14. LG GGW-H10N

As we write this review, only prototypes and early review units for the LG GGW-H10N are on the street (and alas, we couldn't lay our hands on one). Thus, everything you read here comes from other published sources and LG itself. There's still plenty to say about this interesting offering, which goes by the complete and formal name of GGW-H10N Super Multi Blue. It handles single and dual-layer Blu-ray discs at 4X and 3.5X respectively, but otherwise matches the DVD stats for the LG GBW-H10N Blu-ray only unit. One difference is that pre-release information indicates that it will support CDs as well as conventional DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, and HD-DVD media. That said, the same source also informs us that while the unit will read and write CDs, Blu-ray Disc media, and conventional DVDs, it will only read HD-DVD media.

The first clue to the split personality for this drive sits on the right, where the Blu-ray and HD-DVD logos cozy up to one another.

According to a January 7, 2007, LG press release this drive is supposed to hit stores soon, but as of March 15, we can find no outlets offering it for sale. The same document also indicates that this drive will include SecurDisc software that the company developed with Nero, which will enable secure data protection and content access controls when writing data to CDs and DVDs. MSRP for this drive is set at $1,199.

The cost of this drive is still stratospheric, so we'd raise the same question for the LG GGW-H10N as we made for the LG BH100: do you really need this? Surely some of you will answer "Yes," or LG wouldn't be charging ahead with this product launch. That said, waiting a while for prices to come down may be a wise buying strategy. You can purchase or build media center PCs that incorporate both Blu-ray and HD-DVD drives if you want to play both types of discs. For more information on this topic see our sidebar entitled "Going Both Ways."