It will be available at the end of this year

Jun 24, 2006 13:23 GMT  ·  By

Samsung Electronics announced that it will release later this year or earlier in 2007 a hybrid dual-format high definition video player, which is said to support both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, according to X-bit Labs.

Samsung representatives stated that the company is already engaged in the process of developing this hybrid player, but they chose not to reveal a specific date for the release. In addition, it seems that the process is in the final stage, but, according to specialists, it is very hard to integrate all the Blu-ray and HD DVD dedicated components, as the formats are still new and mass production is, of course, slower.

?We don?t have a plan to make an HD DVD-only player, but are considering a universal player. We are preparing HD DVD [support] now and if we launch a universal player it will be the end of this year or early next year,? said Kim Du-Hyon, an assistant manager in Samsung?s home-platform product planning division, in a briefing with reporters at the company's headquarters in Suwon, South Korea, IDG News Service agency claims.

But, if we remember that Toshiba, the main 'HD DVD back up', is Samsung's partner, as the two companies established a division named Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corp., the South Korean manufacturer should have access to Toshiba's HD DVD technology resources.

Earlier this month, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. launched its so awaited Blu-ray disc player - the Samsung BD-P1000 - which will be finally available on the U.S. retail market starting June 25th.

The new Samsung BD-P1000 is said to be able to play Blu-ray software titles at the highest resolution available via a native 1080p HDMI output for films digitally mastered in 1920 x 1080p. Furthermore, the manufacturer stated that the BD-P1000 can also convert conventional DVDs to 1080p through the HDMI digital interface in order to enhance the visual characteristics of the initial DVD image.

Samsung?s BD-P1000 seems to be compatible with standard DVDs and CDs in addition to supporting all DVD formats including, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, and DVD+R.