The Showdown: Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD

[Marvingj]

Blu-ray, HD DVD Compromise Possible Within Week, Report Claims

Talks on a unified standard for the next-generation blue laser disc continue, with proposals for a compromise between the Blu-ray and HD DVD formats possible within the week, press reports from Japan said Mon. The reports, which couldn’t be confirmed, came on the eve of today's Media-Tech conference in Las Vegas, where the rival camps were expected to outline their latest technology claims and possibly address the unification issue.

Under a scenario reported Mon., discussions among HD DVD developer Toshiba and Blu-ray backers Sony and Panasonic envision mutual concessions. HD-DVD would abandon its 0.6-mm disc structure in favor of Bluray's 0.1 mm data substrate. The Blu-ray camp would adopt HD DVD's modulation technology in place of its own. The Nikkei report cited no sources from either camp, and couldn’t be confirmed Mon. owing to time differences with Japan and the unavailability of key contacts en route to Las Vegas for Media-Tech. Similar format-unification reports lacking identified sources have emerged from Japan in recent weeks, with one camp or the other disputing the information or questioning the motivation for the “leaks.”

Disc structure or “form factor” has been the main point of contention between Blu-ray and HD DVD. Toshiba and its allies, which include studios HBO, New Line, Paramount, Universal and Warner, argue that the 0.6mm technology leverages DVD's current infrastructure, and is easier and cheaper to produce than Blu-ray's 0.1 mm technology. The latter system, though, offers promise of greater disc capacity -- desirable to studios such as Disney as well as Blu-ray’s PC backers Dell and Hewlett-Packard. During 1995 unification talks that forged today's DVD, the rival camps agreed on form-factors and modulation systems, with the final product merging the Toshiba/Warner 0.6-mm SD format and the modulation system Philips and Sony created for their MultiMedia CD.

That compromise sacrificed capacity on the final DVD but proved workable. Sources told Consumer Electronics Daily a similar compromise would work for a next-generation blue laser HD format. Most intriguing about the Japan report is the hoped-for compromise proposal by next Mon., May 16. According to Nikkei, “Sony and Toshiba could secure the backing of participating members as early as May 16, when both are scheduled to hold meetings.” More important, perhaps, May 16 is the day Sony has scheduled a news conference on the eve of E3 Expo in L.A. to announce the details of its forthcoming “PS3" videogame console platform. Sony initially announced that its next console will include Blu-ray compatibility, but the company late last month dodged questions on whether it was still committed to Blu-ray for the new platform (CED April 28 p2). Microsoft is expected to take the wraps off its next-gen “Xbox-360" platform late this week on MTV, but any evolution of blue-laser technologies or compromise among formats won't affect the console's planned 4th quarter launch, Microsoft executives said recently (CED April 29 p2). That's because the new Xbox won't use blue-laser technology at all for its HD games and other entertainment programming, but will combine red-laser technology with Microsoft's MPEG 4-based VC-1 compression for HD resolution from conventional DVDs.

[ROF]

Isn't this seriously old and invalid news? I thought in early May talks broke off and each went their own separate ways?

[Marvingj]

They recently started up again. Nothing can separate the Love of Money with Greedy S.O.B.....

[ROF]

The article you quoted talks about things that have already occured. May 16th has been and gone on my calendar. The E3 Expo in Vegas is over. Been over for months now.

[jman98]

I don't think this will happen because HD-DVD appears to have won the war already. I have taken a look at various reviews. HD-DVD reivews tend to be very positive. BluRay reviews tend to use the word "disappointing" a LOT. BluRay isn't really ready. Sony did just enough work to make MPEG-2 work on it and that's it. The current BluRay release of _House Of Flying Daggers_ has been given very mediocre reviews on the picture quality. This is a recent film. _Enter The Dragon_, which is a movie over 30 years old, is out now on HD-DVD and it's getting a lot of praise. In other forums, the word on BluRay is very negative with a lot of people saying that they are taking their players back.

[Marvingj]

Yes the article is old just as a reminder to what they are doing. But the Business at hand was not over, they are still in stages of how to cut the Red Velvet Cake that they can get there slice........50-50....75-25......45-55..etc...I have the recent article but very detail...