Blu-ray vs. HD DVD
What are the differences between HD DVD and Blu-ray disc formats? Which of them is better? Read on to find out.
If you have recently watched a movie on a blu-ray disc, try watching the same movie again, but this time on an HD DVD. I know you might find it boring to watch the same movie again, but it will help you compare the HD DVD format with Blu-ray and find out which technology outsmarts the other. This is one way you can compare the two disc formats. You can consider this option for later time since here is a comparative study of the two competing disc technologies, Blu-ray and HD DVD.
Blu-ray vs. HD DVD
Both HD DVD and Blu-ray are high-definition optical disc formats, incompatible with each other. They were meant to replace the existing DVD format, which was and still is used by a large user community. Considering the promising features of Blu-ray technology, there are bright chances that Blu-ray discs will replace the existing DVDs. Will HD DVDs still remain in competition with the disc formats being used today? In the opinion of many, Blu-ray discs will continue to dominate the market. Many consider Blu-ray technology as the most probable winner in this race of disc storage formats of today.
HD DVD: High-Definition/Density Versatile Disc is abbreviated as HD DVD. It is an optical disc format that facilitates the storage of high-definition video. The development of the HD DVD format is credited to Toshiba, a prominent multinational organization, working in the field of consumer electronic products. HD DVDs are available in both readable and rewriteable formats. NEC, Sanyo, Microsoft and Intel are some of the other leading names in the computer and electronics industry that promote the HD DVD format.
Blu-ray Disc: It is an optical disc format, which is developed by The Blu-ray Disc Association, a group of consumer electronics and personal computer manufacturers. Blu-ray discs are used for storing high-definition video and data. The technology derives its name from the blue or violet colored laser beam that is used for writing and reading data on these discs. Blu-ray discs can store more data on a relatively lesser space as a short-wavelength laser beam is used to write data onto them.
HD DVD or Blu-ray – Which one is better?
HD DVDs and Blu-ray discs are similar in terms of the higher storage capacities and a superior picture quality offered by them. Their storage capacities are higher than those of CDs and DVDs. However, a single layer HD DVD can store 15 GB data whereas a single-layer Blu-ray disc stores 25 GB data. The storage capacity offered by a disc format is closely linked to the method used to write on the discs. Although there is no difference between the wavelengths of the laser beams used to write on HD DVDs and Blu-ray discs, the ways of focusing the beams onto the discs differ. Both HD DVDs and Blu-ray discs require a laser beam of wavelength 405 nanometers, to write data on them. However, for HD DVDs, the beam is focused through a lens of numerical aperture of 0.65 nanometers while the aperture is of 0.85 nanometers for Blu-ray discs.
HD DVDs offer a maximum bit rate of 36.5 Mbits/sec for raw data transfer while Blu-ray discs offer maximum bit rates of 53.9 Mbits/sec. The maximum bit rates for the transfer of audio and video data is around 48 Mbits/sec for Blu-ray discs while it is about 30.2 Mbits/sec for HD DVDs. The use of lossy audio codecs such as Dolby Digital and DTS and lossless codecs like Linear PCM are mandatory for both HD DVDs and Blu-ray discs. Most of the audio titles released on Blu-ray discs include Dolby-Digital tracks while those on HD DVDs include Dolby Digital Plus tracks. Both offer a maximum video resolution of 1920×1080. Both support the same three video compression standards, namely MPEG-2, VC-1 and AVC.
As the HD DVD specification has no region coding, an HD DVD manufactured in any part of the world can work in any player. Also there are no restrictions on playing imported HD DVDs in any HD DVD player. It implies that discs from American retailers can be obtained by customers in other regions of the world. On the other hand, Blu-ray discs employ three region codes. About 66% of Blu-ray disc titles are region-free, while 33% use region codes.
In 2007, a hybrid technology supporting both the disk formats was introduced by Warner Bros. It was known as Total HD and was designed to support both the formats on a single disc. A disc of the Total HD technology would place a Blu-ray layer over an HD DVD layer, where the Blu-ray layer would act like a two-way mirror, reflecting enough light for the Blu-ray reader to read and the HD DVD player to ignore. However, later that year, the hybrid technology was declared to be on hold. Let us hope for the design of a disk format that will incorporate the positive attributes of both the Blu-ray discs and HD DVDs and eliminate their shortfalls. Let us wait and watch to see such a technology in action!
| By Manali Oak Published: 12/30/2008 |
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