HD-DVD vs BluRay

This report featured in Episode 10 of 2007.

So, what’s it to be? HD-DVD or BluRay, that’s the big technology question of 2007.

And already, the major players are forming alliances with manufacturers and retailers in what’s being touted as the biggest format war since Sony’s betamax took on JVC’s VHS in the mid 70’s.

So what’s BluRay, and what’s HD-DVD? Well they’re both video formats for the next generation of high-density optical disc, and they’re both intent on replacing the DVD player and VHS tape machine in your living room.

Like the VHS vs betamax saga of the 70’s and 80’s, BluRay and HD-DVD are competing formats, and both want that valuable lounge room real estate beneath your television.

HD-DVD is capable of storing 15 or 30 GB of storage, for single and dual-layer versions, while BluRay can hold 25 or 50 GB for its single or dual-layer versions… in other words, between three and ten times the capacity of current DVD technology. Both formats use a blue laser to read from, and write to, the disc, and both are designed for data storage, in particular, high-definition video.

 

HD-DVD is backed by some well-known and respected brand names. In fact the HD-DVD standard was jointly developed by a group of consumer electronics companies a few years back, lead by Toshiba. Microsoft also hopped on the bandwagon in November 2006, releasing an external add-on HD-DVD drive for its popular Xbox 360 games console.

Other companies backing the HD-DVD technology include NEC, Sanyo, RCA and Intel.

For movie titles, HD DVD is exclusively backed by Universal Studios, and is non-exclusively backed by Paramount Pictures, Dreamworks, Warner Bros. Pictures, and the Warner Music Group.

Well .. this all sounds like a tough act to follow, wouldn’t you agree? Let’s look at BluRay, and see what this format has to offer.

 

BluRay has been championed by industry heavyweight Sony. Other brands like JVC, Philips, Samsung and Panasonic have also backed the BluRay fomat, releasing domestic players and recorders in Germany, Japan, the United States and also Australia. Large corporates like Hewlett Packard, Apple and Dell have also backed the format.

In response to Microsoft’s adoption of the HD-DVD standard in its Xbox 360, Sony decided to include a read-only BluRay drive in its PlayStation 3 games console.

 

Technical Differences

Well, which format is better technically?

In terms of audio & video compression, Blu-ray and HD-DVD are similar on the surface: both support MPEG-2, VC-1, and H.264 for video compression, and Dolby Digital (AC-3), PCM, and DTS for audio compression.

The first generation of Blu-ray Disc movies was released using MPEG-2, which is the standard currently used in DVDs, although encoded at a much higher video resolution and a much higher bit rate. Initial HD-DVDs used the VC-1 codec. Due to greater disc capacity, the Blu-ray Disc could use higher video bit rates in the future.

In terms of audio, there are some differences. The Blu-ray format allows conventional AC-3 audiotracks at 640 kbit/s, higher than HD-DVD’s maximum of 448 kbit/s, but Dolby Digital Plus is mandatory for standalone HD-DVD players, while optional for BluRay players.

Both HD-DVD and BluRay machines do (or should) support HDMI into your television. HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface and replaces the older component and S-video connections between your television, and DVD or tape machines. HDMI carries digital video and audio all in one cable, and is designed for 1080p high-definition video; and high-quality, lossless audio formats.

 

Domestic Equipment

So where are we with domestic equipment? What’s on the shelf and what’s it worth?

The first HD-DVD Player & Recorder is available from Toshiba: the RD-A1 (shown below) retails for a cool AU$4,500 and includes a massive 1TB hard disc. The budget DVD producer Lite-On is also manufacturing a no-frills HD-DVD machine which should be available to Australian consumers soon.

In the BluRay camp, big names like Samsung have started churning out domestic products. The BD-P1000 is now available in Australia for around AU$1700, but early performance reviews have been disappointing. The world’s so-called no. 1 gadget magazine T3 recently reported Samsung’s domestic offering as having slow start-up time compared with a DVD player, sluggish menus and not worth the price tag.

But if you don’t have a spare $1700 to spend on a menu-sluggish, slow-startup BluRay machine, you’re not alone. Many are waiting for the March release of Sony’s PS3. Even though it’s being marketed as the ultimate games console, the integrated BluRay drive is expected to have a big impact on the home entertainment business.

 

T3 also reported that the new Maestro Pro-V Media Centre, containing a blue-ray drive and Twin HD Tuner (shown above) was anything but flawless. Microsoft’s support of the HD-DVD format is evident with Windows Media Centre not supporting BluRay in this machine; additionally the HDMI output on the Maestro was an optional extra. For around AU$3,500, T3 recommends waiting for a version running Vista Media Centre if you’re after BlueRay compatability.

 

Movie Titles

So what movie titles can we expect on these competing formats?

HD-DVD titles heading this way include Land of the Dead, Mission Impossible III, Serenity, Apollo 13 and T3: Rise of the Machines. Other HD DVD titles include The Last Samurai, Million Dollar Baby, The Phantom of the Opera by Warner Home Video; and Serenity by Universal Studios. So far 163 titles have been released in America and 61 in Japan.

BluRay titles now being produced include Tears of the Sun, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Into the Blue and SWAT. All in all more than 157 titles have been released on Blu-ray Disc. The first movies using BluRay dual layer discs (50 GB) were introduced in November, 2006, but single layer discs are currently far more popular with developers.

 

So what’s the verdict?

While we’re still in the early stages of these technologies, HD-DVD appears to be cheaper and easier to produce. Certainly the hardware is more affordable, and the picture quality on early discs has been excellent.

Unfortunately for HD-DVD, there’s less storage space than BluRay and the format isn’t supported by as many Hollywood studios. HD-DVD simply hasn’t managed to secure the support of as many companies as BluRay.

In Australia, the prices of domestic machines are still comparable, and still hideously expensive by DVD player standards. BluRay has more capacity, supports a higher video bitrate and has better industry support, but until those prices come tumbling down, the battle is anything but over.

Show 7 of 2007

Listen to it here

Digital rights management is back in the news again this week stirred up by Apple Boss Steve Jobs. In a speech to industry on February 6 he said some have called for Apple to “open” the digital rights management system that Apple uses to protect its music against theft, so that music purchased from iTunes can be played on digital devices purchased from other companies, and protected music purchased from other online music stores can play on iPod’s. For listeners unsure what Digital Rights Management is, simply it’s an electronic system designed to stop people sharing files – in this case music – files between computers, iPod’s and the like. In what seems to be an unrelated announcement MUSIC label EMI said last Friday that it is planning to release a large portion of its music catalogue for sale by download, without technological protection against piracy. Coincidental? I’m sure the conspiracy theorists amongst you are slightly suspect of all this, so we thought it time to revisit one of our pet hates – Digital Rights Management.

We also talk to Lidija Davis, our Silicon Valley connection about the RSA 2007 conference in San Francisco last week, and if you’ve ever bitched about your anti virus software, wait till you hear this! Lid’s recommendation – Kaspersky

Justin Dunlop joins the panel to tell us all about the new technological lineup from Apple. Vista spores yet another clone, this time we see the release of a Vista for mobile devices. Apple boss Steve Jobs urges the top 4 record companies to un protect their music. What’s in a password? Well plenty as we find out in a new study about weak passwords and Vista security found somewhat wanting… For more information visit www.techtalkradio.com.au

Bill Gates: “Anywhere Access” A Reality via IPSec and IPv6

Bill Gates and Microsoft’s Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie shared the stage for the opening keynote this morning at RSA 2007. 

Gates has a vision of secure and easy “Anywhere Access,” where people can be assured of online security; on anything, from anywhere, at anytime. 

According to Mundie, once upon a time, companies knew who the people were that accessed their information.  Security was once really just a blocking thing – including some, excluding others – but now with the Internet, things are changing.  

Consultants are called in, employees work remotely; companies have more partners, more vendors.  With so many people accessing information, companies are faced with new vulnerabilities.

Now, companies need to provide employees/consultants with “health” certificates, granting access only to specific appropriate information.

“To make the vision real, we need to reevaluate our systems, networks, identity and data protection, look at certificates in general and smart cards as specific.” Gates said.

According to Microsoft, the key technologies that will enable this “Trustworthy Computing” environment are IPSec and the next generation of the Internet Protocol, IPv6.

Microsoft’s recently released Vista and upcoming Longhorn support hybrid IPv4/IPv6 environments as well as pure IPv6.