There is a war brewing which, if you want to watch a film in High Definition TV in the next ten years, is going to effect you. In fact, it’s going to effect anyone wanting to watch any film at home as this technology will make your normal DVD a thing of the past.

The next generation of DVD players has been developed and perfected by the big electronics players and the result of billions of dollars of research is…….two different formats.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in the blue corner we have HD-DVD. It’s backed by the HD-DVD Forum, which includes Toshiba, Sanyo, Universal, Warner Brothers, Paramount and NEC.

And in the, ahem, other blue corner, is Blu-Ray. This time the backers include Dell, LG, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Samsung, Philips, Sony, Hitachi…..the list goes on!

So who is going to win this battle of the giants? The fact is, YOU will decide! As in any format war (think VHS vs. BETA!) it is ultimately the consumer who will vote with his/ her wallet. So which will you choose…….well, before you decide, lets have a look at the technology.

Both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray work like your trusty DVD, by a laser reading information from a disc. The difference is that both formats use blue lasers not the current red. This is because blue lasers work at a lower wavelength which means when you can focus the beam tighter which gives you room for more information and accuracy when reading that information back. It all adds up to more data over the same disc area.

HD-DVD can store 30 gigs of data, and Blu-Ray 50. Compare this to a maximum 4.7 on your humble DVD. Further developments will include reading data from different layers of the same disc, only possible because of that blue laser’s accuracy. In test examples, storage is approaching the 100 gig mark.

So, round one, and we have the first score, Blu-Ray lands the first punch because it’s got a 20 gig advantage. Everyone knows that to get definition, extra features and interaction you need more and more data space.

Round two then, and in today’s day and age its content which is king. Just as in the music industry, it’s who owns the material that calls the shots. And if you look back to the opening paragraphs and look who is behind HD-DVD. That’s right, 40% of the big Hollywood movie studios. Remember, these guys not only make the films you see, they own the rights to those films forever. So if you want to watch Casablanca in High Definition, or your movie collection is about classics as well as new, then HD-DVD has the content edge. One – all.

Round three, and again it’s the supporting companies under scrutiny. And once more Blu-Ray sweeps into the lead because it looks like the major electronics manufacturers are backing it. When push comes to shove, those film studios will always licence their content because, apart from box office revenue, they have no other source of income. And if there are 10 Blu-Ray players in the shops to every single HD-DVD, sheer weight of numbers will take its toll.

So it’s two one to the Blu-Ray, a clear winner! Or is it? Because there is one final twist in the tale…..

Remember the video war between VHS and Beta-Max? Well it’s pretty well known that Beta-Max had the edge in terms of technology, quality and durability. It also had the backing of Hollywood and the distributors, and yet it failed. Why? Yes, you have guessed it, price.

The long term price points of both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD have yet to be established. And HD-DVD might yet hit the sweet spot in terms of pitching itself at a public who want quality but have become more adept at seeking value. The longer there is confusion about which format will dominate, the more consumers will refuse to be drawn for fear of backing a losing format.

Of course, no one has mentioned online video at this point, but that’s another story……

So, Blu-Ray or HD-DVD? My tip at this stage would be......

Top Tip:

I think Blu-Ray has the edge. Its larger capacity would seem to give it the room to take more information on board which ultimately translates to quality of image and potential for additional content. Its also backed by the massive electronics concerns, which can exert pressure on the content providers. Although you may have to be prepared to see cheaper HD-DVDs flood the market, the depth of backing means it will almost certainly not fail as a format, so you wont be left with a modern equivalent of the Beta-Max

Tell us what you think! Use the poll at the top and post your thoughts...

Grow leeks. They rock.

http://www.smsdictionary.co.uk

Great article cooksta, and an interesting debate. Unfortunately for us the UK is lagging behind on broadband speeds, so I wonder if this will actually help with the uptake of HD-DVD, as streaming Movies are still a way off I guess.

I think that a lot of people will wait until they invest in High Definition; at he end of the day its a nice "feature", but if you currently own a nice TV, a good DVD player with surround sound you get a pretty good cinematic experience.

Although I must admit I haven't actually seen any High Definition images.

Interesting to see how this one plays out...


Here is a good Q&A from the BBC: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6069478.stm

___________________________________

Top Tips Forum - Friendly Help and Advice
Technology, your Computer, the Environment, Money and Finance, Sports, Health and Fitness and Much More.

Fair point with our downloading speeds - I think it takes around 9 hours to download a feature film at present, so its not really on demand!

What kind of connection would you need to download in real time? I suspect its not as easy as that though!

Grow leeks. They rock.

http://www.smsdictionary.co.uk

I have been reading a bit about HD-TV and I have found a few interesting and possibly controversial viewpoints, I thought I'd share...

The origional Star Wars trilogy with its "airfix" space craft and plastic Death Star were brilliant films, all time classics. The new trilogy with all the high tech computer gadgetry you could ever imagine, is rubbish.

Television and film, as it was (and to some extent still is) is a medium that was designed for entertainment. The quailty of a good film is in the story and not in the realisation of that film.

Old classics like the origional King Kong are still brilliant films despite the rather obvious puppet Kong. In just the same way Punch and Judy, or Thunderbirds continue to be entertaining. Will film makers with all the pressure that comes with making a film that cost US$1billion to produce in High-Definition, Surround Sound still have time to consider just how good the story is?

Is the truth of High Definition that we will actually lose out on really good films and TV? Are we really becoming the plastic generation?

However there is a still more controversial view; High Definition Television is far and above (in terms of detail reproduced) the old 400 or so scan line reproduction of old TV.

So much so that your eyes cannot process all the information at once, and so your brain acts as it does it real life, it prioritises everything, it looks for changes and movement in pictures and updates these components in your vision first. Your brain in effect cannot destinguish between HD TV and real life, this is why (apparently) it is so amazing to watch.

The controversy being that your television is simply showing you, giving you everything. It does not invite or ask for interpretation or any imagination what-so-ever, where an old King Kong movie stretched your imagination a little (maybe a lot), newer High-Res films require no such consideration.

Will you continue you watch TV with an open mind, or will you simply absorb what you are shown as you eyes see it? Can your brain distinguish what your eyes cannot?

Whereas TV news used to be a daily half hour show, a relatively simple update that let you fill in the gaps, it was generally never much more than a summary and never much for you to worry about. Nowadays however 24 hour "rolling news" doesn't give you any room for contemplation, or consideration. The news broadcasters live, breath and make the news 24 hours a day 365 days a year, they must know everything, how can you not take what is reported as "fact"?

The old news format used to say; "This is generally what is going on, if you like you can see a few grainy pictures, its not great, but you get the idea, now go away and make your own mind up". With High Definition 24 hour news they really will be bringing the world into your living room. They are saying "Listen up, this is what is what is happening, this is the truth, no doubt, look you can even see it for real as if you need proof".

Just how accuratly will the High Definition "real world" they decide to show us represent what is going on outside? Will we debate the big issues of the day even less because the "issues" are simply handed to us on a shiny, high tech, high res silver screen?

___________________________________

Top Tips Forum - Friendly Help and Advice
Technology, your Computer, the Environment, Money and Finance, Sports, Health and Fitness and Much More.

Some graet points, and I just wanted to post a knee jerk reaction

With the advent of 'better than life' movies, will we become more and more frustrated when the latest blockbuster dosent out do the last blockbuster?

There is something more rewarding about the brain accepting limitations in the on screen world, purely to immerse itself in the story. I think its been called 'suspension of disbelief' ie we are clever enough to work out its a rubber monkey climbing a model Empire State building, but we agree with the filmaker not to reject what we see because we want to hear the story.

In modern filmaking we see something that may be perfectly computer generated but our brain instantly rejects it because we know its fake - and thus our willingness to follow the story expires. This is a change in how we accept films, and it may be because, as you say James, the effect has become the draw not the story.

So how real do we need these things to be? Are realism and fantasy incompatible? Will we all one day simply plug in and become superheroes ourselves, and if we do, whats so super about that?

Grow leeks. They rock.

http://www.smsdictionary.co.uk

I love films, and I love great special effects, but the effects don't need to be computer generated. I happen to think that the origional King Kong had amazing effects (for the time). Also the origional Star Wars with its "airfix" models looked great. The story will always be the definition of a great film, such a shame that technology can't advance the art of screenwriting!

There is still nothing wrong with my DVD as far as I can tell!

Thats a good way of looking at it too - if you are happy with what you have in terms of DVD players, spending all that money does seem a waste.

Although I love reading and learning about new technologies I do sometimes wonder if I am being sucked in by all the marketing................

Grow leeks. They rock.

http://www.smsdictionary.co.uk

I think Blu-Ray has the edge also, but I'm pretty sure that we'll have dual format players very soon, so nothing really to worry about!

___________________________________

Top Tips Forum - Friendly Help and Advice
Technology, your Computer, the Environment, Money and Finance, Sports, Health and Fitness and Much More.