LG's Super Multi Blue combo burner reviewed

Even at this stage in the game, there aren't many drives out there sporting both logos, but LG's HL-DT-ST BD-RE GGW-H10N 1.01 drive -- better known as the Super Multi Blue to the layperson -- has the Blu-ray and HD DVD logos sitting up front in perfect harmony. Announced at this year's CES, the drive can playback Blu-ray, DVD and HD DVD media, along with 4x recording and even rewriting of Blu-ray Discs. Now that the drive is finally out, CDRinfo has a ridiculously extensive review that really puts the $1,200 lens menagerie through its paces. In all, the dual playback makes this one a winner, and the Blu-ray, DVD and CD recordings turned out quite well to boot. The error correction for CD and DVDs is a bit lacking, but we're guessing anyone willing to fork over this much cash for a drive -- or crazy enough to read this whole review -- has bigger fish to fry.

[Thanks, Macris A]

[Aaron @ Jun 19th 2007 12:54PM]

I notice that this drive ships with Cyberlink playback software. Great...Cyberlink's PowerDVD HD software is still really buggy. There are numerous threads over on AVSforum.com that trash this software. Using one of the latest iterations (ver 7.3, I think) I still have trouble with basic features like getting rid of subtitles and even pausing some movies.

[TVGenius @ Jun 19th 2007 12:57PM]

Is there even software available at this point that supports the playback of both formats? And does it have the same HD-DVD interactivity problems of the standalone player?

[chadow @ Jun 19th 2007 1:21PM]

This is great. It would be great to see the format war ended by everyone making players that can play both. This is a great step toward that.

[Karl L. Gechlik @ Jun 19th 2007 3:38PM]

I am very sorry "The Shadow Lurker" but I responded to a comment. My Url is my signature. I have checked the rules and I am allowed to post up to 3 urls in my comment.

What would constitue my post as "SPAM"? Were my comments not relevant? I know yours wasn't.

-=TheAdmiN=-

[The Shadow Lurker @ Jun 19th 2007 5:57PM]

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[benjamin kuchera @ Aug 29th 2007 11:43AM]

Well people, here's the bad part about these two format of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. This post should end the whole shebang. -I hope.

These two technologies are pretty much already obsolite on launch. With streaming online digital delivery formats getting smaller and better in data size (New Adobe HD Flash and MPEG 4), you're dealing with a simple box on its way that will handle HD in H.264 or better, with download times that will most likely take 1/1000 the time of going to the video store or retail outlet for an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray.

Toshiba and Sony will ofcourse push these formats to the limit, and for computer Data storage, that's neat...but flash drives will quickly surpass that format and there will be no burning. Let us not forget that burning altogether is the biggest, most horrible idea ever.

So, you spend a couple billion to make this and market this, and in the mean time, you have little gurus out there pushing online content delivery. I for one would rather have an HD Tivo or new device that gets me the content instantly and hosts the films online with my account. Again, nice formats, but they're already dead before anyone knows what the heck they are -that's the consumer. Consumers make things happen, not big business. Your regular dude that walks into a store is going to want what's on the shelf, but as soon as he sees a little box that has a built in $10 a month subscription service for the entire library of a studios film, he's going to go with that.

When someone hits online content delivery right, no more video stores, no more media. Just a cable and a box and a tv...or the box built into the tv. It's all over at that point. Pretty much forever. Appletv tried, but it was crap. But here it comes, you know?

So, just keep in mind that within 8 months of market introduction (Jan 1-Current), these two players went from 2K+ to $200. Both are pretty much worthless, but will have a neat little short day in the sun (probably until 2009 and be around), but mostly they'll be here because the companies have to have SOME proof that their R&D was worth a dang. They don't want any format to die.

In this whole format rivalry, you're dealing with a dark horse. Companies doing JUST online delivery.

Point of this is, if you're thinking about delivery of media, and it's physical media in your hand, start over. Online. That's the end of the story.

I feel sorry for all the people that bit on this one. 25-50 Gigabytes on a disc that takes forever to burn makes me about as happy as a mouse with a crushed head in a mouse trap. Try a format or disc that's running 3 TB, and burns in 3 minutes, and then maybe, just maybe I'll raise my eyebrows.

Check out the holographic versitlie disc. Certainly I'd mess with that for a while. But then again...online.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_Versatile_Disc

B.D.Kuchera 8-29-07