LG's Super Multi Blue HD Player spotted in CompUSA
The LG BH100 is indeed shipping--but there's no HD DVD logo
(Credit: LG)A member over at AVS Forum has posted pics of LG's Super Multi Blue HD Player apparently on sale at a CompUSA in Texas. In case you hadn't heard, the Super Multi Blue HD Player is LG's answer to detente in the next-gen DVD format war: playback capabilities for both formats bundled in a single player, the LG BH100 ($1,200 list). The player won our Best of CES award this year. The AVS Forum member confirms what Senior Editor David Katzmaier reported in an earlier Crave post--namely, that the player doesn't offer playback support for the whiz-bang interactivity features of HD DVD, which go by the acronym HDi. (Click here for a full description of the player.) The BH100 also ships without any sort of HD DVD logo because the unit did not gain approval by the DVD Forum, the body responsible for HD DVD licensing.
Word was the player would hit Best Buy and Circuit City in early February, but it looks like a few are already trickling out into the channel. While we don't expect this to be a big seller at its lofty $1,200 price, it is nice to see it shipping. Often, we see products at CES that never make to store shelves.
Hunkered down in New York City, Executive Editor David Carnoy covers the gamut of gadgets and writes his Fully Equipped column, which carries the tag line "The electronics you lust for." He's also the author of "Knife Music," a novel. E-mail David. Follow David on Twitter.
