LG: No HD DVD logo on combo player

(Credit: LG)

This logo will not appear on the LG BH100

(Credit: DVD forum)

The LG BH100, the combination Blu-ray and HD DVD player selected by CNET as the best product of CES 2007, is definitely coming out on time, according to LG spokesman John Taylor, but it won't have the official HD DVD logo. The logo pictured on the CES demo unit will not be printed on the shipping player because the BH100 did not gain approval by the DVD Forum, the body responsible for HD DVD licensing. The reason is that the BH100 cannot support HDi (formerly known as iHD), the interactive layer of HD DVD discs.

I've read reports that the lack of HDi support means that the player cannot access menus at all, but I highly doubt that's the case. In fact, during the BH100 demo at the LG press conference at CES, the company's rep made a point of browsing to the menu system of Batman Begins on HD DVD, selecting a chapter, and jumping there. From what I understand, lack of HDi support means the player won't be able to access interactive functionality available on some discs, such as picture-in-picture commentaries and Web-enabled features, for example. Given that most peple I know don't watch the special features anyway, I doubt lack of HDi would be a deal breaker for that tiny part of the population actually considering the purchase of this $1,200 player.

For that tiny part, the joy hits stores February 4 according to Engadget HD's Best Buy tipsters.

[kevjohn2007]

Don't give them a free pass on this

Don't watch the special features?? Then why not just stick with VHS tapes? Aside from the luscious video and audio, the special features are the big draw for me, ever since dvd's replaced my Laserdiscs.

[gizmobox]

Do you watch special features?

I didn't care about speical features when I watch DVD titles and I doubt I will watch them when I have a HD player.
I rather like cheaper titles without special features.
Don't waste your budget, movie makers.

[barrington thompson]

Will LG's combo player enable HD DVD-win the war?

Can you guarantee that that the only problem with the HD DVD player was that there were no interactivity, because I think that there were three things?

One, which I can remember is probably not having access to selecting picture chapters.

Why didn't LG simply designed the super multi blue player so that if the player was playing an HD DVD disc to load its program / interactive features in to memory and if a Blu-ray disc was loaded to place the blu-ray data and information into memory?

It appeared that since LG represented Blu-ray that LG made sure that Blu-ray's player worked properly and HD DVD didn't, which is interesting. This obviously gives blu-ray a completely unfair advantage, because some people would think that all HD players would play the HD discs badly.

What is extremely interesting is that the player would probably be competing with Blu-ray players rather than HD DVD players, because of the price about $1,000 (USA) or £1,000 (UK). Most people are most likely are going to buy the cheaper player (HD DVD about $500 or £500):
1) This is because HD DVD is the cheapest
2) At least in England probably impossible to record in HD films and programmes in HD for personal use. So what is the purpose of the recorder and rewriter section part of the blu-ray players. This means that about $500 or £500 completely wasted!

Blaiming problems on piracy is a fiasco - What I call, 'The Establishment' trying to cover-up their probably incompetence. Dumping expensive pieces of HD unreliable junk on to the market instead of properly testing products, and also stop probably ripping off customers. For example customers need to know the HDMI versions to make competent buying decisions and HDMI 1.3 version with features should be placed into HD products immediately. Dead pixels and burn-in should also be included in warranties instead of ripping off customers.

There should have been a warning on top of the box stating that it will not play HD DVD discs properly in large letters, because some people may not know that it cannot play HD DVD discs properly and some sales person would claim that it can properly play all HD DVD discs, which is what the editor is implying before properly reviewing the product, which is biased.

[stephane_d]

Note on "extras"

Reason for switching to DVD instead of staying with VHS, even it not using extras:

- multiple langage sound track
- Extras are useless for my family: they are most often only in English...

I do hope though that LG will address the concerns in the HDDVD functionality of this player for their next player. Then it will be a very good player...