Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

v1.0 of HD-DVD Physical Specs Approved

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the the-race-is-on dept.

Repran writes "The DVD Forum this week approved HD-DVD 1.0, a specification that will compete with Blu-Ray which is not yet approved for the future of the DVD disc format. This effectively gives manufacturers a green light to begin producing devices. In related news Microsoft's VC-9 codec has been included in the official HD-DVD specs."

16 of 323 comments (clear)

  1. Not that it will do much good... by aminorex · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can't imagine that a green light will be much help
    in making Blu-Ray disks.

    --
    -I like my women like I like my tea: green-
  2. Now I get to spend more money... by Komi · · Score: 4, Funny

    Great, first my VHS collection, now my DVD collection will become obsolete. At least know we know why George Lucas finally decided to release the original Star Wars DVDs this year. He had to make sure everyone had the chance to buy it before HD-DVD becomes standard. Then he'll release the ultra-super-special edition on HD-DVD later.

    --
    The ultimate goal of science is to unify all forces of nature to a single law that can be silk-screened onto a T-shirt.
    1. Re:Now I get to spend more money... by jared_hanson · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I don't understand your problem with new disc formats. The great thing about them is that disc players are generally backwards compatible. DVD players can play CDs, for example. So, your DVD collection doesn't really lose any value because you can play them on HD-DVD or Blu-Ray players.

      This is different from VHS tapes, that are completely obsolete and unplayable on modern hardware. Plus discs are much smaller and more convienient for storage purposes.

      I'm all for better disc formats as long as the hardware can continue to play the old ones.

      --
      -- Fighting mediocrity one bad post at a time.
    2. Re:Now I get to spend more money... by Stigmata669 · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I know this was intended as a joke, but I am so sick of people complaining about advancing standards and their old {record, tape, VHS} collection.

      IF YOU DON'T LIKE BUYING THE NEW STANDARD, DON'T BUY THEM!!!!!!!!

      Last time I checked you could still go to Fry's and buy a VHS player or blank audio tapes. Maybe they quit selling record players at Radio Shack but you don't have to look very hard to find a good record player either.

      NOBODY and I mean NOBODY is telling you that you have to upgrade your whole collection. Sure you might have to buy a HD-DVD player to buy the latest releases, but that won't cost much (cheap DVD players are less that $60 now) and there are improvements in the standard.

      People complain either way. Take television, it took decades to see any improvement in the TV standards and with the way other technology grows I am not alone in greeting the HDTV standard with a big "it's about damn time."

      Now quit your whining, all of you.

      --
      Yawn.
    3. Re:Now I get to spend more money... by pilgrim23 · · Score: 4, Funny

      My 78 RPM Records are stored in the Victrola, LPs with the direct drive turntable. Eight tracks went to Goodwill, CDs are in the cabinet by the stereo, Cassette Tapes above the CDs. Sandwich into the VHS Drawer(s) by the TV are the 8mm tapes of the kid's birthday party, a new and small case on top has the MiniDV tapes in it. Beta tapes and the Sony are in the closet. DVDs and VCDs are on top of the player. Why is it that the only media I have from 30 years ago that I can still use in the same format, in the same player, in the same way, without degradation of signal or data integrity... IS A BOOK?

      --
      - Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
  3. Microsoft creating open standards? by AC-x · · Score: 5, Interesting

    By the sounds of the article Microsoft has submitted their VC-9 codec as an open standard, does that actually mean that OS encoders/decoders can be developed free from MS lawer related hassle, or are there still strings attached?

    1. Re:Microsoft creating open standards? by jared_hanson · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well, it is an open standard, but that doesn't mean that it is royalty free. It's similar to MPEG in that the specification is known, but if you implement and sell it you are required to pay a royalty (to Microsoft in the case of Windows Media).

      Essentially, with the mandate of this requirement for HD-DVD certification, it ensures that Microsoft will get a small fee from every HD-DVD certified player that is sold.

      --
      -- Fighting mediocrity one bad post at a time.
  4. Re:Better and faster by Malc · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Indeed, just look at the minimum requirements for viewing Microsoft's High Definition Content Showcase. Presumably a set-top box will have custom hardware...

  5. RIAA Should Take Notes (slightly O/T) by baudilus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not that this has anything to do with the MPAA yet, this is the way things should be done. Once there is a decent standard in place, and there is a widespread enough install base of players that can paly these discs, the film industry will begin phasing over to this format for DVD releases, eventually phasing out the older format (or perhaps making it backwards compatible). Provided that pirates could (and eventually will) figure out how to rip these, would you really sit on kazaa waiting for a 30+GB movie download, just to avoid buying the DVD? Even with a great connection, it's just not worth the time / HDD space. I for one, would rather just buy the DVD.

    New technology. It's sux but it's great.

  6. Re:How soon... by Errtu76 · · Score: 5, Funny

    and how soon was it before somebody said the P-word when another mass-storage article hit slashdot? 3 seconds? four?

  7. For those not aware by Tuvai · · Score: 5, Informative

    HD-DVD format uses a 405nm-wavelength blue-violet laser technology, in contrast to the 650nm-wavelength red laser technology used in traditional DVD formats. The rewritable Blu-ray disc, with a data transfer rate of 36Mbps, can hold up to 27GB of data on a single-sided single layer disc (compared to the traditional DVD's 4.7GB capacity), which amounts to about 12 hours of standard video or more than 2 hours of high-definition video.
    AOD is pretty much the same, except it has a storage capacity of 20GB on a single-layer disc

  8. Format wars by IGnatius+T+Foobar · · Score: 5, Insightful

    HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray. It's time for another format war. Consumers don't want this -- especially when regular DVD is "good enough" for most of them, and from their perspective, DVD is only a few years old. VHS got a couple decades of use before DVD showed up on the market, and when it did, the improvement in picture and sound quality (not to mention taking up less space) was enough to get consumers to adopt the format.

    Now they expect consumers to shift again? No. It's too soon. And the fact that there's a format war on top of all that, will make both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray about as successful as SACD and DVD-A have been in replacing the good old audio CD -- i.e. not successful at all except for a handful of high-end enthusiasts.

    --
    Tired of FB/Google censorship? Visit UNCENSORED!
  9. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  10. Re:Compatibility by anakin357 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Backwards compatiblity is the driving factor for any new purchase in my mind. From the article: The only Blu-ray recorder currently available in Japan is the Sony BDZ-S77 Google for "Sony BDZ-S77" and hitting I'm feeling Lucky takes you to here: http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/blu-ray/ And within that article (Decent review by the way) is this: The drive can record only blu-ray media, but it supports reading of blue-ray, DVD-Video, DVD-RW, DVD-R, CD, CD-R and CD-RW discs. So to answer your question, yes they are backwards compatible.

    --
    http://www.fsckin.com/
  11. Re:Better and faster by TedCheshireAcad · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...and better and faster peer-to-peer file sharing schemes to violate their copyrights.

  12. But you aren't paying for just the improvements by Solandri · · Score: 5, Insightful
    NOBODY and I mean NOBODY is telling you that you have to upgrade your whole collection. Sure you might have to buy a HD-DVD player to buy the latest releases, but that won't cost much (cheap DVD players are less that $60 now) and there are improvements in the standard.

    I think what upsets people is that someone upgrading from a VHS to a DVD to an HD-DVD copy of a movie pays just as much as someone who's buying the HD-DVD version as his first copy. That is, you aren't just paying for the improvement in the standard. You're paying for the improvements + any intellectual rights to view the movie. If you own the VHS and DVD versions as well, you've paid for those intellectual rights multiple times.

    This flies in the face of the MPAA/RIAA's argument that filesharing is bad because when you buy a DVD/CD, you are purchasing intellectual rights to view/listen. If it's wrong for me to view/listen to the DVD/CD without buying a license, it's wrong for them to sell the same license to me multiple times in different formats. The software industry figured out this contradiction long ago and offers discounts for upgrade versions.