Samsung to Offer Blu-Ray/HD-DVD Player

There is still no agreement in the fight to become the de-facto standard for next generation DVDs, but at least one company is preparing itself for the possibility of competing technologies and will produce a DVD player that will be able to play both Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats.

A Samsung executive told the Financial Times Deutschland that while the company is pushing for a single standard, it is ready to produce a player that would be compatible with both formats.

"It won't be simple but you'll see our solution in the coming year. Consumers will be too confused otherwise," Choi Gee-sung, Samsung's consumer electronics director, told the paper.

Backers of Blu-ray and HD-DVD have been attempting to broker a deal for much of the year, but initial talks faltered in May as neither side was willing to compromise. Discussions resumed over the summer, but neither side yielded, which made an agreement impossible.

Sony counts Matsushita, the maker of Panasonic electronics, Philips, and Apple Computer as supporters of the Blu-ray format. The PlayStation 3, Sony's next generation gaming console, will also use the format for its games.

HD-DVD, on the other hand, touts backwards compatibility as one of its most attractive features. Supporters include Toshiba, NEC and Sanyo.