Samsung axes its second-gen Blu-ray/HD DVD combo deck

Chalk up another casualty to the just-ended HD format war: Samsung's sleek, second-generation Blu-ray/HD DVD player, which was to have hit the streets this spring for about $550. Meanwhile, retailers are slashing prices on existing combo players, making for some serious bargains.

According to PC World, Samsung decided to chuck the BD-UP5500 (announced just a couple of months ago at CES) because the "window of opportunity" for such dual-format decks "is smaller than it was before." In other words: Now that HD DVD is dead, there's not much of a market for these babies anymore.

Well, there's still a small market, at least: Those of us who placed our bets with the HD DVD camp and have a decent number of HD DVD discs at home. I've got about a dozen HD DVD movies myself, and with Blu-ray discs averaging about $30 each, I'd probably end up spending a cool $360 or more to replace my collection. And considering that Blu-ray players are still selling for upwards of $300-400... well, you do the math.

Here's the good news, though: prices are falling rapidly for existing Blu-ray/HD DVD players. Samsung's first combo player—the BD-UP5000, which was initially announced with a sky-high $1,049 price tag—is now on sale for about $500, while LG's second-generation BH200 dual-format deck is selling for less than $700. The deals are even better on eBay, with winning bids for the UP5000 and BH200 in the $400-500 range. And prices are sure to fall even further in the weeks ahead.

So, would any of you HD DVD owners consider a combo deck rather than buying a Blu-ray player and replacing all your HD DVDs? Or would you rather enjoy your HD DVD player while you can and wait for Blu-ray prices to come down?

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Samsung Cancels Second-Gen Combo Blu-ray and HD DVD Player [PC World]