HD DVD versus Blu-ray
Although the real fight is just beginning, for now, HD DVD seems to be the better choice of next-generation, DVD-replacing standards.
HD DVD is currently superior to Blu-ray in all areas from a consumer perspective. On the one hand, the cost of manufacturing the disc itself is lower, and on the other hand, the price of its associated desktop players and optical drives for computers is much lower compared to Blu-ray devices.
The number of HD DVD and Blu-ray devices available at very high prices is still around, although it is strange that Sony has not yet started marketing its own blue laser desktop player, while Toshiba, the developer of the HD DVD standard, already has several such products available. also in the United States and Europe.
For the consumer, of course, price is one of the most important factors when buying a desktop player, and HD DVD is currently preferred in this as well. Such a device is already available for over $ 300, while the cheapest of the Blu-ray camp is also $ 799, which is named after Samsung. Products from other manufacturers cost over $ 1000, which we admit is too big a difference, despite the larger capacity compared to HD DVDs.
Currently, about 70 Blu-ray movies are available, while for HD DVD, the same figure is exactly 164, and an additional 214 will be added by the end of the year. On Amazon.com, Blu-ray materials are available for $ 20-27, while HD DVD movies are available for $ 20-25. Although the difference is not large, there is a smaller advantage in favor of HD DVD here as well.
The battle between the two formats could also be heavily influenced by the success and proliferation of the recently released PlayStation 3, which comes with a Blu-ray drive by default, while the Xbox 360 only has a DVD reader, and the HD DVD unit can be purchased and connected separately. The continuous slip of Sony’s console was due, among other things, to this optical drive, which also drove the water to the mill of Microsoft’s gaming machine. While the popularity of the PS3 in Asia and the US is not in question, it is far from certain that it will receive a similarly favorable reception in Europe in March 2007, so we cannot know in advance to what extent this will affect the popularity of Blu-ray products. old continent.
At the end of our lengthy news, here is a little reminder:
The HD-DVD format is a development of Toshiba, which was introduced in the United States back in April and is supported by major companies such as Intel, Microsoft and Universal Studios, among others.
Blu-ray Discs is the responsibility of a consortium led by Sony, which includes Philips, Samsung and Sharp. It premiered this summer in the U.S., with sponsors including 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwin-Mayer, as well as Disney. More than a hundred companies license this technology, including Hitachi, Pioneer, Samsung, LG and TDK.
A single-layer HD DVD can hold 15 GB of data, while Blu-ray can hold 25 GB of data. For double-layer (DL), this, of course, doubles.
