HD DVD & Blu-ray News

HD DVD and Blu-ray News

The motion picture industry hoped to introduce the next generation of high-resolution DVD (Digital Video Disc) on a single format late in 2005. But now the movie studios are evenly divided between HD DVD (High Definition) and Blu-Ray, guaranteeing a long market battle.

Could it be another VHS vs. Beta-Max duel and which one should you purchase? Should you hold off your purchase until there is a clear winner? Will one technology dominate the other in the end or will both HD DVD and Blu-Ray co-exist together? So what are the differences between the two formats? Some of the differences between the two camps are density, layers and the motion picture backers of each format.

HD DVD will hold up to 45GB on three layers, but discs can be made in today’s factories with relatively minor modifications. The technology is backed by Toshiba, NEC, Sanyo and others, with promises of players on the market this spring of 2006. Paramount, NBC-Universal, Warner and New Line have announced plans to release about 70 movies in the HD DVD format this year.

The Blu-Ray Disc Association promises to put 50GB of data on a two-layer disc, enough for more than four hours of HD content, but it is a completely new storage architecture and more expensive to produce than HD DVD hardware and software. Blu-Ray is backed by companies including Sony, Apple Computer, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Panasonic, Sharp and Samsung. Studios including Disney, MGM, and now Fox have joined Sony Pictures in committing to the format.