LG HD DVD, Blu-ray combo player BH200
LG200Confused about the HD DVD / Blu-ray format war? As Tony Soprano used to say: Forget about it! The second-generation LG Super Blu player is here. But these units are so scarce you’ll have to make someone an offer they can’t refuse to get your hands on one.
Super Blu is LG’s code name for its HD DVD / Blu-ray combo player. Combo players will playback both high definition disc formats and will upscale your DVDs to 1080P.
So far, the only combo player available has been LG’s original Super Blu model number BH100. I had first-hand experience with the first Super Blu -and it was one impressive device!
BH100
If all you want to do is watch HD DVD and Blu-ray, this is the player for you. It’s compatible with all the new high-resolution audio formats including Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital HD and DTS HD, although the manual specifies DTS HD is two channel only.
What’s the drawback of the BH100?
It’s not a full-spec Blu-ray or HD DVD player.
That means it’s only compatible with Blu-ray profile 1.0, so you won’t get the full use of special features you’ll see on upcoming Blu-ray discs.
As an HD DVD player, BH100 was even worse. All it can do is playback the HD DVD movie with no disc menus at all. But that might be a good thing for people who just want to get down to the movie and not mess about with fancy animated menus.
BH100 can be had nowadays for very cheap if you can find one. Its replacement is the BH200 and has some welcomed improvements.
BH200
The biggest advancement LG brings to the second-generation Super Blu is full-specification HD DVD and Blu-ray profile 1.1.
Yes, that means you can take advantage of all the special features on both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, including animated menu systems. BH200 is also compatible with all the new high-resolution audio formats and can output them in bitstream through HDMI 1.3.
The only drawback I have found with the BH200 is that the analog outputs are only two channel. This is bad news if you don’t have one of those fancy new receivers with HDMI 1.3 inputs capable of receiving high-resolution audio formats in bitstream. You’ll just have to do without.
The cost-saving alternative to replacing your receiver has been to simply use the 5.1 analog outputs on any playback device capable of decoding the new surround-sound formats.
This assures that your receiver needn’t be compatible with them, because all it’s doing is amplifying the analog sound to your speakers. Decoding is handled by the player. Sadly, this won’t be an option for you with the BH200.
If this is important to you, you could consider waiting for the first competing combo player by Samsung (model BD-UP5000) finally due out in February after many delays.
It’s worth noting that at LG’s MSRP of $850, it’s only a small compromise to buy yourself a PlayStation 3 and a Toshiba HD-A2 for less.
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An audio dealer friend of mine is trying to get stock from Best Buy Business and so far hasn't scored any numbers. Can you provide a link to a source that has the Samsung unit in stock?