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Samsung universal HD DVD/Blu-ray player still a possibility
Their BD-P1000 isn't even -- officially -- on shelves yet, and already Samsung is talking about their next Blu-ray player. Well, not their next Blu-ray player, their next Blu-ray and HD DVD player. Samsung announced the possibility of a dual-format player last year, but later drew back from such plans, saying licensing agreements made such a player "impossible". According to Digital World Tokyo the unit may still see daylight, "if HD DVD proves as successful as Blu-ray disc". While we didn't think the battle would be decided so early, this could be a crucial period for Toshiba and their supporters to gain traction and force compromise from members of the Blu-ray camp. With shaky early reviews, Blu-ray may not be coming from the position of strength we previously expected.
HD DVD sells out in Japan
...all 1500 units. We're not sure whether to check the W or L column for that one, but Toshiba seems encouraged. Although reports previously indicated Toshiba shipped 10,000 players to the U.S., this one says only 5,000 were released with 6,000 more to follow "soon".Also interesting is that in the Japanese market, the availability of recorders is considered to be much more key than only playback devices. Toshiba's are expected by June in Japan while Blu-ray has not announced a release date yet.[Via Digital World Tokyo]
