The LG BH100 is a player that is capable of playing back both Blu-ray and HD-DVD media. Will this really be the end of the HD format war? Well, Gizmodo says no.

Although playing back movies from both format works fine, the main drawback lies in the lack of full HD-DVD support. The HD-DVD menus don’t work, which disables access to numerous special features available in most HD-DVDs. And it only managed 1080i with HDMI, instead of 1080p mode.

But other than these few kinks, Gizmodo believes that the LG is good enough for the 95% of us. Although retailing at a high price of around US$1,200, it plays back movies fine, has better than average image quality, saves space (vs. having two players), and the design looks really cool. Soft-glowing buttons and matte aluminium finish make the BH100 a joy to look at.

For a more detailed report, visit Gizmodo.
LG’s official press release.

LG has announced that it will unveil its breakthrough Blu-ray/HD-DVD dual-format player at CES next week! Expected to officially launch in early 2007, it is going to be the world’s first player to end the holy HD war.

As for the price, no clue at all right now. Ahhh…I just love CES.

Surprise surprise, who knew that Xbox 360’s HD-DVD drive could be used with a PC. Thanks to Dan from UNEASYsilence for discovering this little secret.

The steps to getting it work involve plugging in the drive via USB (doh!), installing these drivers, and getting hold of a special version of Intervideos WinDVD 8 that is able to playback HD-DVDs.

No luck yet for Mac users though. Although Mac OS X seems to recognize the drive fine, there are no Mac players out there that supports HD-DVD format. Pity, as the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player is pretty cheap at just $199.99.