It may well come as no surprise to hear the news that Samsung has cancelled the release of the BD-UP5500, the company's planned 2nd-generation combo Blu-ray and HD DVD (come again?) player.
Of course we never got to see the first player – reports suggested it certainly had its foibles – so it looks like that could be the end of Samsung producing combo players. And that decision seems wholly sensible to us...
Though, naturally enough, a Samsung statement showed the company is eager to continue to sell the BD-UP5000. The statement read: "[As] Blu-ray has been chosen as the next-generation format, the consumer can move forward with confidence and enjoy the incredible experience that Blu-ray offers.
Samsung believes that a multi-format player like the current BD-UP5000 Duo HD Player (Duo) offers the best and only solution for consumers that want access to all available High-Definition (HD) titles in the short term. It remains a practical solution, but the window of opportunity is smaller than it was before. In light of recent announcements, Samsung will not introduce the BD-UP5500 Duo HD Player."
So there you have it. And with rumours mounting that LG's planned 2nd-gen combo player will never see the light of the day, it seems likely that the days of combo HD players are unsurprisingly numbered...
