.
The BH200 will be available in mid October at a suggested retail price of $999. The new LG player will be directly competing with Samsung’s Duo HD BD-UP5000 player, which also supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD. The Samsung BD-UP5000 is scheduled to debut with a suggested retail price of $1,049, slightly more than the BH200 MSRP.
Could there be a hybrid player price war brewin’? Maybe a slight one. And while I certainly welcome any news of additional high def players that support both HD DVD and Blu-ray, I doubt that we will see any major price reductions on these types of players until more manufacturers get into the hybrid game (hello China). For more info on the BH200, check out ElectronicHouse.
