HD DVD or Blu-ray. How about both?

The BH100 is smaller and quieter than the Blu-ray players we’ve seen to date, but it’s still painfully slow to load discs. It upscales DVDs to 1080i and also plays Blu-ray and HD DVD discs in 1080p at their native 24 frames per second — but this isn’t necessarily the blessing it might seem.

While practically all high-definition televisions can accept a 50Hz signal, few can accept a 24Hz signal and display it at 24Hz. They either convert 24Hz to 50Hz or refuse to play it at all. At the same time, many Blu-ray and HD DVD players don’t output 24Hz, they convert it to 50Hz.

Blu-ray and HD DVD support advanced surround formats such as Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD, but, in another disappointment, the BH100 down-converts these to Dolby Digital and DTS. The Ethernet port has also been hobbled, with LG labelling it a “service port” — disappointing considering the HD DVD camp is about to release discs that can access the internet to download extra content. While the BH100 will play the interactive Java content on Blu-ray discs, it doesn’t support the interactive “HDi” features on HD DVD discs — a major drawback.

The idea of a Blu-ray/HD DVD combo drive is obviously appealing, but LG’s BH100 asks you to sacrifice a lot in return. If you’ve only got a 720p or 1080i television and basic 5.1 sound you might not care, but if you’ve spent the money on high-end home entertainment gear then the BH100 probably won’t do it justice.