Samsung cancels plans for dual-format HDTV player

Samsung has decided not to go ahead with plans for a dual-format HDTV player, following Toshiba’s decision to exit the HD DVD business.

Samsung announced that it has cancelled the introduction of its second-generation BD-UP5500 dual-format player, which was designed to display both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs.

The company earlier launched the BD-UP5000 dual-format player, and believes that this still has a role to play, even though Blu-ray seems to have finally won the next-generation format war.

It said, in a statement “Samsung believes that a multi-format player like the current BD-UP5000 Duo HD Player (Duo) offers the best and only solution for consumers that want access to all available High-Definition titles in the short term. It remains a practical solution, but the window of opportunity is smaller than it was before. In light of recent announcements, Samsung will not introduce the BD-UP5500 Duo HD Player.”

Samsung had planned to launch the BD-UP5500 Duo HD Player in late spring.