Ian Grayson05 December 2007, 6:22 AM
Wondering whether to go for a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD drive? With these latest offerings from LG, you can have both.
Buoyed by the success of its earlier offerings, LG has unveiled two new DVD drives that further blur the line between the two competing high definition recording formats.
The Super Multi Blue drives combine Blu-ray and HD DVD capabilities in a single unit, meaning consumers don't have to lock themselves in to one of the format camps. This is an attractive thought as the battle for the hearts and wallets of next-generation DVD fans is far from over.
 LG's latest dual-format high-def drive |
The Super Multi Blue GGW-H20L can write Blu-ray discs (BD-R) at speeds of up to 6X and conventional DVD+/-R discs at speeds of 16X. It can also read HD-DVD ROM discs at 3X speeds.
The other model, GGC-H20L, can play both Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs, but can only write conventional DVD and CD formats, albeit at an impressive 16X speed.
At the heart of the drives is LG's innovative Optical Pickup technology. This development allows the drives to play both competing high-definition formats and write Blu-ray discs. It can also handle conventional DVD and CD formats.
Both internal drives are now on the Australian market. The GGW-H20L retails for $999 while the GGC-H20L is priced at $799.
Interestingly a new industry report released this week shows Blu-ray has cornered more than 95 per cent of the home entertainment hardware and software markets.
Released by GfK Marketing Services (in association with Blu-ray fan Sony) it says the format has secure a 95.2% market share, leaving just 4.8 per cent for rival HD-DVD.