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Topic: Anyone consuming HD or Blu-ray?
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Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 08-16-2007 04:36 PM
As far as I know, there has never been any plans by the Blu-ray Disc Association to have Blu-ray/DVD combo discs.
On the combo subject, there is at least one disc that is actually a Twin-Disc, where the HD DVD and DVD layers are on the same side of the disc. That's pretty cool!
In regards to the 50GB vs. 30GB size difference in writable discs (i.e. future storage format), there currently aren't any 50GB BD-R's available, and as far as I know, there aren't any Blu-ray recorders that can write to the second layer.
To be fair, there are very few HD DVD writers in existence (although Toshiba is making a major push into this arena with their laptops). The one that I found (after doing a brief search) built into the Toshiba Qosmio laptop can do both 15GB and 30GB recording.
The DVD Forum (the official group that governs DVD and its successor) is currently working on the specs for triple-layer HD DVD discs that will (if successful) provide up to 51GB of storage space (17GB per layer). Since it's still in the initial phases, who knows when/if it will become available to the public, but things are happening to increase the total storage of HD DVD as well.
Mark is right, the Blu-ray technology needs a couple more months before it is fully mature. The October 2007 (Profile 1.1) requirements will help substantially, and then maybe this holiday season will bring about some prices that are more on par with that of the HD DVD players with similar features.
At the risk of sounding like an HD DVD fanboy, Sony (et al.) likes to trumpet the specs and the potential of Blu-ray, but they fall very short when it comes to the reality of the products available. While the 50GB capacity of dual-layer Blu-ray discs certainly seems like a major advantage when comparing to the 30GB dual-layer capacity of HD DVD, that advantage hasn't resulted in movie titles that are so much better equipped than HD DVD's that have been released so far. The guys from Microsoft that are aware of VC-1 encoding of movies have said that the extended edition of of the Lord of the Rings movies can each fit onto a single 30GB disc with no sacrifice made to audio or video quality.
Long story short, make sure that when comparing these two technologies, that you are comparing the reality of what's currently available, not what has been promised real-soon-now. The recent price drops of some Blu-ray players have helped bring them into the reach of more movie fans, but the players have some limitations that buyers need to be aware of so they can decide whether or not those limitations are important.
Other than the fact that some studios are releasing movies exclusively on Blu-ray, I have seen no compelling reason to consider the technology. Perhaps that will change in the future, but the only reason in my mind to buy into Blu-ray right now is if there is a movie (or movies) out on Blu-ray that make it worth paying $500-$1000 for a player to play. As for me, I'm willing to watch the SD DVD's of those movies until that situation improves.
Oh, and if you're really interested in picking up some movies that are only available on Blu-ray in the U.S., keep in mind that some might be available for import from other countries. HD DVD has no region coding, so titles like Fantastic Four (German release) and Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Polish release) and more are available through places like Xploited Cinema and the like. You'll pay more, and there may be subtitles that aren't removable, so you have to do your research if those things concern you.
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Bruce Hansen
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 847
From: Stone Mountain, GA, USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 08-16-2007 05:16 PM
quote: Scott Jentsch
In regards to the 50GB vs. 30GB size difference in writable discs (i.e. future storage format), there currently aren't any 50GB BD-R's available, and as far as I know
I have seen 50GB BRs at Fry's here in Atlanta for some time now, but I have not seen any 30GB HD-DVDs.
Here is a press release from Sony from a year ago today:
SONY NOW SHIPPING 50GB DUAL LAYER BLU-RAY DISC MEDIA IN THE U.S.
PARK RIDGE, N.J., Aug. 16, 2006 – Sony Electronics has begun U.S. shipments of 50GB dual layer Blu-ray Disc™ recordable (write-once) media with AccuCORE™ technology.
The company also confirmed that it plans to start shipping 50GB dual layer rewritable BD media later this year.
“The arrival of 50GB Blu-ray Disc media is an important milestone in the evolution of this new format,” said Mike Lucas, director of marketing for Sony Electronics’ Media and Application Solutions Division. “The capacity represents more than four hours of HD quality video, at a 24 Mbps transfer rate, allowing users to take full advantage of Sony’s Blu-ray Disc burners and VAIO desktop and notebook computers.”
Here is something interesting from TvTechnology.com
Blu-ray Wins on ‘300’ Sales
August 15, 2007
The battlefield epic motion picture “300” was sold on nearly twice as many Blu-ray Discs as rival HD DVD’s packaged content, to become the current sales leader for all next-gen disc titles (when both formats’ sales are counted), according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Some HD DVD proponents have argued in various online blogs that the videogame-like graphic novel that formed the original basis for “300” may not be the ideal title in which to judge how the two formats compete against each other over the same content. The reason: Since Blu-ray drives are built into all PlayStation 3 consoles, all titles with videogame-like qualities (games or movies) would expect to fare well for the Blu-ray camp.
Yet Blu-ray, for whatever reasons, has outperformed its lone competitor in both title sales and rentals over the last several months on a roughly 2-to-1 basis, according to tracking sources such as Nielsen VideoScan and Blockbuster Video (which subsequently has dropped HD DVD sales/rentals in most of its outlets).
Perhaps ironically, the HD DVD version of “300” boasts some sophisticated interactive and Web-based special features that the Blu-ray version does not.
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