Many of you know that there is a war going on. No I’m not talking about Iraq, I’m talking about the format war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. These 2 formats of high definition discs are vying to become the standard format for hi-def home theaters. Similar to Beta-max and VHS back in the day.
HD-DVDs can generally deliver the same resolution and sound quality as Blu-Rays can, and it uses the same blue laser to read the disk, but Blu-Ray has a tighter data thread which allows it to hold more data on a single disk than HD-DVD can. 50GB for Blu-Ray as opposed to 30GB for HD-DVD. This allows for more extras on the disk such as trailers, added artwork, and any other bonus feature you can think of.
So which one is on top? Blu-Ray currently is outselling HD-DVD by about 2:1. Now sales aren’t the only thing that would make me tip my hat off to Blu-Ray. Sony’s Playstation 3 uses Blu-Ray discs for it’s games, and Panasonic has released an in-car dashboard Blu-Ray player.
More and more I am seeing Blu-Ray players come out on the market, yet all I see for HD-DVD is price drops and no new standalone players, or even more niche players like the dashboard Blu-Ray unit.
Honestly if you are watching a movie in 1080p with Dolby Digital surround, then it really doesn’t matter which format you choose. They are both going to deliver the quality you want to see and hear. But for some, having more support behind one or the other can tip the scales in one direction. This is why i would put my money on Blu-Ray discs.
Seven of the eight major studios (Disney, Fox, Warner, Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate and MGM) have opted to go with Blu-Ray for their hi-def choice. Several studios release their movies on HD-DVD as well, but there are only a few big name studios such as Universal and New Line Cinema which choose to back HD-DVD wholeheartedly.
The choice is with you, the consumer. It is up to you to determine who will rise victoriously through the dust and data to become the top format of this generation.
For more information on Blu-ray, check out Blu-Ray.com
For more info on HD-DVD click here.
Similar Posts:
