High Definition Video Disc Formats

Whilst 'High Definition' itself refers to video resolutions of 1280×720 (720p) and 1920×1080 (1080p), most Hollywood titles for the two consumer 'High Definition' video disc formats are stored in 1080p on the disc. Television manufacturers also refers to 1080p as 'Full HD' to distinguish it from inferior 'HD' resolutions which generally only refer to resolutions of around 720p. Some television broadcasters also refer to 720p as 'HD' which can confuse people further. Interestingly some manufacturers refer to 'Full HD' as anything that is 1080p (e.g. 1440×1080 or even 1024×1080) - however true 'Full HD' is only 1920×1080.

There were two competing High Definition video disc formats:

1. 'High Definition DVD' or 'HD DVD' for short.
2. 'Blu-ray Disc' or 'BD' for short.

HD DVD was created by the DVD Forum and a team of electronics hardware manufacturers lead by Toshiba and NEC.

Structurally, the discs contain data layers at the same depth (0.6mm) as for existing DVDs, allowing for storage of up to 17GB of data per layer.

1. Environment: Each Blu-ray Disc production line requires a completely new setup costing about USD$2,000,000, whereas existing DVD production lines can all be upgraded to HD DVD production lines for about USD$150,000 each. Replacing DVD production facilities with Blu-ray production facilities is not only environmentally unsustainable, but it is also far more costly - obviously this cost will be passed on to consumers. What consumer would want this?
2. No region coding: consumer-friendly. There are no region-free or multi-zone Blu-ray players (however mods are now available for some Sony and Pioneer models). Other than mod chips, the only way around the region coding it to use SlySoft's AnyDVD HD software on PC. Blu-ray also has BD+ that is capable of enforcing further market segmentation through time-expiring/use-expiring DRM restrictions.
3. Video Quality: almost all current HD DVD titles make use of 30Gb discs and the MPEG-4 video codecs (34Gb & 51Gb discs are now available as well). As of June, 2007 there were only 12 Blu-ray titles that make use of MPEG-4 on BD-50Gb discs. Indeed many Blu-ray titles are so bad in video quality that they have to be recalled. As of December 2007, more than 40% of Blu-ray titles use the 15-year-old MPEG-2 video codec more than another 25% only use single layer (25GB) discs.
4. Compatibility: all players have supported all future discs since day 1 (the first Blu-ray Disc players with final specs equal to HD DVD were released two (2) years later - so Blu-ray Disc player manufactured before mid-2008 may not play all future discs).
5. Affordability: less expensive players (RRP from USD$49 versus Blu-ray at USD$299). Price is still the number one factor driving mass consumer uptake of technology. It was not until DVD players hit the magic USD$199 that the DVD format took off. HD DVD players have already reached this important price point (as of July 2007).
6. Audio Quality: all players support Dolby TrueHD lossless audio. This is important as it can free up many Gb of disc space and bandwidth that is wasted on many Blu-ray Discs that have to include uncomressed LPCM to cater for all Blu-ray players.
7. Unrestrictive: only one layer of DRM (Blu-ray Disc has four; AACS, BD+, watermarking, and region coding) and fully supports 'Managed Copying' - one of the main features that won HD DVD the support of both Intel and Microsoft.
8. Industry Support: HD DVD had the backing of the DVD Forum - and this is an understated advantage as Blu-ray Disc technology is not permitted to be associated with the 'DVD' trademark or logos (Joe Six-pack does not know what Blu-ray Disc is). Microsoft and Intel's backing also means that HD DVD will continue to be a useful PC data storage medium, even if movie studio support for HD DVD eventually dies out.
9. Reliability: the HD DVD disc manufacturing process was almost identical to the DVD disc manufacturing process which has been tested for more than 12 years. Blu-ray Discs have not yet been proven to last the distance.

Blu-Ray Disc was created by a team of consumer electronics hardware manufacturers led by Sony and Philips.

Structurally, the discs contain data layers a depth of 0.1mm, allowing for storage of up to 25GB of data per layer.

1. As of Tuesday, March 19th, 2008, it is the only main high definition media format left in production after HD DVD was aborted by Toshiba.
2. Read Bandwidth: Blu-ray Disc players support a higher disc data read bandwidth (54mbps versus 36mbps for HD DVD). This was designed to permit easy direct streaming to disc of an MPEG-2 video stream (e.g. from broadcast television). This is an advantage depending on who you speak to. It allows for more uncompressed audio tracks to be included for MPEG-2 Blu-ray titles, however when using the more advanced MPEG-4 video codecs the bandwidth difference no longer becomes a real constraint.

Both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc:

1. have a similar number of Hollywood titles currently available (both had about 500 releases worldwide by the end of 2007).
2. support the same video codecs; MPEG-4 (AVC & VC-1) and MPEG-2.
3. support the same audio codecs; Dolby TrueHD (lossless), Linear PCM (lossless), Dolby Digital / EX / Plus, DTS / HD.
4. offer almost identical maximum storage capacity specifications (HD DVD at 51Gb and Blu-ray Disc at 50Gb).
5. employ the AACS DRM.
6. use a 405nm violet laser diode (not blue).

At the moment the Sony S370 and the PS3 Slim are the best value Blu-ray Disc players in Australia. Here are a few reasons why you might choose the S370 over the PS3 Slim as a Blu-ray Disc player:

1. Power consumption. Technical reviews have shown the PS3 Slim to use an more than 100 Watts during Blu-ray Disc playback. The Sony S370 Blu-ray Disc player only requires 22 Watts maximum!
2. Price. The Sony S370 retails from AUD $199 - more than $200 less than the price of the PS3.
3. Speed. The Sony S370 loads discs in about 10 seconds!
4. Drive mechanism. The slot-in drives are much harder to keep clean than the tray loading drives. This could also affect lifespan.