Typical - we wait years for a high definition disc format to replace DVD and two come along at once. Both competing formats (Blu-ray and HD DVD) will have discs and hardware on sale in the UK by the end of November - after recent launches in the US - so how are they measuring up so far?
Who's behind the formats?
Blu-ray Disc (BD) and HD DVD (high definition DVD) are both designed as the next generation of DVD, able to carry more data and to provide high resolution images plus enhanced sound. International hardware and software giants lined up behind either side, with some supporting both.
BD's main advocates are Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, Philips and Dell along with Pioneer, Sharp, Thomson and LG. Apple is also in the BD camp but rumours state it may opt for dual support, as Hewlett Packard has done. HD DVD is mainly promoted by Toshiba on the hardware side. This makes it look outnumbered but it also has the backing of Intel and Microsoft, the latter offering an HD DVD module for its Xbox 360. The importance of high capacity discs in the gaming and PC markets cannot be underestimated.
What companies are releasing discs?
A format is useless without content. Blu-ray, being a Sony co-development, naturally has the exclusive support of Sony Pictures (incorporating Columbia Tri-Star and MGM). Other Hollywood studios backing only Blu-ray (so far) include Fox, Lionsgate and Buena Vista (incorporating Disney, Touchstone, Miramax and Dimension). HD DVD was backed exclusively by Universal Pictures though it has now joined Warner Bros, HBO, Paramount and New Line in pledging dual support.
In short, Blu-ray has more backers for disc content, especially from the major grouping of Buena Vista, Fox and Sony that do not release HD DVD titles. However, apart perhaps from Sony, it's conceivable that any studios could release in both formats in the future if both types continue and become successful. See blu-raydisc.com and thelookandsoundofperfect.com (HD DVD) for more, or the clearly signposted areas for both formats at online retailer play.com.
It's early days yet and the initial line-up of discs is underwhelming, especially in the UK and particularly on Blu-ray (though if you only like testosterone-fuelled action movies you're spoilt for choice). So far in the US, the HD DVD releases have been better received. As with DVD, it will take at least a few months for choice to improve. Studios will try to release major new titles across DVD and Blu-ray or HD DVD simultaneously, as Paramount has done with Mission: Impossible III, and issue back-catalogue films in due course, especially if a sequel is due, such as Spider-Man, or there's a big anniversary, as with Forbidden Planet in 2006 and Blade Runner in 2007.
How do they compare technically?
There are a lot of similarities across formats: both use CD/DVD-sized discs but the data is packed in more densely and read by shorter wavelength lasers (in the blue-violet part of the light spectrum, hence Blu-ray). Both systems can use existing MPEG2 video standards, as employed by DVD and digital TV, but with much less compression. Newer, more space-efficient technologies are also being used and every Blu-ray or HD DVD player should accept MPEG4 (H264) and VC-1 (aka Microsoft Windows Media HD).
Both formats can replay a film in the current full high definition resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, displayed in progressive scan, which is much more cinematic on a big screen, though not every HDTV is compatible.
The plethora of surround sound options becomes even more abundant with Blu-ray and HD DVD. Dolby has developed Dolby Digital Plus - a higher quality but also space-efficient extension of Dolby Digital. At the high end is Dolby TrueHD, which carries the same quality audio as used in the mastering process using Meridian's lossless packing (MLP). DTS has a similar offering called DTS-HD Master Audio. Players support high quality Linear PCM for at least 5.1 channels.
Decoding for the newer HD audio formats is not mandatory in Blu-ray, but all HD DVD players handle the Dolby systems. FireWire or HDMI v1.3 ports are required to digitally stream the new audio formats at full bandwidth. Alternatively LPCM can be fed via analogue phono outputs to any amp with external multichannel inputs.
Both systems can accommodate interactivity by plugging players into broadband modems but not all models have an Ethernet port to enable this. Regional coding is being used for Blu-ray Discs, which divides the world into three areas instead of DVD's six. Coding has not been added to HD DVD but might appear at a later date.
The main differences between formats are in disc construction, which will create challenges for any technicians attempting a dual-format player or a double-sided, dual-format disc. The differences also affect the maximum capacity. HD DVD can hold up to 15GB per layer, to a likely maximum of three layers per disc side.
Convenient HD DVD hybrids are also available with a standard DVD layer on the flipside. Blu-ray's capacity is higher at about 25GB per layer, with a theoretical maximum of 200GB in multiple layers, however, not all hardware may be able to read multilayer discs.
Remember though, that as with HDTV broadcasts, you will need an HD-ready TV to get any benefit from the new formats.
Conclusion
It would be easy to think of this situation as a 1980s-style format war, like VHS vs Betamax, where there can only be one winner. But recent format developments in audio recording and recordable DVD standards suggest that formats tend to coexist and eventually a technological solution succeeds where business diplomacy fails in bringing different standards together.
Some recent pre-recorded formats flopped - from SACD and DVD-Audio to Sony's UMD format for watching films on the PlayStation Portable. Blu-ray and HD DVD will have recordable applications, which should help them get established.
So far HD DVD has had better films available, more favourable reviews and at about £500 its hardware costs half as much as early BD equivalents. Sony's BD-equipped PlayStation 3 is possibly the best placed machine to redress this balance but that has suffered from long delays. At the moment there is no simple choice for HDTV consumers and the future is far from certain.
Until prices drop or other solutions emerge, you may want to stick with HD from Sky and NTL:Telewest/Virgin along with their hard-drive recorders and on-demand services, or simply use a good DVD player that upscales to near-HD quality, at least until the dust settles.
