Dual Format High Def Dvd Players Allow Consumers To Enjoy Benefits Of Technology

By Author: Emily Sanderson
Total Articles: 32
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There's a revolutionary new development in the format war between the HD-
DVD and Blu-ray high definition DVD formats! Samsung is releasing a high
definition DVD player that can play discs in both of these warring formats. But
that's not really what's revolutionary because, after all, LG has had a device
capable of doing the same thing on the market for several months now. The
revolutionary part of all of this is that the model from Samsung only costs
about six hundred dollars while LG's model costs over eleven hundred dollars.

For some background, the idea of a dual format high def DVD player is
extremely attractive because Blu-ray players and HD-DVD players can't play
each other's discs. This, combined with the rabid competition between the two
formats to displace each other, has lead to a widespread fear among
consumers of investing in either format lest they be left with the useless lump
of electronics that a player in the losing format will inevitably become.

The attraction of a dual format high def DVD player is that it allows ...
... a consumer
to invest in high definition DVD technology and start to enjoy it before the
format war is over, while remaining content that his or her purchase will still be
usable no matter how the format war turns out. Of course buying two separate
players- one for each format- would also allow home entertainment
enthusiasts to enjoy this technology without risk, but that's not a very good
solution in two different ways. First of all, buying both players would be
extremely expensive. Second, and perhaps more importantly given the
amounts of money that people are willing to throw into electronics these days,
even if one buys players for both formats one is still buying the player of the
losing format, which means that one is still making the wrong choice. In many
ways choosing the right format is more important to people than hedging their
bets. A dual format high def DVD player allows people to buy a single player
and for it to be the right choice no matter how the format war turns out.

In addition to the benefit of costing far less than LG's dual format High Def
DVD player, the Samsung model is also superior in at least one technical way.
While the LG model doesn't provide access to some bonus features on HD-
DVD's, the Samsung model is capable of accessing the bonus features on
both Blu-ray discs as well as HD-DVD discs. That takes away one major
excuse for not getting a dual format player in general.

One thing that's extremely interesting about this device is that while it won't
end the format war, it and devices like it could make the format war a moot
point in the eyes of consumers. That's because if dual format high def DVD
players become the norm, then people won't care as much which type of disc
they purchase. This indiscriminate consumption of discs of both formats could
create a kind of equilibrium where even though the two sides of the war will
still be battling for supremacy, consumers will be free to ignore all of the antics
and simply enjoy the benefits of the technology.

Emily Sanderson writes articles about the latest developments in technology, electronics, and television. She'd like to inform you that satelite TV is ready for the new digital TV technology and if you need more information about how this change will affect your television service read E. Sanderson articles.