February 2007
First Look: LG BH100 Blu-ray/HD DVD player
The first combination Blu-ray/HD DVD player arrives
Price we paid: $1,200
Date of ConsumerReports.org update: February 2007
With two incompatible formats, Blu-ray and HD DVD, competing in the emerging high-definition DVD market, consumers have been wary about buying a player that might become obsolete if the rival format becomes the standard. LG Electronics is trying to allay their concerns. The company has introduced the industry's first "hybrid" high-definition DVD player designed to play movies recorded in either the Blu-ray or HD DVD format. At $1,200, the player is fairly expensive, but some single-format players cost as much. Overall, it's worth a look for early adopters eager to start watching high-def DVDs.
Our tests showed that the BH100 lives up to its promise, providing excellent video quality from Blu-ray and HD DVD titles. But it lacks the Internet connection we've seen on other HD DVD players and doesn't support the Microsoft-based iHD interactivity used in HD DVD titles.
The BH100 did a decent but not outstanding job playing standard DVDs at 480p resolution (what you'd get from a regular progressive-scan player), and it can't play audio CDs. So we see it as an addition to, rather than a replacement for, the standard DVD player in most home-entertainment systems. Here are more points to consider:
HIGHS
Plays Blu-ray and HD DVD high-definition DVD formats. That should ease concerns for early adopters who want to enjoy prerecorded high-def movies but are afraid of backing the wrong horse.
Excellent high-definition video quality. Produced excellent picture with both formats, on par with what we've seen with single-format high-def DVD players.
LOWS
Doesn't output 1080p via HDMI to all HDTVs. During our preliminary tests, the BH100 output 1080p video signals to an LG-brand 1080p HDTV, but it wouldn't do so with several other mainstream brands of 1080p TVs. Instead, it output a 1080i signal that those TVs had to upconvert to 1080p. The resulting video quality can be excellent if the TV does a good job, but if the TV's processing is less than optimal, picture quality can suffer.
Standard DVD picture quality is not as good as other players. When playing standard DVDs, the 480p picture quality was not as good as we've seen from other high-def DVD models or from the dozens of standard players we've tested. Images were marred by noticeable de-interlacing artifacts, or noise.
480p output from DVDs only via HDMI connections. The player must be connected to a TV using an HDMI connection to get 480p video from copy-protected standard DVDs, meaning virtually all commercial releases. If the player is connected to a TV using the component-video input, the TV receives a 480i video signal, which is equivalent to standard-def TV quality but lower than the quality from a standard progressive-scan DVD player. If your TV is more than a year or two old, it probably won't have an HDMI input, so you'll sacrifice some picture quality when watching standard DVDs.
Doesn't support HD DVD's iHD interactivity. As mentioned above, the BH100 has some limitations with HD DVD movies. While it can generate a simple menu for navigating a disc, it doesn't support interactive features based on the iHD format.
Outputs are less than optimal. The player has HDMI, component-video, and composite-video outputs, but no S-video--an odd but not significant omission given that S-video connections can't carry high-def signals. Also, the player uses the HDMI 1.2 specification, not the newer HDMI 1.3 version we've seen on a few other high-def players. HDMI 1.3 has greater bandwidth to support high-definition audio and future video enhancements, such as a greater number of colors and shades of gray.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The LG BH100 has the unique ability to play Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, with excellent video quality for both. Given that some movies might be available only in one format, it lets you enjoy a wider variety of high-def movies, with no concern about investing in a losing format.
But we don't recommend that everyone run out and buy the BH100. For one thing, it's relatively expensive. High-def prices are likely to drop later in the year, so you could save money by waiting. Also, other hybrid players are likely to show up, so you might want to see what they have to offer. Then there are the player's shortcomings, particularly its inability to output 1080p pictures to all HDTV brands and its lack of support for HD DVD's interactivity.
If you want a high-def player immediately, the BH100 is worth considering, but it's not your only option, even if you want the ability to play all types of high-def titles. With Toshiba's entry-level HD DVD player now selling for $500 and Samsung and Philips offering $800 Blu-ray models, you could purchase two players for about the price of the LG unit, with the bonus of an Internet connection plus support for HD DVD interactivity. (The Toshiba outputs only 1080i.) Even if you decide to buy the BH100, hang on to your standard DVD player so you can play audio CDs and get the best 480p picture quality.
Date of ConsumerReports.org update: February 2007
With two incompatible formats, Blu-ray and HD DVD, competing in the emerging high-definition DVD market, consumers have been wary about buying a player that might become obsolete if the rival format becomes the standard. LG Electronics is trying to allay their concerns. The company has introduced the industry's first "hybrid" high-definition DVD player designed to play movies recorded in either the Blu-ray or HD DVD format. At $1,200, the player is fairly expensive, but some single-format players cost as much. Overall, it's worth a look for early adopters eager to start watching high-def DVDs.
Our tests showed that the BH100 lives up to its promise, providing excellent video quality from Blu-ray and HD DVD titles. But it lacks the Internet connection we've seen on other HD DVD players and doesn't support the Microsoft-based iHD interactivity used in HD DVD titles.
The BH100 did a decent but not outstanding job playing standard DVDs at 480p resolution (what you'd get from a regular progressive-scan player), and it can't play audio CDs. So we see it as an addition to, rather than a replacement for, the standard DVD player in most home-entertainment systems. Here are more points to consider:
HIGHS
Plays Blu-ray and HD DVD high-definition DVD formats. That should ease concerns for early adopters who want to enjoy prerecorded high-def movies but are afraid of backing the wrong horse.
Excellent high-definition video quality. Produced excellent picture with both formats, on par with what we've seen with single-format high-def DVD players.
LOWS
Doesn't output 1080p via HDMI to all HDTVs. During our preliminary tests, the BH100 output 1080p video signals to an LG-brand 1080p HDTV, but it wouldn't do so with several other mainstream brands of 1080p TVs. Instead, it output a 1080i signal that those TVs had to upconvert to 1080p. The resulting video quality can be excellent if the TV does a good job, but if the TV's processing is less than optimal, picture quality can suffer.
Standard DVD picture quality is not as good as other players. When playing standard DVDs, the 480p picture quality was not as good as we've seen from other high-def DVD models or from the dozens of standard players we've tested. Images were marred by noticeable de-interlacing artifacts, or noise.
480p output from DVDs only via HDMI connections. The player must be connected to a TV using an HDMI connection to get 480p video from copy-protected standard DVDs, meaning virtually all commercial releases. If the player is connected to a TV using the component-video input, the TV receives a 480i video signal, which is equivalent to standard-def TV quality but lower than the quality from a standard progressive-scan DVD player. If your TV is more than a year or two old, it probably won't have an HDMI input, so you'll sacrifice some picture quality when watching standard DVDs.
Doesn't support HD DVD's iHD interactivity. As mentioned above, the BH100 has some limitations with HD DVD movies. While it can generate a simple menu for navigating a disc, it doesn't support interactive features based on the iHD format.
Outputs are less than optimal. The player has HDMI, component-video, and composite-video outputs, but no S-video--an odd but not significant omission given that S-video connections can't carry high-def signals. Also, the player uses the HDMI 1.2 specification, not the newer HDMI 1.3 version we've seen on a few other high-def players. HDMI 1.3 has greater bandwidth to support high-definition audio and future video enhancements, such as a greater number of colors and shades of gray.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The LG BH100 has the unique ability to play Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, with excellent video quality for both. Given that some movies might be available only in one format, it lets you enjoy a wider variety of high-def movies, with no concern about investing in a losing format.
But we don't recommend that everyone run out and buy the BH100. For one thing, it's relatively expensive. High-def prices are likely to drop later in the year, so you could save money by waiting. Also, other hybrid players are likely to show up, so you might want to see what they have to offer. Then there are the player's shortcomings, particularly its inability to output 1080p pictures to all HDTV brands and its lack of support for HD DVD's interactivity.
If you want a high-def player immediately, the BH100 is worth considering, but it's not your only option, even if you want the ability to play all types of high-def titles. With Toshiba's entry-level HD DVD player now selling for $500 and Samsung and Philips offering $800 Blu-ray models, you could purchase two players for about the price of the LG unit, with the bonus of an Internet connection plus support for HD DVD interactivity. (The Toshiba outputs only 1080i.) Even if you decide to buy the BH100, hang on to your standard DVD player so you can play audio CDs and get the best 480p picture quality.
