HD DVD vs Blu-ray?

You know up until a few min ago I thought that blu-ray would NOT play the 100+ SD DVD’s I currently own. Just went to Best Buy and saw that the blu-ray players they have for sale DO IN FACT play current SD DVD’s which is good news if they do in fact win the race.

Really good article: http://roughlydrafted.com/RD/TechQ307/Entries/2007/8/27_Blu-ray_vs_HD-DVD_in_Next_Generation_Game_Consoles_2.html

In short, Blu Ray is by far the most likely “winner”.

And there are some (really expensive) players that support both Blu Ray and HD DVD.

Players for either HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc should be backwards-compatible with standard DVD.

Speculation is that the “format war” is unlikely to be won until 2009 at least, especially with an even spread of major studios exclusively supporting both formats. If you’re asking for advice on a purchase decision, you’re better off going with whichever format you prefer rather than waiting for an outcome. Consider the studios backing the format (or more rather, their movies), etc.

I’m more curious about online distribution of HD content. It’s catching up fast.

There actually is more difference then most people think. Both HDDVD and Blu-Ray are Hi-Def, but the difference is in the way the disk is made. DVD’s are mad in layers, with the lowest layer being a clear protective layer to help protect the disk from scratches. HDDVDs are constructed the same way, however blu-ray discs are not. The protective layer on a blu-ray disc is less than half of that of HDDVD. This means the Blu-ray disc are easyer to scratch but can hold almost double the content. While picture quality can only go so faer with current technology – Blu-ray only has a little, almost unnoticeable, amount more of quality, it has superior audio quality to HDDVD. Also, most HDDVD player are expensive >$1000. If you are looking for a cheap Blu-Ray player, consider the PS3 which now is only about $500. But like with BetaMax and VHS, the superior format may not be the popular one. Wait a bit and see how it plays out instead of investing in something that will go obsolete after a year or two. Hope this helps.

I doubt HD-DVD is more durable than this. You can read more about Blu-ray’s durable coat here, as well as a technical comparison between HD-DVD and Blu-ray.

Just to even out the HD-DVD argument: HD-DVD is apparently region-free. However, most of the complaints I’ve heard about region coded DVDs have been from anime fans; Japan and and the US share one of Blu-ray’s 3 region codes. Also, some studios complain it is more difficult to develop bonus feature content for Blu-ray. Java, the basis for Blu-ray disc’s advanced features platform, is one of the most widely taught programming languages and a staple for college-level software engineering courses. HDi (the HD-DVD equivalent) uses a scripting language based on ECMAScript, the standardized form of JavaScript, the technology that flavors advanced web applications like Fluther. Studios perceive bonus feature content as one of the main selling points for DVDs, despite consumer research.

Also, more studios are blu-ray exclusive than hddvd exclusive. More info on that Here.

Well Blu-Ray won, now it’s official. I know this question was made 10 months ago…

Yah, makes me about 50/50 for my personal record of forecasting tech trends.

There’s a new format coming to replace the HD-DVD in this war! Check it out here

video quality was exactly the same from what I understand. The biggest factor for Blu Ray winning was it had digital uncompressed audio which gave you a much better experience for home theater surround sound. And the Blu Ray discs held a tad bit more data if I recall.