Samsung prepares Blu-ray, HD DVD combo drive

It's a complete mess, just like the one we experienced at some five years ago at CeBit, when the DVD-R chaps squared up against the DVD+R chaps. It ended up as DVD+/-RW and every recorder that you buy today supports both discs.

Now, we learn that Samsung will be the first manufacturer to release a device that is capable of playing both HD DVD and Blu-ray discs.

This is what we, and especially our US cousins, actually need. When it comes to High Definition content, the United States is far ahead of Europe. We still lack content, devices and the transition from Standard to High Definition is rather slow.

But it would be patently ridiculous to have to go out and buy two players, one for HD DVD and one for Blu-Ray. We checked some prices in the US and you will have to pay at least $399 for a player - and that's a lot of money. They are still not readily available in the stores but they will be in a month or two. In the USA, that is.

Samsung will be the first to deliver a combo drive but the others will soon follow, delivering a solution to this crazy dispute about standards. We will try to get some more information about the device itself and some of the specifications. It should come out this summer. µ