For the last year or so, there have been rumors that Samsung was working on a combination HD DVD/Blu-ray player. It appears that these rumors were true as the company has announced plans to introduce a dual format High-Definition (HD) player in time for the holidays. Samsung's Duo HD player (BD-UP5000) supports both HD-DVD and Blu-ray as well as their interactive technologies, HDi and BD-Java.
Samsung's Duo HD player (BD-UP5000) will fully support both HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats and their interactive technologies, HDi and BD-Java. With the Duo HD consumers can enjoy additional studio content such as trailers, director's comments, more elaborate interactive menus and behind the scene footage. The new Duo HD joins Samsung's next generation DVD line-up which includes Samsung's second generation Blu-ray player available at retail this month. Together, these two models offer the consumer a strong line of High-Definition players to match Samsung's award winning, and best selling, line of HDTVs.
"We welcome Samsung's Duo HD player as another solution in the marketplace that will help reduce consumer confusion and buyer hesitancy towards HD media," said Ron Sanders, President of Warner Home Video. "This is an innovative product that can move us closer to mainstream consumer adoption of HD technologies."
"We are very pleased to announce the upcoming release of our Duo HD player. Consumers are hungry for more HD content but are currently confused about competing formats. Samsung's Duo HD player will allow consumers access to every HD movie title available regardless of the authoring format. Samsung is committed to making life simpler through technology and will market next generation DVD products which will satisfy the consumer and market requirement. This is a big win for the consumer.
No word on pricing or availability. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, Samsung's entire press release can be found review.
