With the advent of HD video and HD TV, traditional storage media such as DVD, which holds up to 4.7GB of data per disc, simply doesn't have the capacity to store the huge files HD generates. A pre-recorded movie, or two hours of HD recording at high resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels), could take up a whopping 22GB of space. So, if you're impatient and want a high-definition video disc experience now, then the choice is between these two systems. As yet, it is anyone's guess which system will capture hearts, minds and wallets - or whether a new, smarter system will emerge to trump them both.
Technology aside, there are several reasons for consumers to hold off and see what develops. The library of titles available in either format is still limited (albeit growing), and many media companies are still choosing which horse to back. Using either of these systems, viewers will only feel the benefit if they have an HD TV, so make sure you check before you buy to avoid visual disappointment. Bear in mind also that plans for the widespread integration of either Blu-ray or HD DVD capability - some with recording options into laptops and PCs are now being advanced, and that the highly influential gaming industry has supporters in both camps so far.
Consumer Confusion
In moves reminiscent of the introduction of competing VHS or Betamax video formats in the early 1980s, or the ongoing fight between Microsoft and Apple proprietary computing formats, the digital media industry seems to be dead set on giving us poor consumers a hard time again.
Blu-ray disc and HD DVD are both optical disc systems, similar to DVDs, that use a blue-violet laser as opposed to the red laser used in traditional CDs and DVDs. Simply put, the blue laser uses a shorter wavelength and has a higher recording density, meaning that more data can fit onto the disc. However, the space between the surface of the disc and the information on the disc is less on a Blu-Ray disk than on a HD DVD, which translates into a capacity advantage in favour of the former. Blu-ray discs can offer 25GB of storage on a single-sided disc and 50GB on a double-sided disc. HD DVD discs hold 15GB (single-sided) or 30GB (double-sided).
At face value, this would seem to be a significant advantage for Blu-ray. But as both systems deliver highly compressed content, this state of affairs could easily change as technology advances. On the other hand, HD DVD discs and players are cheaper to produce, being closer to existing DVD technology. This saving translates into prices for discs and players that are, on average, about two-thirds lower than those for equivalent Blu-ray products.
Taking Sides
Blu-ray was developed initially by Sony, and taken up by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (now including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). Blu-ray is, its adherents claim, currently supported by more than 180 companies. The format also has broad support from seven of the eight major U.S. movie studios (Disney, Fox, Warner, Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate and MGM) with, according to the BDA, five of them (Disney, Fox, Sony, Lionsgate and MGM) releasing their movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format. Yet many studios are also supporting HD DVD, including Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, Buena Vista, New Line Cinema, The Weinstein Company, Studio Canal, Dreamworks, First Look Studios and the BBC.
The HD DVD standard was jointly developed by Toshiba, Sanyo and NEC, and has support from Microsoft, HP and Intel. Back in 2003, the international DVD Forum voted to support HD DVD as the high definition successor of the standard DVD. This format has a powerful supporter in Microsoft, which has launched an affordable "add-on" HD-DVD drive for its Xbox 360 gaming machine. Price is a definite plus here: if mass markets and manufacturers, including those in India and China, get into this format, then the economies of scale will be quickly felt.
Content is King
There aren't many high definition movies of any kind in the stores yet - although this is changing. In May 2007, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies from Disney were released on Blu-ray, along with Matrix box sets for HD DVD. These join other English language blockbusters such as Lethal Weapon, The Bourne Supremacy and The Last Samurai on HD DVD, and growing stable of Blu-ray titles including The Fifth Element and House of Flying Daggers. Titles sell for $20 to $30.
The crucial factor that settles the format war could well be gaming. The Blu-ray format is supported by Sony's Playstation 3, which can play Blu-ray movies. Microsoft offers an HD DVD player as an optional component of its Xbox 360 package. Both have the support of a wide range of game developers. At the end of 2006, Microsoft announced that it planned to work with selected movie and television studios to allow Xbox 360 customers to download video content - content that can't be burned to a DVD.
Media reports that the Xbox 360 team plans to support Blu-ray as a "back-up plan" have been flatly denied by an official Microsoft blog. One proviso is that Sony doesn't want "adult" content to be produced using the Blu-ray format, but Sony isn't in the driving seat at the BDA. Yet industry sources do suggest that this is one content sector that prefers the HDDVD format to Blu-ray - and one that is not without influence.
Forrester Research stated in October 2006 that Blu-ray will win out because it has more than 100 manufacturers backing it, compared to the 10 that support HD DVD. According to Forrester, Dell, Apple and Sony will ship PCs with Blu-ray drives. However, online mutterings from Apple and Dell seem to suggest that they're backing both formats, pending customer demand.
Have It Both Ways
Instead of fighting at all, some companies such as LG Electronics and Warner Bros are, according to Business Week, choosing to bridge the gap between the two formats, making players and discs that will support both formats. LG formally announced it would release a combo Blu-ray/HD DVD player at the January 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
These dual-format supporters may well succeed in the market by developing players for a few hundred dollars more than single-format players (manufacturers that build combo players will have to pay royalty fees to both the Blu-ray and HD DVD organisations, as well as coping with technological issues). The combo brigade are banking on the fact that many nervous consumers will be willing to spend a little more to get a future-proofed player.
Enjoying HD
The next PC or laptop you buy may come with the option to include either an HD DVD drive or a Blu-ray drive. HD DVD's Toshiba has released a laptop that plays and records HD DVDs, as has Samsung, and Acer has announced that its new laptops will also support HD DVD. Sony has included a read and record Blu-ray drive in two of its latest VAIO laptops. Third party manufacturers are also producing Blu-ray player/recorders for Mac G5 desktops and a range of PCs; while desktop HD DVD drives are also widely available.
There are other ways to enjoy HD TV or video. HD TV is being rolled out in many countries, including across the Middle East, and can be accessed via a set-top box from the media provider. These systems will permit the recording of HD material onto the box's internal hard drive. Alternatively, HD content can be legally downloaded from the Internet, recorded onto a hard drive and viewed on any connected HD-TV screen.
As ever, copyright protection, or digital rights management (DRM), is an issue with all HD systems. DVD piracy is widespread, and the media companies would like emerging HD systems to be a little more robust. Blu-ray enables the encryption to be managed so that if (or when) it's broken, it can be re-set, and also allows discs to be watermarked against piracy. This approach has less appeal to Microsoft and other PC makers who want to sell products that people can use to download, display and edit music and movies. Bill Gates has criticised Blu-ray for offering the studios 'too much protection at the expense of consumers.'
Yet Microsoft is no slacker when it comes to DRM, and supports a system whereby an encrypted copy of a movie can be stored on a PC hard drive and streamed to another device. However, there are industry worries that this approach may weaken the security of HD DVD.
It has frequently been stated that the battle to decide the next-generation disc is about consumer benefits rather than technology. But there is no getting away from the fact that huge sums of money have been invested in this format war, and that those players with vested interests plan to fight hard, even if consumers suffer. Maybe we should stick with our DVDs and HD downloads until the major players work it out and offer us some useful, good value choices.
© Jordan Business 2007
