Samsung makes Blu-Ray/HD DVD hybrid official

Samsung this afternoon revealed final details of its already anticipated UP5000 Blu-Ray and HD DVD hybrid player. Confirming early details, the BD-UP5000 (pictured) will solve many of the issues with combo devices from other companies by playing the enhanced features of either movie disc, including picture-in-picture commentary. It should also stand as the best Blu-Ray player in the company's line, Samsung boasts. More recent decoding can play movies at 24 frames per second without triggering pulldown conversion, and output to HDTVs is sent through HDMI 1.3 for deeper colors when supported by an attached TV.

The UP5000 should go on sale in late fall at a price of $1,049 and will be accompanied in stores by the HT-BD2, an all-in-one home theater kit that includes both an 1,100-watt, 7.1-channel surround speaker setup and an integrated Blu-Ray player that goes without the advanced image decoder of the UP5000 or the stand-alone BD-P2400. The entertainment bundle should sell for $1,499.