LG Ships 2nd-Gen. Super Blu Player

by Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 12/10/2007

Englewood Cliffs, N.J. — LG Electronics is now shipping its second-generation “Super Blu” combination HD DVD/Blu-ray Disc player.

Model BH200 ($999 suggested retail), which the company introduced at the September CEDIA Expo event, provides access to between 50 percent and 70 percent more high-def movie titles than single-format players, the company said.

Features include compatibility with interactive extra content on both HD DVD and Blu-day Discs. In addition to supporting the full HD DVD HDi specifications, which the first generation player did not do, the BH200 includes the BD Standard Profile and BD Profile 1.1 specs, and will support such content when discs become available in 2008.

LG said once software is available, the new player will play “Picture in Picture,” running commentaries over a feature film, as well as access to Web-connected interactivity available from a number of current HD DVDs.

The player will also BD Live ready, LG executives said, meaning it will play back future Web-enabled extras on certain Blu-ray titles after a firmware update.

The player will also support audio CD playback and has the ability to up-scale standard DVDs to Full HD 1080p resolution.

The LG Super Blu Player can output video resolution up to 1080p via the HDMI connection, delivering an outstanding image quality that is ideally suited to LG’s line of 1080p plasma and LCD TVs. The unit includes multiple inputs/outputs such as HDMI 1.3 with Deep Color, component/composite video outputs, digital optical and analog audio outputs as well as a LAN Ethernet port for network interactivity. The player’s USB Media Host port on the front panel provides access to digital music and photo slideshows, making it a powerful and versatile media center for high-def home theaters.

The LG Super Blu Player uses Qdeo advanced video processing from Marvell for up-scaling. The per-pixel motion-adaptive 3D de-interlacing system and noise and compression artifact reduction will work for both HD and SD videos.

Qdeo technology also enhances details in darker scenes with Adaptive Contrast Enhancement (ACE) and renders boosts colors through Intelligent Color Remapping (ICR).

Other features include LG’s SimpLink connectivity solution, which enables easier control of other LG SimpLink-compatible equipment interconnected via HDMI-CED terminals.