The DVD Forum has selected AOD as the HD DVD format

[FulciLives]

This news is from DVD REVIEW

AOD gets the greenlight

November 25, 2003

AOD gets the greenlight Advanced Optical Disc the proposed high definition disc format created by Toshiba and NEC has been given the go ahead by the DVD Forum to be accepted as the new HD-DVD standard. This is not good news for the Blu-Ray and EVD standards, but brings household HD-DVD a big step closer to realization.

The success of DVD becoming the standard within only a few years is largely in part due to the efforts of the DVD Forum to present a unified front in 1997 to avoid consumer confusion. This step promises the same smooth transition to HD-DVD whenever that may occur.

Anyone got more info on this?

For instance just what are the specs of the AOD format? Does it use MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 or what? ... what capacity are the discs, etc?

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[BJ_M]

AOD format also uses blue laser technology with a 405 nm wavelength and uses a 12-cm optical disc. In terms of data capacity, a single-layered read-only (pre-recorded) disc would hold 15 GB, while a dual-layered disc doubles the capacity to 30 GB. A rewritable (recordable) version holds 20 GB.

So how can the OAD’s 15 GB data capacity compared with Blu-Ray Disc’s 23.3 GB still hold the same 2-hour movie in high definition? The answer is higher compression of the video bitstream. Does this mean a loss of resolution of the high definition signal? We don’t know yet, but there is talk of OAD using MPEG-4 video encoding. Optimized for handheld and wireless devices, MPEG-4 also offers some additional optimizations over the current widespread MPEG-2 video encoding, to allow for more efficient compression. In other words, MPEG-4 may be able to encode the same video footage at the same quality as MPEG-2, but use slightly less data.

The fundamental advantage of the AOD format over the competing Blu-Ray Disc format, according to Toshiba and NEC is principally lower cost. They claim lower costs in replicating pre-recorded movies, since existing fabrication plants can be retrofitted to produce software on the AOD format. The Toshiba-NEC team said that the AOD players and recorders would be smaller than Blu-Ray Disc players and recorders. Again, details are sketchy.

Basically, the AOD format is an evolution of the DVD-Video format to provide HDTV pre-recorded content and recording capabilities. Even Toshiba has admitted that AOD as an interim and transitional format, with the Blu-Ray Disc format as the long-term solution. We can’t help but wonder why we need a transition format, when Sony has already introduced a production Blu-Ray Disc recorder, the Sony BDZ-S77. This point is further reinforced when you realize that AOD-based hardware products will not show up for market until late 2003 or early 2004. Additionally, we do not believe that everyday consumers will buy into the idea of transitioning from DVD-Video to AOD, only to transition again to the Blu-Ray Disc format a few more years beyond that. We do not buy into Toshiba and NEC’s “transitional” AOD format. We would prefer to see one HD DVD format, even if it takes years for Blu-Ray Disc hardware to come down to mass-market prices. We believe most everyday consumers would agree with this viewpoint.

The Blu-Ray companies are still going ahead with thier "standard" and china is also building thier "standard" (w/ vp6) .....

so there will be 4 standards soon ...... and you thought dvd-r and dvd+r was messy enough ...

[FulciLives]

Thanks for the info BJ_M

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
I assume this means that AOD has been picked by the official DVD Forum as the DISC type used but the actual format ... using MPEG-4 or whatever ... has yet to be determined?

[indolikaa]

And in no time short we'll be hearing from the 'Others' (re: the +RW Alliance) that they have chosen the AOD+R/W technical strategy for their entry into the High Definition arena. Ah, can you imagine the fun we'll have? Just think of what the future will hold...

Will Hay: Cheers all! I was thinking of buying one of those new Semi-Blue-Ray burners and wanted to know if you all think -R or +R would be better?

tgpo: Are you freakin' whacked out Will? Only a bloody moron would put a pence into that SBR technology. Pull your head out, chap. SBBAV+R/W guarantees you at least a 20% chance of future compatibility with Blu-Ray technology. No, seriously, check out the Princo 3.71X SBBAV+R/W and stop envisioning your hard-earned Pounds Sterling going straight down the Loo.

Indolikaa: SBBAV? Is that the new Saab Baldrick's been driving around? Help? Box of rocks, here, and clueless as usual!

housepig: Indolikaa! Been to the library lately?

txpharaoh: SBBAV stands for 'Somewhere Between Blue and Violet' and is de-facto recording standard for the Philips/Princo/Cyberhome coalition. It's based on Imperial Code 117A-5, which interleaves all known forms of Macrovision with split-second images of 'Bush 2004' in the FU subchannel of the audio transcoding algorithms.

adam: This is ridiculous. What idiot would invest a red cent in SBBAV? Why don't we all just go out and give the RCA VideoDisk a rebirth instead? SBBAV has no future; Hollywood has promised not to release any pre-recorded titles, and with no discs to copy what's the point?

defense: No shit. You can't burn anything with that drive design. Remember that 42-page thesis I wrote about media quality? Well it don't mean nothing because with SBBAV the only thing that will be burning is your temper when you've made 621 coasters in a row.

taandyria: Hey! We don't copy, we backup.

indolikaa: STFU taandyria. Go herd your goats!

FulciLives: I sure am glad I invested my cash in that new TDK XR+R/W technology. Funny thought, I always thought a dual-layer recorder with 500GB per layer on a 3" disc would always be enough for my needs, but I just can't seem to fit the full one-hour episodes of 'Survivor: The 2004 Democratic Primaries' onto one disc.

stiltman: You bought an X-Ray +RW drive?! You're as stupid as Will Hay.

Oh, the fun we'll all have!

[indolikaa]

Sorry, I couldn't resist. :P

.indolikaa.
Box of Rocks

[FulciLives]

Amusing and I'm glad I made the list too

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
The real battle begins when we have to start buying HDTV capture cards!

*** EDIT ***
Looks like you got most of us "big-wig" posters but I noticed you missed Smurfiepoo and DJRumpy

[lordsmurf]

A new format. Yippee.
I have about as much enthusiasm as Daria.

[mysticgohan17]

A new format. Yippee.
I have about as much enthusiasm as Daria.

www.hd-dvdrhelp.com
I can see it now...
"H0w d0 eye m@k30r eeelegal c0p1ezz off mie eich d33-d33 v33 d33?????/?"

[dcsos]

earlier article predicting this outcome
http://www.ebnonline.com/story/OEG20031114S0024

[RAAGAAman]

This all comes down to Economics. AOD will go into the PC space easier since it will not require a cartridge to protect the disk. BD requires this. Disk costs for BD have been terrible. A disk cost $35 to $50 retail. AOD initial costs will be half of this.
Also, lets not forget that the Forum sees the China Optical companies in their rear view mirror and know that they cannot procrastonate on a new standard or the Chinese might come up with something better and cheaper(EDVD+).

RG

[red lion]

great post indolikaa btw

will any of this be compatible with what we have already got (dvd players ) if not it sure will take a long time for people to change as most have just went to dvd...........

[indolikaa]

Looks like you got most of us "big-wig" posters but I noticed you missed Smurfiepoo and DJRumpy

Their time will come! :P

(Thanks, red lion!)

[proxyx99]

Any word on HD Instant Copy ?

[jntaylor63]

What a cluster F@#K

Why the hell do they want to go with a "transitional" format. So the thinking is to go DVD to AOD to BluRay. We could see this chain of events within the same time we saw DVD go from kick off to its market value today.

They only "good" thing the might come of this is the use of MPEG4. I really don't think you can use MPEG2 at HiDef with the space that is on an AOD disk. (Could be wrong) I want to see MPEG4 in more use, but that looks like it will be up to the makers of the standalones and/or the format of this AOD format.

This could really get out of hand and the HTPC route is looking better. At least I can upgrade.

[BJ_M]

you will get 1 hour and 45 minutes on those disks if mpeg2 ... though they could "squeeze" out 2 hours .... (15gig) 720p or 1080i

[Gazorgan]

Of course it's supposed to be a 'transition' format. Get real...ever take an economics course? 3 years of a format guaranteed to be obsolter means you gotta buy a new DVD player in 3 years.

Plan obsolescence is a great thing for a manufacturer.........

[mybook4]

do the math. On a 30GB disc, you get 23300kbit/sec for 3 hours. That is definetly enough for MPEG-2. Digital Cable HD is about 20mbit/sec.

[Donny661]

One thing I did like about this format is that the players would be compatible with current dvd discs. Also, I remember reading on doom9's website, or a link from it, that AOD supports WMV and H.264 compression in addition to mpeg-2. I don't like the idea of a microsoft format being used. I would rather wait a few more years for blu-ray to take hold and be able to take HD signals and put them directly onto the disc without any encoding, but I doubt they'll let one do that, but I can still dream.

[proxyx99]

Why, why, why this not that? Unfortunately it's never about customer and always about the money. They don't want to kill one thing before the other has a chance to blossom. Whichever format they choose to put on the market (at lowest cost and no negative impact on the customer), it always means a change. How big, that is a question. If they force the market to take a sharp curve they risk that the idea will end up in a ditch together with the money that was invested. So step by step they'll take us there, like a blind man....

[Leoslocks]

Interesting read here:
http://www.eet.com/sys/news/OEG20031126S0034

Politics affecting the adoption on anything.