No one wants to be the new Betamax. But if Blu-ray and HD DVD formats keep fighting each other for blue laser format supremacy then one or the other will have to be the 21st century equivalent of the failed video cassette. It could even be both of them if they’re not careful.

Good rumours/news from Taiwan then. Apparently Samsung and Hitachi are both planning to offer hybrid players that can record and play using either Blu-ray or HD formats.

They’re banking on consumers being either confused or frustrated by the competing formats (I’m a little from column A, a little from column B myself) and going for the safe middle ground.