HD-DVD & Blu Ray

[Omega80]

I'm sure many of you have heard of the new DVD formats, HD-DVD and Blu Ray, that are going to be coming out soon. This is basically the next generation of DVD whereby the disc can hold more information and thus be of better quality.

Everyone is talking about it like it is going to be the new format war, like how VHS and Betamax where back in the day. I know for example that Playstation 3 is going to play Blu Ray discs, while the XBOX 360 is going to play HD-DVD. Also, many of the major studios and hardware manufacturers are split and many of the majors have signed onto the different formats.

Alas, I also heard that someone somewhere, not sure, found a way to make discs that are compatable to both formats. If this is true, then it doesn't really matter which one you end up getting.

I just think the whole thing is very interesting.

[Osiris]

HD DVD (High Density DVD or High Definition DVD) is a optical disc format designed for high-density storage of high-definition video and data.



from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD-DVD

The HD DVD name is derived from its origination as a high-definition extension of the DVD optical disc format. An HD DVD disc can store substantially more data than a standard DVD, because of the shorter wavelength (405 nm) of the blue-violet laser (DVDs use a 650-nm-wavelength red laser and CDs an infrared 780 nm laser), which allows more information to be stored digitally in the same amount of physical space. In comparison to Blu-ray, which also uses a blue laser, HD DVD has less information capacity per layer (15 gigabytes instead of 25). HD DVD shares the same basic disc structure as a standard DVD: back-to-back bonding of two 0.6 mm thick, 120 mm diameter substrates. The 30 GB dual-layer HD DVDs have been used on nearly every movie released in this format.




HD DVD has a single-layer capacity of 15 GB and a dual-layer capacity of 30 GB. Toshiba has announced a triple-layer disc which offers 45 GB of storage. HD DVD can offer both the current DVD and HD DVD formats on one disc, which means that special HD DVD discs will play in any DVD player, old or the new high definition players (similar to the Blu-ray/DVD hybrid developed by JVC). This makes retail marketing and shelf space management easier. For consumers, shopping is simplified as they can simply buy a movie that plays in any DVD player in their house, standard definition or high definition. The HD DVD format also can be applied to current red laser DVDs in 5, 9, 15 and 18 GB capacities which offers an even lower cost option to content owners wanting to sell short form content.

[maroon1]

HD-DVD and Blu Ray are already out, but they are still not available in Lebanon.

Blu-ray has 25GB capacity for each layer, whereas HD-DVD has 15GB for each layer. Blu-ray is better than HD-DVD, but is more expensive.

Playstation 3 is going to play Blu Ray.
Xbox360 currently can play dual layer DVD, but it can't play HD-DVD.
Microsoft said that is going to release external HD DVD for Xbox360


For more information about blu ray and HD DVD read this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD-DVD

[LebArmenian]

so a rewritable HD DVD wid dual layer will be like a HDD ? :D

[maroon1]

Originally Posted by LebArmenian

so a rewritable HD DVD wid dual layer will be like a HDD ? :D

Dual layer HD DVD just have 30GB of capacity, whereas internal HDD nowdays have a capacity up to 750GB, and capacity will increase much more in the near future. And in the future 30GB will be a very small capacity, because computer applications and games are becoming much larger every year

So, no HD DVD will not be like HDD.

[Omega80]

For me, it will be interesting to see which format wins out. Have you heard anything regarding the company that invented a disc that can use both formats, thus, instead of a movie having to be released on two different types of discs, it can be released on just one that can be played using either of the format players.

[blacksadness]

Originally Posted by Omega80

For me, it will be interesting to see which format wins out. Have you heard anything regarding the company that invented a disc that can use both formats, thus, instead of a movie having to be released on two different types of discs, it can be released on just one that can be played using either of the format players.

i think either technologies is great, i read about blu-ray before, like a year or 2 before, it wasn't yet released for public.. this is the first time i hear about hd-dvd though, but blu-ray seems to have bigger capacity, so it will be the better choice for movies IMO..
anyway i did a search on the all in one disk, warner patented that, though its' not yet built

extract from http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/18/t...e-hybrid-disc/

A pair of Warner engineers have been working on a way to get all three formats to hold hands on a single disc, and have recently filed a patent to that effect. This is made possible by the fact that Blu-ray uses a 405nm laser to read its 0.1mm deep info layer, while HD DVD uses the same blue laser wavelength at the depth of 0.6mm. The hybrid disc works by making the Blu-ray layer act like a two way mirror, reflecting enough light for Blu-ray playback, but letting enough light through for HD DVD operation. As for DVD, that layer can be found on the flip side of the disc. Of course, the new format will cost more to produce than your standard next-gen disc, and we're not quite sure this isn't all madness to begin with, but we suppose we'll have to play the game if we don't want to end up buying every title in triplicate.

[Ramsey]

I would not worry to much about the two diffrent DVD technologies as they are able to be burned on the same disk.

This is possible due to the fact that they burn on two diffrent depths.

for example, assuming you have a have a fruit cake, Blue-Ray eats all the fruits on top and the iceing.

HD DVD gets the spoong and the bottom part. This means that both are satisfied with the same cake.

There may be a problem later on when you try to store data on both sides of the disc, i see people then switching to blue-ray. Only time will tell.