Author: Andrew Regan
Article:
With the advent of a new generation of high density discs to
replace DVDs, it is easy for consumers to be confused about
which format to upgrade to. The two competing formats, Blu-Ray
and HD DVD, both offer a significant upgrade in video and audio
quality; but as standalone players for both formats can retail
for several hundreds of pounds, it is understandable that
consumers do not want to end up buying the new Betamax.
In terms of technical performance both formats are similar, and
show little discernible difference to the average consumer. A
dual-layer Blu-Ray disc offers 50GB of storage space, compared
to 30GB on a dual-layer HD DVD disc, but as of yet, only 40% of
Blu-Ray releases are dual-layer, with the remaining 60% being
single-layer discs utilising 25GB of storage space. Still, even
when comparing a 50GB Blu-Ray disc with a 30GB HD DVD, the
difference to consumers will be minimal. Both formats support
the MPEG-2, VC-1, and H.264 formats for video compression, and
Dolby Digital, PCM, and DTS for audio compression. As a result,
this battle of formats is going to be waged mainly via the
titles available and the price and quality of players.
Initially, both formats were supported by all of the major
studios, but as different studios have different stakes in the
two formats, major studios started to drop formats. For example,
Sony, owner of Columbia and TriStar Pictures, is one of the
major developers of the Blu-Ray format, and has decided to drop
HD DVD for its releases. Thus, Spiderman 3 is only available for
Blu-Ray, something which will surely irk Spidey-loving HD DVD
adopters. Releases on both formats tend to be priced similarly,
a little more than their standard DVD counterparts.
When it comes to the players, a lot has happened, even in the
past year. The first generation of standalone players for the
two formats, released last year by Toshiba, Samsung and
Panasonic, were seen as pricey and more aimed at early adopters
than the general public, and have already been discontinued.
The latest generation of players have generally been seen as
more value for money, but the smart money says to look elsewhere
for now. Sony decided to include Blu-Ray playing capability for
the Playstation 3
Console, which was undoubtedly a wise business move. It
means the 5 million current PS3 owners already have a Blu-Ray
player and gives those unsure which format to switch to an
incentive to buy a PS3 as a low-risk option - even if Blu-Ray
does go the way of the Betamax, they still have a
state-of-the-art gaming console. In a similar tactic, consumers
can now buy an HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360, which can also
connect to a high-end PC via a USB connection.
As for now, Blu-Ray has the edge in the format war. Figures by
Nielsen VideoScan, Gfk and the Nikkei, show that Blu-Ray is
outselling HD DVDs at a ratio of 2 to 1 in the US and Europe and
a ratio of 9 to 1 in Japan. This does not mean the battle is
over just yet - a lot can still happen, particularly if Nintendo
should decide to throw their hat in the ring by announcing an
external player for either format for the Wii (a drive for
normal DVDs will be released next year).
Hopefully at the end of the format war, the ultimate benefactor
will be customers and not the corporations, but until then
alternatives to standalone players can provide an affordable way
to enjoy the best video and audio quality available for home
viewing.
About the author:
Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is
a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.
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