Back in 1994 when Sony/Philips technology released the
first Digital Video Disc (DVD) digital technology's goal
was to enable a world united by one language. We have come
along way since then. With the advent of high definition
DVDs, the war continues as to which format will replace
standard DVDs in the future, especially after Warner Bros.
Entertainment recently announced their decision to support
Blue-ray technology for high definition DVDs, over the
rival format, HD DVD. This now underdog format may still
have a chance of survival though, because it's being backed
by DreamWorks, Universal and Paramount.
"We are getting close to the spontaneous emergence of
global network-based virtual awareness. In a very short
period of time, the worlds of printing and publishing
changed dramatically, and as the Internet wakes up,
technology continues to congeal into one global
interconnected network," says the author of The Extreme
Future, James Canton.
What is the difference between HD DVD and Blue-ray? "The
difference is that they are different formats of discs that
are used to deliver content to the end user. Both formats
support high definition video, and have nothing to do with
resolution," says one DVD duplication services provider,
Asheesh Barman, of Acutrack, Inc.
There is confusion about the video resolution of each
format. Both formats support high definition video format.
High definition video is what standard definition DVD video
quality was to VHS video quality back in the old days. High
definition video is 720 lines to 1080 lines on the TV
screen. By comparison, the now old standard NTSC format
used in the US and North America is only 480 lines of
resolution.
HD DVD is easier and less expensive to manufacture, and the
interactive component which was co-developed by Microsoft
Toshiba and Disney, is much easier to use. The real value
is in the authoring capabilities and the disc is less
expensive.
Also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), it is a next-generation
optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc
Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer
electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers
(including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi,
Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and
Thomson). Developed to enable recording, rewriting and
playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing
large amounts of data, the format offers more than five
times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold
up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer
disc. The capacity is needed because films in high
definition video are space consuming.
Whereas HD DVD is an optical disc format that stands for
High-Definition Digital Versatile Disc. It uses a laser,
which allows for far more data density per disc than a
standard DVD. That means HD DVD delivers six times the
picture resolution of normal DVDs, up to 7.1 channels of
high-resolution audio, and interactivity and bonus content
capabilities.
Blu-ray discs come in single and dual layers. BD 25 holds
25 gigabytes (GB) of data, while the BD 50 holds 50 GB of
data. HD DVD has three versions including single layer with
15 GB, dual layer with 30 GB and triple layer with 51 GB.
There's basically no difference in the audio and video
qualities, just some differences in features.
Why do we need both formats? We don't, but this is how
technology works - Blu-Ray offers different features than
HD DVD. Another example of this type of format war is
evident in the photography world. Many new technology
companies spent money researching, patenting and trade
marking first SD cards, then memory sticks, and flash
cards, etc.; each hoping to offer different features and
beat the others in benefits in an effort to win end users
and reap the gains for years to come.
For new independent filmmakers, general content producers,
trainers and documentarians, the costs are the main
consideration. They are not all shooting their films in
high def yet. Unless they are working with a major studio,
they cannot afford HD DVD or Blu-ray. For DVD replication
of 500 to 1000 copies of a film on HD DVD or Blu-Ray, it
would be too expensive. Plus, authoring the first master
disc is still fairly complex at least when it comes to
Blu-Ray thereby again adding more production costs.. HD
authoring by comparison is relatively easier., but still
not cost effective for the indepensent artist.
These people can focus on producing content in the
meantime, and marketing their work. Many of them are using
the new on demand publishing model -- a concept in which
physical discs containing music or videos, are not
manufactured, printed, packaged and fulfilled until after
an order for them has been received.
HD DVD and Blu-Ray are not the only options out there to
deliver high definition content. There are other media
available to content producers to distribute their hi-def
content on - such as USB flash drives. Apple's new MacBook
Air, does not even come with a drive as a standard option.
Users must buy an optional super drive. Solid state or
flash devices are a great option and the costs for these
devices are coming down fast.
Interestingly, according to the futurist, "We will spend
more than $5 trillion over the next decade to create a new
global telecom system - leading us to the next generation
Internet, and quantum computing, " Canton continued. "With
more than 1 billion people connected to the Internet today,
futurists predict that by the year 2015 there will be more
than 3 billion people online and eCommerce [and digital
downloads] will reach more than $160 trillion."
----------------------------------------------------
Kristin Gabriel is the marketing communications director
for Acutrack, Inc.(http://www.acutrack.com). The company
enables customers to create, publish and deliver custom
content for DVD and CD distribution
worldwide. Acutrack's proprietary On Demand production
produces and ship custom packaged CDs or DVDs one at a
time. Ideal for customers who are selling downloadable
content and are not sure how many units to produce, On
Demand takes care of inventory, packaging and fulfillment.
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