Next-Gen DVD Split By Two Competing Standards

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Posted on Saturday 15th of November, 2003 at 12:44 by DiViDeZeRo
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Over at TechWeb we can read a very interesting article on th battle that currently is going on between the High Definition (HD-DVD) formatand the Blu-ray Disc ROM (BD-ROM). While HD-DVD seems to be the low cost optimised version of the current DVD standards, where as Blu-ray uses a much stronger encryption algorithm based on 128-bit AES, and introduces many new "wow factors" such as a new copy protection scheme currently in development by Sony, Philips and Matsushita, a Java programming environment, better navigation and graphics capabilities, Internet connectivity integrated into a BD-ROM player for downloading additional materials, including subtitles for foreign-language content and plenty of room for data storage.

"Efforts to control the next-generation format have split the consumer electronics industry in two, and the stakes are high. Whichever format the market eventually embraces is expected to give consumer electronics manufacturers control over the technology that underlies upcoming DVD systems, and to protect them from the price deterioration now being seen in DVD players manufactured largely by Chinese OEMs. Next-generation systems promise to deliver a high-definition movie on a single disk, and are expected to build momentum for HDTV set sales.

Some industry observers believe HD-DVD could offer a smooth, seamless transition from today's standard-definition DVD to high definition, but they also acknowledge that the proposal faces a battle. The HD-DVD camp is hoping to commercialize its products in time for Christmas 2004. BD-ROM proponents are planning to introduce their high-definition optical-disk player, which will not be compatible with the DVD Forum's specification, in late 2005."

It seems to me that we are dealing with a similair situation as the well known BetaMax versus VHS story. Eventhough one format's technology is superior to the other (BD-ROM), the low cost technology (HD-DVD) will probably win. Make sure to read the article at Techweb, since it contains much more in depth information on the subject.

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