Right off, I'll tell you that the rumors that the HD-DVD compatibility is half-assed are absolutely true. One of HD-DVD's strongest points is its interactive menus and video features, like the ones we wrote about in our Fast and the Furious HD-DVD review. This player didn't support the menus on this movie, and some of the special features, like being able to repaint a race car in the movie, were only found when I manually skipped to the chapter. Even then, the only thing you can depend on is that the movie will play. Which may be enough for many, but not enough for those who want the most from both formats.

Secondly, I could not get the player to engage its 1080p mode via HDMI with the Sony XBR3 I'm testing. 1080i was all she would do.

But beyond that, she did play both discs. And the boot times were in the 30-40 second range for both HD formats. That's a step in the right direction compared to many of the 1st gen disc players that took about a minute. Strangely, the boot times were around 30 seconds for DVDs, too. A little long, but this is still the only way to get both formats in your home with one piece of gear. (Until those dual format discs pick up.)

Generally, if a player like this works, its quality is good enough for 95 percent of the population. But with a price tag of 1200 bucks, before tax and shipping, I had to test the player's visual qualities. Without an adequate HD synthetic benchmark, I used the tried and true HQV test DVD that gives quantitative scores for a DVD player's video processor quality with clips that aggravate jaggies, noise, moire, and frame rate cadence. The disc is the equivalent to Marine Boot Camp, so when the player scored a 55 out of 130, I wasn't too dissapointed, but I was not impressed, either. By reference, the XBox DVD player scored a 40. So, the LG is "OK".

This is a weird thing to bring up for a set top box review, but did you notice how gorgeous the case is? the matte-finished aluminum top proudly displays compatibility logos, and 5 buttons, for power, eject, play/pause, stop and menu that with softly glowing halos. On the front, there is merely the disc tray, the monochrome LCD and the glowing LG logo. It's basically the cleanest set top box I've ever seen. There is a flaw in this design: With the buttons on top, you're forced to put the BH100 in the top of a shelf, or be stuck using the remote. Seems fine. But like the PS3 and its rounded top, the BH100's design seems to scream to be at the top of your AV stack. Either way, if Chen were here, he'd try to stick it in his pants.

Extras: The player came with a bunch of crappy RCA and component cables, a nice universal remote,and a polish cloth. But no HDMI cable, the jerks.

Here's the official LG release. I've got full screenshots and angles, including the back panel, remote, and accessories, in the gallery.

Would I buy this? I'd can't recommend it if you're a videophile, or already have an XBox or PS3 to use as a player. Remember, the cost of the box is actually more than one of those cheaper 2nd gen Blu-Ray players + an HD-DVD player. And you're not getting the full shazaam when it comes to the HD-DVD interactivity. So, I'd personally pass, unless you have a very strong aversion to having two HD disc boxes instead of one. Just wait. There'll be more of these. –Brian Lam

Previous BH100 Coverage [Gizmodo]

Here's a look at some of the mud-slinging that took place during his sit downs.

HD DVD on Blu-ray

Support for Blu-ray isn't as rock solid as they would like. Samsung for instance has released a laptop (the M55) with an HD DVD drive. Sure, they got 50GB discs, but there's no movie out there that requires that space. As for the PS3, they're buying it for the games, not for the movies. In 2007 we'll have 600 HD DVD titles.

Blu-ray on HD DVD

The only support HD DVD has is coming from Universal, Warner Bros, and the porn industry [amen to porn—Ed]. We have the content. Their players are cheap for a reason. In the end it's a numbers game and we have the numbers. As for LG's BH100, that ain't gonna solve anything.

CE Pro HD DVD
CE Pro Blu-ray [via AVS Forum]

Unboxing of the LG BH100 Hybrid Player [Gadgetaholic]

Despite subsequent controversy around the unit, many saw LG's combo player as THE announcement of CES2007. While its $1,200 price tag means that grandma and grandpa won't be upgrading any time soon, at least some company has taken the initiative to produce the product we've all been waiting for since the next-gen DVD wars began.

–Mark Wilson

Order Page
Thanks Jose!

LG Super Multi Blue HD Player [AVS via Electronista]

The LG BH100 will still be released on or around February 4th for $1,200, so you can still go drop an exorbitant amount of money on a product that will only have cheaper and better versions of itself released in the coming months. Saints be praised! –Adam Frucci

LG: No HD DVD logo on combo player [Crave]

So as a result, the DVD Forum might sue LG for falsely using the HD DVD logo and for falsely saying that their hybrid player plays HD DVDs when in fact it doesn't play them the way they were intended to be played. Microsoft was also a bit miffed at LG for...

not giving them a heads up before announcing the BH100. So it looks like LG's baby won't see the light of day, which is a damn shame. Both sides have valid points—we just hope they manage to work something out because all this does is make me wanna stick with my old school DVDs even more. – Louis Ramirez

LG Hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD Player Cannot Be Sold As Is [BetaNews]