You may have heard about the recent triumph of Sony’s Blu-ray DVD standard over the alternative HD-DVD standard. What’s it mean? Why should you care?
Just as the DVD format supplanted the CD, developers knew that eventually something would replace the DVD. There were two major contenders in the battle: Blu-ray and HD-DVD. Both are extensions of the DVD format. Both can store data or video. Here are the details:
Blu-ray. Named after it’s blue-violet laser, Sony’s Blu-Ray format can store up to 50GB on a dual-layer disc. That’s 25GB for a standard single-layer disk (compared with 4GB for a DVD and .7 for a CD).
HD-DVD. Sponsored by a consortium of companies, HD-DVD can store up to 15GB of information on a single-layer disc, 30GB on a dual-layer disc. It’s a cheaper format because the players do not use the expensive blue laser.
These two formats have been in a war over the past year or so, battling for dominance primarily in the home video market. As of last month’s Consumer Electronics Show, the winner is Blu-ray. The Blu-ray format now has more movie titles, and several major motion picture studios have announced that they will no longer be releasing HD-DVD titles. On the computer front, both drives are available as options, but there are no software applications I know of that are distributed on Blu-ray or HD DVD media.
In a way, this format battle reminds me of the old Betamax versus VHS wars of the early 1980s. In that battle, Sony had the superior format in Betamax. But VHS players were cheaper and eventually dominated. This time the equation is reversed, with Sony the victor and its more expensive format coming out on top.
So if you’re going to buy a high-capacity HD optical thing to view movies, get a Blu-ray. But I wouldn’t recommend it. I believe that all spinning media is doomed. Eventually solid state drives will replace all disks, including video discs. Because we’ll all be watching movies on media cards in a few years, so I don’t plan on wasting any money on the Blu-ray.
Jaw Drop Dept. Microsoft is actually going to provide its holy and sacred source code. Free. Most likely on-line. The move is designed to promote third-party development of add-ons and other products. Well! It’s about time! Still, there’s skepticism.
I always knew BluRay would win. Sony couldn’t afford another Betamax-like stuffup. It’s nice to see Sony win, they are a good company, although the cost will bite us old consumers in the bum, but.
Comment by Douglas — February 22, 2008 @ 1:26 am
I favored the Betamax format. Back then I was studying video technology at UCSD and I knew Sony to be the superior format. Thankfully I was too poor to “invest” in a Betamax player.
Interesting article in the Wall St. Journal Opinion page today on this DVD format war.
Comment by admin — February 22, 2008 @ 7:59 am
My grandfather still has a Betamax player, and some Betamax tapes, all of which I believe to still function, all connected up to his fancy DTS\Dolby reciever thingo.
Comment by Douglas — February 29, 2008 @ 6:22 pm
I just threw out my Betamax tape last year. I had only one, which contained all the videos I made in college. I also tossed out all my Sony U-Matic tapes at the same time. All gone. Poof! I wonder how much Betamax players go for on eBay?
Comment by admin — February 29, 2008 @ 6:36 pm