Most Popular
| Top Stories | Latest | Featured |
IT
Blu-ray vs. HD DVD: The Format Wars @ TechSpot
DVDs are the current standard for data storage, and perhaps more importantly the publishing format standard as well. The question is however, how much longer will they be sufficient? A much anticipated battle, or ‘format war’ if you will, is in progress similar to that seen in the 1980’s between VHS and Betamax. This time around the same companies have fallen into the same camps and war is ensuing between Blu-ray and HD DVD technology.
Knowing very little about either, I decided to investigate these formats and what follows is hopefully an unbiased presentation of facts. At this time it is hard to say if there is a leader in this format race, or if there will ever be one, with products still not available in the retail market, and from what was shown at recent CES 2006 expo, manufacturers are still working hard on first generation players, which will inevitably be replaced just a few months later with more refined products once they reach the masses. Hopefully after reading this article you will be better informed about the two technologies, and why not, pick your own favorite, or call the industry for a much needed convergence (think of dual-format DVD±RW drives nowadays).
Read the complete article here.
Related Stories
User Comments (30)
Post a comment| exscind on January 23, 2006 4:52 AM | Good article. It is very informative and I actually learned quite a bit about this "format war." I had to grind through optics in my physics class so I actually understand the materials discussed. The explanations concerning the lasers and diffraction were correct and at the very least, enlightening.
Basically the two main deciding factors are BD's bigger storage and companies' easier adaptability with HD DVD, which results in potential lower cost for consumers. Of course, theoretically it makes sense to switch to Blu-ray due to the bigger storage and future-proofing technology. In the long run, it would appear as of now that Blu-ray is of better technology than HD DVD. But HD DVD is more popular and thus have a better chance of being "compatible." This almost sounds like an Internet Explorer versus Firefox battle  . Personally, I'm rooting for Blu-ray. While companies may have to spend more in adopting BD technology, in the long run it will pay off. We can't simply live in present technology and never advance because revamping the technology costs more. Nevertheless, it will certainly be interesting to see who will win this battle, decided by the consumers, in the very near future.
| ||
| paulwuzhere on January 23, 2006 6:23 AM | I am edging towards blu ray. I have always trusted samsung. they will both be very useful. But when are they coming out?
| ||
| divine on January 23, 2006 7:19 AM | Yes, blue-ray technology is very good and has many advantages, but the adoptation will be difficult i guess.
| ||
| Kaleid on January 23, 2006 8:29 AM | Seems to be an interesting article, will have to read it later.
| ||
| buttus on January 23, 2006 9:24 AM | I have been following this issue rather closely. Having been caught in the middle of the Beta vs VHS format war (which we had purchased a Beta machine only to have the tapes die out in a matter of 2 years), I was most interested to find out who would win.
In a nutshell I think the HD format is better (and much easier attainable as a technology step as opposed to Blue Ray which is a technology jump)....but yet most of the Movie Studios have chosen Blue Ray for the much larger capacity. Bigger isn't necessarily better but I suppose they are looking at the longevity of the media. Another fact here is simple. There is only one roadblock in the conclusion of the format war and the winning of that war by Blue Ray, and unfortunately it is one HUGE obstacle. Microsoft. Microsoft refuses to support the Blue Ray technology. If MS had supported Blue Ray then this would all be over, and HD would become a question in Trivial Pursuit the 2000's edition. However, Redmond is being particularily stubborn and it wouldn't be the first time that MS has able to exert such a strong influence to affect the direction of consumer driven technology. The only hope here is similar to the DVD+/- RW drives we currently enjoy. Dual Format will be the only way to assure that a cconsumer civil war is avoided. On the other hand, given the bitter nature of this conflict I shudder to think of the initial costs of such devices.
| ||
| MonkeyMan on January 23, 2006 9:53 AM | Well, Blue Ray is undoubtably better than HDTV, in my opinion, because it can store up to over 27 GB of data. HDDVD can only store 15GB. As opposed to movies, longer is better. This war is imminent, and I'm guessing, that it isn't going to end on a positive note. I wouldn't count out the Microsoft deal just yet, because maybe Microsoft may come to there senses, and support Blue ray. On the other hand, they could include both drives with their software, in two different versions, to prevent this war from occuring. Therefore, Microsoft would be backing both, so if there is a favorite between the two, neither will be bashed as a separate issue. Microsoft holds the key, and it's not to late for them to change their minds.
| ||
| mentaljedi on January 23, 2006 10:45 AM | I think Blu-ray is the better contender. In the long run and also the short term since Samsung has just announced completion of is drive. They should get them out this year, perhaps before Vista when everyone scrambles for new hardware.
| ||
| PUTALE on January 23, 2006 11:15 AM | I am going to wait awhile till the price drop and to see which one wins. Or when the dual format comes out. I think that's the smart move. I don't know which one is better right now but I am sure regardelss of which one is better, the market will eventually leaning toward one or the other, so it's smarter way to wait and see which one to buy.
| ||
| otmakus on January 23, 2006 12:11 PM | If u're going to shop for a movie, or a game, or a software, or even a blank media, and find out that blu ray disc costs £10 while HD-DVD disc costs about the same as a DVD disc costs now (less than a buck, mostly), which one will u buy?
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/01/20/sony_blu_ray_pc_march/
| ||
| Per Hansson on January 23, 2006 1:18 PM | Very good article, great work!
I just have one question, exactly why is MS backing HD-DVD and not Blu Ray?
| ||
| sngx1275 on January 23, 2006 2:10 PM | I kind of want Blue-Ray to win too. But then I got thinking about it some more.
With HD-DVD, you will still be able to fit a movie on it in HD, there isn't going to be any video comming out anytime soon that has a higher resolution than HDTV right now. So I see HD-DVD as 'good enough' and likely going to be cheaper. Blue-Ray is 'better than good enough', and more expensive, its ahead of its time. The 'future proofing' of Blue-Ray by potentially surpassing 100Gigs sounds good, but these are still optical disks here, and even though BR is using more scratch resistant plastic, it is still not scratch proof. And I bet if you step on it accidentally on carpet its going to break just the same. Now your 200 Gigs of whatever data you had on it is gone forever. Hopefully when the time comes you are carrying around a cd wallet full of 200Gig BR disks there will be a better and faster storage platform.
| ||
| PanicX on January 23, 2006 2:11 PM | Originally posted by Per Hansson:
Excerpt from EEtimes Article:
| ||
| PanicX on January 23, 2006 2:17 PM | Originally posted by sngx1275:
As far as I know, HD-DVD doesn't have the capacity to support 1080P where as Blu-Ray does, yet neither officially support 1080P. For those that are unfamilure with HDTV, theres currently 2 popular resolution formats, 720P and 1080i. The P in 720P stands for progressive scan, every field is a full frame. The i in 1080i stands for interlaced which means each field is half of a frame. 1080P is the next step in HDTV formats and is even currently supported by several high end HDTV sets. Films created by Lucas Arts are shot at 1080P resolution and then downscaled to fit common formats. So the material exists, the equipment exists, we're simply limited on bandwidth and media.
| ||
| DragonMaster on January 23, 2006 3:21 PM | IMO, the HD-DVD copy-protection is just a little too much.
VHS rules!
| ||
| Race on January 23, 2006 4:07 PM | After researching both formats, it seems to be boiling down to what's mainly at stake here....a multi-multi-billion dollar industry, and I would imagine, some big egos.
The winning format, if there is one, will not only dictate all new movies, but TV's and all other compatible displays. A hybrid player for both formats would be cool, but I believe, would require seperate reading lasers and other mechanisms. The size of the players would probably have to be bigger, and can you imagine the cost of one of these puppies? As for myself, there are things I very much like about both technologies, so I'm still un-decided. On a related note, I'm intrigued by a third format I've recently been hearing about. The only thing about this format is the backwards compatibility issue. Here's a quote I found: "Both Blue-Ray and HD-DVD may find themselves outrun by the Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD). While Blu-Ray and HD-DVD use the same laser, other producers thought of combining the two lasers (red and blue), in a single ray, and on a disc the size of a CD or DVD, 1 TB of data could be stored (20 times more than on a Blu-Ray disc), with a transfer rate of 1 Gbit/s. The format is developed by the Japanese company Optware, in collaboration with Fuji Photo and CMC Magnetics. The three companies allied with Nippon Paint, Pulstec Industrial and Toagosei and "HVD Alliance" was born. The problem is that, while Blu-Ray and HD-DVD still allow the reading of present DVDs, along with the passing to the holographic storage era, the DVD days are over. So, all in all, the disc format battle could be won by a surprise competitor".
| ||
| sngx1275 on January 23, 2006 6:27 PM | PanicX - If thats true that HD-DVD won't support 1080i then I hope it does lose. I was just assuming both BR and HD would do 1080i. I don't have an HDTV set, and won't until I move somewhere that offers more HD channels (Even Dish only has a handful of HDTV channels). But when I do, the set is going to be capable of 1080i, and I would not buy a HD-DVD unit if it can't perform on par with the TV.
| ||
| Nintendo on January 23, 2006 10:42 PM | Originally posted by sngx1275:
PanicX said 1080P (P P P P P P) no less than 4 times. Where in the world did you come up with 1080i?
| ||
| JMMD on January 24, 2006 6:09 AM | The Blu-Ray boxes at CES said 1080P on them. I don't think the media is a limiting factor on the P vs. I issue. I have a 1080i HDTV but I will be waiting to see what happens between the two formats and I will probably get a universal player when it comes out. For those that are familiar with DVD-A and SACD, this seems like it could become the same thing. High resolution music is a great idea but it wasn't marketed well and there just wasn't enough support.
| ||
| barfarf on January 24, 2006 8:43 AM | All i want to know will the Blue-Ray or HD-DVD players support divx or xvid. That will be the big reason i would buy one for my uses since i have a lot of video in xvid format. Of course by the time these come units come down in price i might have computer hooked up directly to the HDTV.
Another reason i may purchase is for backup. A question i have is how long will the media last?
| ||
| AARGH on January 24, 2006 11:00 AM | The biggest difference that was completely omitted in this article is the "managed copy" that is standard in HD-DVD that at last I read was "optional" in Blu-Ray. You can blather over storage and theoritical limits, but when you want to have your content on your HTPC or portable player you will be SOL with Blu-Ray. This is the main reason the movie studios (ie Sony, Disney) want it and not HD-DVD. For once MS is not the big overpowering monkey. MS wants the interoperability of media through all devices. Sony's history with their own formats make me extra wary as well.
| ||
| Nintendo on January 24, 2006 12:10 PM | Just to be clear, the content is all 1080p/24, not 1080i. The first generation of HD-DVD players (and blu-ray) however will not be able to output at 1080p due to the limitations of the current HDMI specs (HDMI supporting 1080p should be finalized soon).
| ||
| insidious420 on January 24, 2006 10:07 PM | AARGH made a good point about the "managed copy" feature. While I haven't personally researched this in depth, it sounds accurate, and it sounds precisely like something Sony and other major entertainment companies would like to avoid to potentially line their pockets with more money.
Not to say that Microsoft isn't a money hog either, but let's think about this logically. Sony is a pure entertainment company; typically, they specialize in hardware and publishing entertainment media. They LOST the last format war, even though Betamax was technically superior to VHS. Microsoft on the other hand is a computer, hardware & software company with an interest in supporting a truely versatile and flexible format suited to MANY uses with full, open compatibility. Technically, Blu-Ray may have better specs than HD-DVD, mainly more storage, but I think the storage is overkill, especially when production costs and other negative tradeoffs are taken into account. As far as movies go, even in 1080p I'd be surprised if a dual-layer HD-DVD (~30GB) could not hold a full-length movie. This is already long but I have 2 more thoughts: After the Sony fiasco with their crap "copy protection" software on CDs crippling hundreds of thousands of PCs, why the hell should we trust them again, especially with the next big step in storage technology? Lastly, the percentage of consumers who currently own HD compatible sets is pretty small. Obviously, the technology is not a cheap investment, so wouldn't the cheaper choice be the most appealing to consumers wanting to upgrade to HD sets, and therefore to manufacturers trying to increase installed user bases?
| ||
| devourer on January 25, 2006 12:51 AM | After reading the article, I now know that blue ray is the better technology than HD-DVD. besides being able to store more data (25GB per layer versus 15GB), having a "scratch resistant" disk is a plus also. Unfortunately, better/superior technology means higher price.
There's not much HD content (that I know of) anyways and I do believe that DVD's have at least 2-3 more years in it so by that time, probably and hopefully, only one technology will remain and prices for both the player/recorder and disks are inexpensive enough for us consumers.
| ||
| KillerPrince on January 25, 2006 10:36 AM | i would say blu-ray is the way to go
| ||
| djleyo on January 28, 2006 11:19 AM | After reading the article blue ray is the hay to go but since the technology is better im pretty sure the price is going to be higher the hd-dvd
in my home i have all sony products i think i have to start saving some money .I think consumers by the time these two technologies come out they are going to be fed up with the growing prices o consumer electronics ,hardware ,and software i hope all companies work it out But i think hd-dvd is the one thats going to come out winning (price)
|
