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Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the soemthing-to-think-about dept.

Michael S writes sent in a good story which sumarizes the current status of the battle between Blu-Ray & HD-DVD. There still isn't really a clear victor... or is there? I for one can't wait for this crap to get settled out so we can just enjoy having huge discs.

17 of 413 comments (clear)

  1. I've already got a huge di by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    oh wait

    1. Re:I've already got a huge di by coachvince · · Score: 5, Funny

      I find that the more pr0n I have, the more concerned I am about the size of my disc.

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  2. Still no word from the pr0n industry by WormholeFiend · · Score: 5, Interesting

    From the article:
    And, as peculiar it may sound, both competitors are holding their breath to see what the pornographic industry will decide.

    That pretty much sums up the whole situation, now doesn't it?

    1. Re:Still no word from the pr0n industry by lovswr · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Are you being sarcastic? The pr0n industry has been at the forefront (no pun inteneded) of home video tech since the VCR. As much as this counrty tries to present itself as Puritanical downhome homebodies; money talks & bs walks. The guy that sits across from me at work, & a good friend (they both used to work for the clearinghouse companies) have told me that the #1 state for pr0n video on demand rentals is good ole puritanical Utah. Basically, pr0n users will lead the way, & the asses, literally will follow.* So the choice of format by the pr0n industry is very important to both camps. *My apologies to Mr. Brown & EnVogue.

  3. Why people don't RTFA by frovingslosh · · Score: 5, Insightful
    From the article: ... it will take a while till they become largely accessible - probably towards the end of 2005, but most likely in 2006 -....

    So it's probably this, but on the other hand it's most likely something else? My faith in anything the article might say was lost.

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  4. Re: problem solved! by spungebob · · Score: 5, Informative

    but wont they get scratched/ruined easily? ... as reported previously on slashdot

    --
    It takes an idiot to do cool things - that's why it's cool!
  5. Re:Format war.....Who cares! by wo1verin3 · · Score: 5, Funny

    It does, and sure beats the names I proposed to replace DVD-R and DVD+R. I was going to go with DVD*R and DVD/R.

  6. PS3 by M.C.+Hampster · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I wouldn't underestimate the influence of the PS3 on the format wars. The fact Sony is (obviously) using their own Blu-Ray format for their next generation console could mean an early victory for their format.

    --
    Forget the whales - save the babies.
    1. Re:PS3 by incom · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, because sony has a history of being victorious in format wars, like their succesful betamax beating vhs, minidisc beating cdr, atrac or whatever beating mp3, memory stick beating SD and CF, and so on.

      --
      True genius is grasping a situation like a peice of fruit, and peircing it just right so that it drains dry.
  7. Clear winner by bonch · · Score: 5, Informative
    There still isn't really a clear victor... or is there?


    Spec-wise, Blu-Ray wins. Blu-Ray also has the support of Sony (and therefore will be in the PS3), has Apple supporting it (and therefore will be in future Macs by default...and Macs are used in the media content industry), and it supports all the codecs and specs that HD-DVD supports. In addition, it has larger storage space. Even Dell and Disney are supporting it.

    HD-DVD's only benefit is that there won't be a need to alter today's manufacturing processes as much as Blu-Ray will require.

    I predict (and hope) Blu-Ray will win. I know people love to cite Betamax in these articles, but just because Betamax died out doesn't mean the better format will die out in this case either. There's a lot of important backing for Blu-Ray.
  8. wait a sec... by nilbog · · Score: 5, Funny

    What was wrong with betamax?

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    or else!
  9. Crap to get settled? by adiposity · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The degree to which you enjoy having "truly huge discs" will depend on which standard gets adopted. The formats aren't equivalent and have substantial differences in price and excellence. This is nothing like the DVD+/DVD- R/RW wars; the formats are too dissimilar.

    The preference of one format over the other could have ramifications similar to those of Betamax/VHS. Personally, I'm not excited bout HD-DVD's 2.5 hour limit on high-def video. Blu-ray has a 4.5 hour limit? Now we're talking. Even LOTR:ROTK will fit on that.

    I'm sick of standards that just *barely* satisfy the need for new formats. HD-DVD is an evolutionary upgrade of DVDs to allow a majority of films to fit in high-def. Blu-ray is a revolutionary change which may cost more initially, but provides much more headroom and has plans for even larger disc capacity. It also will provide an immediate benefit for long films or extensive data storage over HD-DVD.

    I can't wait for this crap to get settled...in favor of Blu-ray. I'm sure not going to be excited about it when I am sticking in the second HD-DVD for a > 2.5 hour hdef film because "HD-DVD" sounds more like "DVD" than "Blu-ray". So, world, take your time if you must; just choose the right format it the end.

    Bottom line: if you have to do a major upgrade of media and players, do it right! Don't upgrade the minimum amount required, but plan for the future.

    I'll be almost as happy if dual-format drives take over like DVD+/-, but it would still probably mean most movies came out on HD-DVD.

    -Dan

  10. Re:I'm sticking with 5 1/4 inch floppies by Curtman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Funny.. Seriously though I'd be happy if some of this new space went to more redundancy if it meant the discs would be more reliable than DVD/CD media is. I'd sacrifice some space for better chances to read it later. If part of whatever standard wins allowed for the data to be stored twice on the media, readers could check the other track if one was damaged.

  11. Blu-Ray by Fahrvergnuugen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Well, considering that Sony, Apple & the Porn Industry are all behind Blu-Ray, I'd say we have a pretty good idea of who is going to win this one...

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  12. A huge help for Blu-Ray... by ScislaC · · Score: 5, Interesting

    will be if Sony officially decides to make the PS3 use the format. With the market penetration of consoles, especially the PlayStation consoles, well, you do the math. I know plenty of people that were excited that their PS2s played DVDs, because then they didn't have to buy a standalone player. So, I have a feeling that the same will happen if they use a Blu-Ray drive in their next console.

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    ART on dA
  13. Re:Blu-ray durability? by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 5, Informative

    The plastic layer to the label side is something like 1mm thick, the laser side is 0.1mm thick. So the label side is safer.

    Scratches on the laser side, on the other hand, are a different matter. The Blu-Ray group is requiring the use of a particular anti-scratch material that supposedly won't scratch with steel wool. It was used on the PSP face plate and some journalists reported the only way to scratch it was to take a knife and dig into it.

  14. Re:Blu-ray durability? by captaincucumber · · Score: 5, Funny

    10 bucks says this special coating causes cancer somehow. That's always the case with these types of things.