Less than a year ago, Blu-ray and HD DVD players were scarcer than hen's teeth, and now they're coming thick and fast.

Samsung is pitting a new Blu-ray player against LG's recently announced dual HD DVD/Blu-ray player. It's called the BD-P1200, and is a second-generation Blu-ray player for the home.

Launched around 6 months after the BD-P1000, the BD-P1200's key features is its Hollywood Quality Video processor, which Samsung says is a powerful unit similar to those used by Hollywood production studios, and enables the player to offer true 1080i to 1080p HD de-interlacing.

One HDMI connection offers boosted sound quality via 7.1-channel Dolby Digital Plus, and offers Anynet+ technology, so that a single remote can operate the player, TV, and other Samsung devices.

The BD-P1200 supports 192KHz LPCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, MPEG2, DTS, and MP3 formats; it has an Easy Top Menu that offers customisation of the interface according to a user's preferences.