It looks like both HD DVD and Blu-ray will more likely be here to stay with Samsung planning to release a competitively priced dual format player in Europe, capable of playing HD DVD and Blu-ray discs, going by this Silicon Republic report. The player, model BD-UP5000, is reported to sell for €400 (~US$545); cheaper than what even Blu-ray only players currently sell for in most stores across Europe.
At present, the only dual format player on the market is the LG Electronics BH-100, which retails in the US at around US$1,199 or more than the price of buying both lowest price single format players together. However, with pricing of Blu-ray and HD DVD players expected to fall later in the year, by the time this player hits the market, it may end being far more expensive than most of the single format HD players. What will be interesting to see is if the this Samsung player will handle the HD DVD features that the LG BH-100 lacks, such as HDi support.
Going by this DigiTimes report, the Japanese competitors such as Pioneer, Sony and Panasonic are likely to stay with single format only players, since dual-format players have the drawback of additional costs to cover both HD DVD and Blu-ray royalties, not to mention the cost of using more sophisticated hardware to handle both formats.
