Samsung officially announces that they will follow LG and also offer a dual format HD player dubbed BD-UP5000.

The Samsung BD-UP5000 will fully support both HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats and their interactive technologies, HDi and BD-Java. The LG BH100 has issues with the HDi technology and does not fully support that yet.

"As a member of the DVD Forum and contributor to the DVD Industry, we recognize that both HD-DVD and BD formats have merits. As such, we have decided to market a dual format player. Samsung is flexible to market a stand-alone HD-DVD player whenever consumers demand it. Our main concern is not technology but consumer choice" said Dongsoo Jun, Executive Vice President of the Digital AV Division at Samsung Electronics.

Samsung will bring the BD-UP5000 on the market in time for the Holiday shopping season.
By then i assume LG will also offer a fully compatible duo HD player. The pricing is still too high for the LG BH100. As we reported a while ago, it is cheaper to by a Blu-ray and a HD-DVD player. Check prices for the LG BH100.
Samsung press-release.