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A look at Blu-Ray and HD-DVD
What’s the difference between the competing high def formats, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD? It’s our hope that this article will help you grasp the issues.
High Definition DVD (HD-DVD) versus Blu-ray is shaping up to be a battle to rival the Battle between the two video formats, VHS and Betamax of twenty years ago. Looking like they’ve learned nothing from the DVD +/- RW problematics, the different companies, whether they are in the technology or content distribution industry (or in Sony’s case, both), won’t settle for anything less than a war.
In the blue corner, is, if you’ll forgive the pun, Sony’s Blu-ray. Sony intends to use Blu-ray as the format for the next generation of the PlayStation and has signed up Disney, and MGM, and is expected to add 20th Century Fox to the list. The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc can hold 25GB, which can be used to record over 2 hours of HDTV or more than 13 hours of standard-definition TV. There are also dual-layer versions of the discs that can hold 50GB.
In the red corner is Toshiba, which has developed HD-DVD and has signed up numerous film companies as supporters, including Warner Brothers, New Line, Paramount, and Universal Pictures.
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HD-DVD has been developed by Toshiba and NEC and has the support of the influential DVD Forum, whereas Blu-ray is supported by Phillips, HP, Sharp, Pioneer, Panasonic, and Sonic Solutions.
The prize is the license fees that will be payable to the format owners when the next generation of high definition DVD players and recorders start shipping in volume. As high definition television becomes increasingly popular, consumers will want a recordable format that has the capacity to hold at least a couple of hours worth of HDTV content. Both Blu-ray and HD-DVD were developed in response to the anticipated need for an HDTV recording medium and provide content whose quality would match the expectations of HDTV-owning customers. Additionally, the film distribution companies will cash-in as they release all the titles currently available on DVD in one or both of the new formats and convince consumers that they really should chuck out the DVD collection they’ve spent time and money building and start afresh with the new high definition versions.
Microsoft stands to benefit whichever format succeeds as its Windows Media 9 video codec has been approved for use in HD-DVD and Blu-ray content. Apple’s H.264 codec has also been approved for both Blu-ray and HD-DVD.