jester22c

I don't remember a discussion on our two up and coming optical disc choices so I thought I'd post some linkage to a good write up on the two. I've been following this technology fairly closely and this article isn't anything new but it is a good comparison of the two competing formats and a good read for those who want a better understanding of the differences between the two.

Low Roller

I'm hope Blue-ray wins out, but if I were a betting man my money would be on HD-DVD. I'm curious how the AACS copy protection would work with HDCP. I could see them working together. ACSS working between the disc and the player, and HDCP working between the player and the display.

That article was the first time I heard of HVD. In case a Blue-ray 25-50gig disc isn't enough for you, you could always hold out for just announced HVD. 1TB of storage with a 1Gb/s read speed would be awsome.

http://www.optware.co.jp/english/index_what.htm

http://dvd.ign.com/articles/590/590428p1.html

jester22c

My vote is for Blu-Ray as well. Blu-Ray seems technologically superior to HDDVD IMO and more future-proof as well (of course who knows). Besides, Blu-Ray drives are going to be in the PS3s...

Fnord

I'm not really partial to either but from what I have read the manufacturing standards for HDDVD and CDs are the same but they are different for BR and like jester said ps3 is going with BR. If BR isn't the industry standard that means that sony will have to manufacture the disk themselves, or contract someone to manufacture them. This also means that 3rd party developers will have to purchase the disks exclusivly from sony. Nintendo tried and is still trying this approach and has lost countless 3rd party developers over this issue. So for the sake of my gaming future I am pulling for t3h blue-ray.

Low Roller

Besides being technically superior, the biggest thing Blue-ray has going to it is Sony's decision to put BR drives in the PS3 as you said.(I wonder how big a hit Sony will take on this) I don't think that's going be too much of a deciding factor, though. I don't see either next gen DVD tech getting wide acceptance very quickly, if at all. In the audio world, DVD-Audio and SACD standards have basically been flops. The public at large is plenty happy with CD quality, and even mp3 quality music. Most DVD players sold today can play DVD-A or SACD discs, many players can do both formats. Still, these formats are stuck in an audiophile niche they show no signs of breaking out of.

As much as I love it, HDTV adoption has been pretty slow. Most people will still be watching regular DVD's on their NTSC sets years from now. In my opinion, DVD's are clearly inferior to the HDTV programming I watch. Having said that, most of my friends who have seen my setup think DVD's look fantastic on my 4yr old HDTV, and any improvement that HDTV has over DVD is marginal. (I don't think so, but thats what my friends think.)

Another problem these formats face in getting accepted is the strict copy protection that will undoubtably come with them. This is part of the reason for the failure of DVD-A and SACD. The encryption in these audio formats has been strong....too strong. The public, already satisfied with DVD quality video, will not switch to a new and more expensive video format with less conveinience for a marginally improved picture. Hollywood never seems to learn.

MrDigital

I saw this article on /. yesterday, and the first thing that came to my mind when I looked at it was "holy sh*t that Blu-Ray disc is translucent!" Did anyone else notice that? How does the laser reflect?

Pretty neat.

Other than that, I am a HD-DVD fan. I hate Sony and their lame proprietary setups. The idea of BR is neat enough, but the fact that Sony is it's main benefactor turns me off.

Besides, take a look at the companies supporting BR. It reads like a who's who of companies who have made endless stupid decisions in recent years. Sony, HP, Disney, etc.

No thanks for Blu-Ray.

-MrD

Low Roller

Is Sony blinking in the Blue-ray vs. HD-DVD format war?

MrDigital

Holy schnikeys.. Sony admitting to a mistake.

"Kutaragi also admitted in January that Sony, by supporting its proprietary audio encoding system and not the widely-supported MP3 format, had lost ground to competitors such as Apple Computer in the portable music player market, which Sony had once dominated with the Walkman."

Maybe it really IS a new Sony over there after all. Maybe they won't keep flooding the market with useless crap. Maybe they will actually learn to play well with others! WEEEE. Maybe I'm on crack, too.

Either way, good news if they unite them.

-MrD

Low Roller

What music format was Sony pushing anyway? I didn't know they had their own....although, knowing Sony, its not suprising at all. I guess it must be a total faliure if nobody's heard about it. I wonder how long they were shoehorning it into the market?