Gizmodo: bh200

LG BH200 Dual Blu-ray/HD DVD Player Reviewed (Verdict: Good Video Quality, But Slightly Too Late)

Jason Chen — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:16:56 EST

LG's BH200 Super Blu player, which is an upgrade to their original HD DVD/Blu-ray player, sounded like a great idea on paper. However, with the state of HD DVD being what it is (dying), it's probably not a great decision to pay a premium on a player that does one good format and one useless one. Nevertheless, this BH200 is actually a decent piece of tech, with 1080p resolution at 60Hz or 24Hz (if it detects the right display support) and pretty good image quality.

The problems come when you get to the HD DVD support, where the "sluggish HD DVD menu navigation" get points docked off. There are some other quirks as well; you can't manually select the 1080p/24Hz mode if you know your display can handle it, it doesn't display 10-megapixel images (though it does 7-megapixel ones) and you can't update the firmware via ethernet like other models. But all in all it's a fairly decent player for the price ($600-$800ish). That said, with HD DVD all but deceased, you should probably just buy a Blu-ray player at this point and skip out on these dual-mode machines. [PCMag]

Second-Gen LG Blu-ray/HD DVD Combo Player Shipping Now For $999

Jason Chen — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:16:58 EST

We just met with a high-ranking source inside LG, who tells us that their second-generation Blu-ray/HD DVD combo player is shipping now for the MSRP of $999. Think that's too much when you can get separate Blu-ray and HD DVD players for the grand total of less than that? Well, just wait until after Christmas, when it officially drops to $799. (This is the MSRP too, the street price could be even less.) Not too shabby for the privilege of saving one cabinet slot on your home entertainment setup.

Hands On: LG BH200 Combo Blu-ray and HD DVD Player

Charlie White — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 15:58:59 EDT

You've seen the pics, you've read the specs, now it's time to put a stopwatch on this second-generation combo player from LG. Expected to sell for around $1000 when it hits the streets in mid-October, it's able to play just about any disc format, including good ol' CDs. But we wanted to know, how long do you have to wait after you insert an HD DVD or Blu-ray disc before you can see the first video? We tested Sharp's Blu-ray player last night and it took 34 seconds. Let's see how this one stacks up.

We hit the stopwatch first on a Blu-ray disc, and the time from tray insertion to first video was an eventual 31 seconds. For HD DVD, it was a bit quicker, at 29.7 seconds. We'd rather see this time shaved to under 10 seconds.

And oh yeah, the 1080p video coming out of the player was just perfect, in both Blu-ray and HD DVD trim. And, looky there, it's the official HD DVD logo sitting there, absent in the first-generation player because of alleged Microsoft recalcitrance. ~~Word is that the Redmondians didn't want to see some crazy idea like a dual player hitting the market, making consumers' lives easier. Apparently all is forgiven.~~ [No, the original LG player didn't do true HD DVD because it couldn't handle interactive menus. -B.Lam]

LG Intros $999 BH200 Super Blu Combo HD Player

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 08:26:40 EDT

Realizing that Samsung's BD-UP5000 was going to give the original hybrid BH100 a run for its money, LG announced the more competitive BH200 Super Blu Player for watching both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. It'll cost $999 when it ships in October, and will include support and features its $1,200 predecessor sorely lacked:

According to reports, the BH200 will have HDi support, 1080p output at 60Hz and 1080p upscaling of standard DVDs. It will be able to play audio CDs, and go online for bonus HD DVD content. It can also access a full complement of Blu-ray interactive features—where available—such as BD-Live, Blu-View or Picture-in-Picture.

At a similar price and feature set as Samsung's BD-UP5000 Duo HD, and now similarly bearing both the Blu-ray and HD DVD official logos, we'll be watching both of these mofos when they are available. Now tell me, why would you want a disc player that only plays one kind of HD disc? [Electronic House]

Three Nokia Headsets Launch at CES

tgrumet — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 09:17:37 EST

Though they haven't unveiled any phones at CES yet, Nokia has shown three Bluetooth Headsets in Vegas so far.
The BH-800 ($140) weighs in at just 9 grams, making it extremely small and kind of cute in coffee black and silver white. Comes with an optional, removable ear loop, power button, volume control and call answering buttons. Talk time is about 6 hours with up to 160 hours of stand by time. Includes Bluetooth specification 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate (EDR).
The BH-900 ($100) is more stylish, designed with ergonomics in mind and noise reduction and echo cancellation. It weighs 19 grams (double the BH-800), supports Bluetooth and supports Push-to-Talk technology.
The BH-200 ($55) is the most affordable (and simple) of the group, weighing 14 grams with a talk time of up to 5 hours 30 minutes and up to 150 hours of stand by time.

Nokia Launches Three Great Bluetooth Headsets [PRnewswire]