LAS VEGAS, Jan 8 South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. introduced a single DVD player that su

LAS VEGAS, Jan 8 (Reuters) South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. introduced a single DVD player that supports both next-generation, high-definition DVD formats, offering a solution in an escalating war between Blu-ray and HD DVD.

At a news conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, LG said its Super Multi Blu Player would be available in early February in the United States for about $1,200. A computer drive would be available in the first quarter for about the same price.

''Most of the consumers felt they are confused ... reluctant to buy the (separate HD DVD or Blu-ray) player,'' said Michael Ahn, head of LG's North American operations. ''Growth was much slower than it could be and that is a concern in the industry. We recognized the consumer needed something more.'' He said the combination player could handle the interactive features of Sony Corp.'s Blu-ray format, which includes looking at menus while a movie is playing.

For HD DVD, a format backed by a group led by Toshiba Corp., LG's machine can play the movies and has a simple menu, but it does not support all the interactive features included on an HD DVD disk.

''For most consumers this product will be the most useful and attractive product,'' Ahn said.

The consumer electronics and entertainment industries hope the high-definition formats, which provide better picture quality and more capacity, will jump-start the slowing $24-billion-a-year market for watching movies at home.

But the competing formats have been blamed for hindering sales of high-definition movies and players, with consumers recalling the bruising war between Sony's Betamax videotape and JVC's VHS version, which ultimately triumphed. JVC is owned by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.

Ahn, in a later interview with Reuters, said LG did not generate ill will among its partners in the Blu-ray camp, suggesting that in an industry dependent on innovation it was inevitable someone would create such a device.

''They expected it, because technology is evolving always,'' he said, adding that he believes another company was also working on a combination DVD player.

LG does not plan to offer personal computer makers the option of building the combination DVD player drive into their machines, and would sell it only as an LG-branded drive.

LG, also a leading maker of air conditioners, refrigerators and mobile phones, since 2003 has invested heavily in consumer electronics in the United States and positioned itself as a premium brand.

Ahn said he expects LG this year to improve its 10 percent market share for U.S. plasma TV sales. Longer term, he said lower costs would make large-size plasma TVs -- 50-70 inches -- standard for U.S. living rooms.

He also said as the category grows, falling prices and tighter profits may push some players out of the flat-panel TV market, but he predicted LG's ability to manufacture both LCD and plasma screens would strengthen his company's position.

At CES, LG also showcased a 100-inch high definition LCD TV, which it said was the biggest on the market. The TV is not being mass produced, however, and therefore has no price yet.

''I think that just a few companies can survive and become major players,'' he said. ''As we have both (LCD and plasma) panels in-house, this makes us more competitive and flexible. We will become a major player step by step.'' REUTERS DKS PM0435