LG Electronics to Bridge DVD Divide

Posted 05 January 2007 @ 09:09 am EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

SEOUL (AP) - South Korea's LG Electronics has said it plans to sell the world's first DVD player capable of playing rival high-definition DVD formats.

The dual-format player, to be released in the United States early this year, will end the "confusion and inconvenience" of competing disc formats for both content producers and consumers, the company said in a statement.

The high-definition player will play HD DVD format and rival Blu-ray format discs, the statement said. In a replay of the VHS-Betamax battle between two types of video cassette tape in the late 1970s, the two different DVD formats have hit the market offering cinematic-quality images and interactive entertainment.

But they are incompatible, forcing consumers to choose. Since they were introduced last year, companies have been fighting a fierce campaign to try to convince consumers that their product should become the dominant format.

Movie studios, which are releasing high-definition DVD films, have warned that the format war would delay widespread adoption of the technology, which allows for extra features and sharper images not possible with standard discs.

Details of the new unit will be released at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week, LG's statement said.