At yesterday’s product showing, Samsung demonstrated a Blu-ray player. It says it intends to be the first on the Australian market with a Blu-ray player, slated for the fourth quarter this year, and it’s aiming at a price of under $AUS1,000. And it’s hoping for a Blu-ray recorder early next year.
Samsung is definitely behind Blu-ray rather than HD-DVD. It says that of the seven major Hollywood film studios, six have promised Blu-ray titles, while only three are supporting HD-DVD. If that continues, then Blu-ray will be the winner here, but I’m still inclined to think that eventually we’ll have dual format players, and possibly recorders. Both use the same wavelength laser, although the focusing/protective layer on the discs themselves differ (0.1mm for Blu-ray, 0.6mm for HD-DVD).
I’m presently trying to find out more from the good folk at Samsung about the 1080p issue for Blu-ray that I’ve previously wondered about.