Blu-Ray VS. HD-DVD - who will win and why
August 26th 2007 05:33
The war of the high-digital-definition discs
Well, it would seem they are what will eventually replace DVD's. That's right. The reign of the DVD is already coming to a close after barely a decade of prominence. Now is the time for those of us who have gone out and spent a small fortune on acquiring our favourite movies (while building up a vast DVD library in the process!) to all feel stupid and robbed, while major movie studio's rub their hands together and get ready to cash in - AGAIN!
Ignoring this obvious money making gimmick and just how premature it is, it is interesting to note just how little anybody knows about these two new rival formats. The standard explanation you will get at any major retail outlet (presuming it does actually stock HD-DVD or Blu-Ray!) is that they are the future of home video entertainment and offer heightened digital images and sound.
Call me crazy, but isn't that what they said about DVD's?
But here's the basic run-down of what these new discs can do...
High Digital Definition Versatile Discs
HD-DVD (or High Definition Digital Versatile Disc)
HD-DVD was designed by Toshiba and NEC and has from the first been the industry's heir apparant to DVD. As early as 2003 it was voted the official successor of the DVD format by DVD Forum. Movie titles were first released on the format in mid-2006. Each layer of a HD-DVD holds up to 15GB of data, so basically a dual-layer HD-DVD disc will hold up to 30GB of data or six hours of high-definition video. HD-DVD recorders became available in 2007 along with recordable and re-writeable HD-DVD discs.
The stylised action epic 300 made a splash on Blu-Ray
Blu-Ray by comparison is supported by Hollywood studio's Sony Pictures, MGM, 20th Century Fox and LionsGate as well as multi-media companies Apple Inc, Hewlett-Packard and LG.
Blu-Ray sales have so far outperformed HD-DVD, while the release of the stylistic action-epic 300 broke sales records for the new high-definition format.
However, HD-DVD has a few basic advantages. They're cheaper to buy. Conversion from DVD to HD-DVD is cheaper. HD-DVD recorders and RAM drives are available now while Blu-Ray has no recording devices on the market yet - only players. Basically HD-DVD allows for fast and cheap duplication - or swift and easy movie piracy. And who doesn't love that?!
Blu-Ray has the following advantages. The name is cool. It's looks and sounds more futuristic. It's more widely available - most Australian outlets do not stock HD-DVD. Most importantly of all - it's higher capicity. So in the end it's actually cheaper.
HD-DVD recently scored securing the exclusive rights to the sci-fi action adventure Transformers
Blu-ray may look to be lagging behind at the moment and in danger of becoming the next Betamax. However, they remain the more marketable format. Blu-Ray looks and sounds futuristic, while HD-DVD sounds boring, more like a minor upgrade rather than a leap into the future! HD-DVD needs a full image makeover to reawaken customer interest in their appearance. Blu-ray needs to do the following to make their products more accessible to the average consumer...
1) Release Blu-Ray recorders and Blu-Ray RAM drives - quickly!
2) Release 50GB Blu-Ray recordable and re-writeable discs - quickly!
3) Release titles taking advantage of their storage capacity and price them accordingly
4) Sony needs to have a hit action movie before the year is out
5) Release the animated Disney-Pixar movie Ratatouille - quickly! - to prove the quality of CGI animation on the Blu-Ray before Shrek the Third steals the market
But the major problem faced by both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is that the average consumer couldn't care less. So far it's only a minority of technofiles who indulge in either format - and it is still an indulgence. DVD's are now some of the most inexpensive entertainment products available. For a mere $5 you can acquire a masterpiece on special and whithin six months the hottest box-office hits are available for $12.99 or less!
DVD is not dead yet, and until either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD can prove themselves to be inexpensive, efficient, more dureable than DVD's and MOST IMPORTANTLY of all, of noticeably higher audio-visual quality on a standard home-entertainment set-up, they will fail to grab the imagination of the home entertainment market.
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