Originally Posted by
cnet.com
Camp Blu-ray
Backed by: Sony, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, LG Electronics, Matsu****a Electric Industrial (Panasonic), Mitsubishi Electric, Philips Electronics, Pioneer Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Sharp, TDK, and Thomson Multimedia.
Fight song: "We're better, you know it."
Advantages: Getting the early start, Blu-ray has enjoyed more mindshare than HD-DVD, as well as a conglomerate of powerful backers that rivals President Bush's "coalition of the willing" in size and scope. Technologically, the biggest edge Blu-ray appears to have over HD-DVD is that it offers 30 percent more capacity and is designed for recording high-def video. Rewritable BD-RW discs, with similar features to Panasonic's current DVD-RAM discs, can play back content while recording to the disc at the same time. Also, Sony owns Columbia Pictures and recently bought MGM, which gives it a leg up on releasing content. And PlayStation 3 certainly will carry a huge chunk of clout in the marketplace.
Disadvantages: Real or not, the biggest knock against Blu-ray is that the discs--initially, at least--will be more costly to produce than HD-DVD media (Sony claims otherwise). Until recently, the other knock was that unlike DVD-HD, the Blu-ray spec did not include support for more advanced video compression codecs such as MPEG-4 AVC and Microsoft's VC-1, in addition to the MPEG-2 codec. But the Blu-ray Group recently announced support for those codecs, so they're now on even ground on that front.
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HD-DVD posse
Backed by: Toshiba, NEC, Sanyo, and Memory-Tech. Microsoft is also supporting HD-DVD in its next version of Windows (support for Blu-ray is on the table).
Fight song: "We're evolutionary, not revolutionary."
Advantages: The name itself, HD-DVD, is far more consumer-friendly than Blu-ray. HD-DVDs carry the same basic structure as current DVDs, so converting existing DVD manufacturing lines into HD-DVD lines is supposedly simple and cost effective. Memory-Tech, a leading Japanese manufacturer of optical media, stated that producing HD-DVD discs would initially cost only 10 percent more than for existing DVDs and that it could quickly bring the cost down to match that of standard DVD.
Disadvantages: HD-DVD simply can't boast the same storage capacity as Blu-ray. It's confusing, but it appears that the rewritable HD-DVD-RW will go up 32GB, while the recordable HD DVD-R discs will only be single layer (15GB). The other downside is that with Sony holding the rights to Columbia Pictures and MGM movie and television libraries, there will probably be a hole in HD-DVD's content offering--don't expect to see MGM/UA's James Bond movies on HD-DVD, for example.
Outlook: Too close to call
Blu-ray had the early lead, but HD-DVD has been making inroads, garnering support from major studios Warner, Paramount, Universal, and New Line Cinema, who've decided to play it safe and back both formats. From a marketing standpoint, HD-DVD appears to be positioning itself as the more practical high-def DVD solution, an extension of the format rather than a leap beyond it. The Blu-ray group, for better or worse, is taking the bait and campaigning on technological superiority. Unfortunately, as a result, the press has jumped on the whole VHS vs. Betamax analogy--you know, the old "the best technology doesn't always win" story, which doesn't help Sony.
Personally, I think a better analogy is the whole SACD vs. DVD-Audio fiasco--you know, the war that no one seems to care about and no one's winning. In other words, Vince, hold onto your DVD collection; you have time. There are all kinds of copy-protection details to iron out, lots of politics, and some prices that need to drop a zero (people are just starting to buy DVD recorders, for crying out loud). Me, I'm ballparking the end of 2006 before anything interesting really starts to happen in the high-def disc arena. Until then, put in a well-transferred DVD and sit a little farther back from your TV. It all looks like HD from the other side of the room.