Combo Blu-Ray/HD-DVD Player by LG is Dead
LG Electronics, the one-time DVD peace-maker, has scuttled plans for a combination Blu-ray/HD-DVD player that was planned for launch this fall. According to Bob Perry, VP of sales and channel marketing who outlined product plans at the company’s 2006 Summer Line Show this week in New York, LG remains part of the Blu-ray camp and will make a product announcement later in the year.
The road to high-def DVD has been a long one for LG, when the company announced last November that it would roll out a Blu-ray player, the BD199, in Q2 of this year. Back then, Perry said, “We’re putting a stake in the ground to bring some sanity to this continuing battle.”
In March of this year, however, LG declared in a memo to dealers, “In light of uncertainty in this early stage of the market for pre-recorded high-definition optical discs, we have decided not to introduce the BD199 as originally planned for this spring.”
Rather, the company would produce a hybrid Blu-ray/HD-DVD solution to appease all comers. Such a thing would make sense for a company that already builds HD-DVD players for its OEM customers.
But it was not to be, as Perry announced a few days ago. No word on when an LG-branded Blu-ray deck may ship in the U.S.
