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HD DVD Coverage at CES 2004
Anonymous Coward writes "It appears manufacturers such as Toshiba will soon be rolling out HD DVD players. The HD DVD format, as opposed to the Blu-Ray standard, involves minimal changes to the manufacturing plants that currently produce DVDs. This should allow for a smoother transition for consumers to adopt this new format. This article DVD vs HD-DVD summarizes the differences of the two formats and benefits of the latter."
Is that a misprint? Surely the manufactured disks cannot be smaller than the rewritable disks - otherwise what is the point in using the read-only version at all?
K
In the article it says "rewritable" has a capacities of 32gb and 20gb (single and dual layer). This obviously isn't the same as RW (cd burning), is it? What is this, and why is it more than read only?
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What's interesting to me is thatboth the standards being talked about here seem to use blue lasers to pack more data onto the disc. Not too long ago, the competition vs. the Blu-ray group seemed to focus on sticking with traditional red lasers and just using more aggressive compression (e.g. MPEG-4). I'm glad to see that idea is going away. I still have a lot of early-generation DVDs where the compression artifacts are very noticeable. I'd hate to see that go back to being the norm.
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Uhm, you have it backwards. The new DVD player would be capable of supporting your current DVD collection and supporting the Hi-def format to boot.
It would be a waiste of space to try and achieve both on a single disk as you would be taking away from the much needed storage capacity for hi bit rate audio and video formats that HDTV signals are.
You won't loose rights or functionality of your current collection.
Heck, Samsung and V Inc Bravo DVD players can already output 720p video of current dvd's so just think of what these new systems could be capable of doing to your "old" stuff and the new stuff.
Believe me.. once you go HD all the way your current dvd collection will seem like your VHS collection.. collecting dust.
The article states "Total compatibility with present DVD (same disc structure: back-to-back bonding of two 0.6mm substrates)".
Does this mean we'll be able to play HD-DVDs in current (non-HD) DVD players? That's how I would interpret "Total compatibility," but I don't think it would work that way. Obviously HD-DVD players will be able to play non-HD DVDs, but IMO that's not Total compatibility.
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We are now seeing evidence of technological development moving so fast that there is not time for a standard to naturally evolve.
What does this mean for the market? - it means consumers are going to have to commit to an unproven technology. Consumers are naturally unwilling to do this so they will stick with older technologies, waiting for a standard to evolve. Go back to first statement.
A vicious circle.
The HD DVD format, as opposed to the Blu-Ray standard, involves minimal changes to the manufacturing plants that currently produce DVDs. This should allow for a smoother transition for consumers to adopt this new format.
I don't see how making it easier for manufacturers to change their product will make it easier for consumers to switch over?
Is that another one of those 1 + ? = profit jokes?
I don't like the sound of key revocation. Sounds like you don't buy movies you lease them. http://www.dvdinfoworld.com/modules.php?op=modload &name=News&file=article&sid=594
Unlike current DVD technology, the BD-ROM format uses a much stronger encryption algorithm based on 128-bit AES. It features system renewability for key revocation, and incorporates a physical technology for preventing so-called ?bit-by-bit? copying to recordable media. Under this scheme, content providers will physically insert a so-called ?ROM mark? onto a prerecorded disk during the mastering process. ?Our goal is to prevent not only casual copying, but also professional copying, as much as possible,? said Fidler.
That's the theory anyway. However, since DVD menus on some of my early DVDs are glitchy on current *regular* DVD player, I worry about these new players. Not being a video/audiophile, I don't really care what the new format will allow so much as that it will be software compatible with my existing DVDs. My VHS collection doesn't collect that much dust (my boy still likes Godzilla movies, and how much resolution do you really need to watch Tokyo gets leveled again?), but you have already seen the major stores pull VHS or put it back in some dark corner.
I'm used to the upgrade cycle on my PC. As a programmer/designer, I can understand that the abstraction layers we have built by burning cycles has made software easier to build. What I don't want is another purchase round with the same content I already have, for a marginal increase in quality (which I won't really appreciate, having a 36" CRT instead of a HD TV). [And I'm not buying HD until the wars around it stop either.]
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...but the digital bits acutally reported on this and seemed to imply that Blu-Ray has at this point more momentum behind it, and possibly may be the better format. From what I've read of the two formats blu-ray does look a little better.
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