HD DVD vs. Blu-ray. There has been a dilemma with consumers in what high-definition DVD player they want to buy. The problem is HD DVD’s don’t work in Blu-ray players and Blu-ray Discs don’t work in HD DVD players. Standard DVD work in both players and I can tell you from personal experience that it is very noticeable of the improvement to the quality of the picture when played in a high-definition player. I own a Toshiba HD DVD full 1080p player and do like it very much. I also own a few HD DVDs including Transformers, Season 1 of Heroes, Batman Begins and a few more. The quality of the picture on my Samsung 1080p DLP big screen is phenomenal when combined with the HD DVD’s.
There is a battle in Hollywood between which high-definition format to support. New Line which is owned by Time Warner, Inc will release high-definition DVDs only in the Blu-ray disc format, while Universal will only release its high-definition DVDs in the HD DVD format. Also, retail companies are also having a say in which format they are going to support, for example, Kmart carries only HD DVD players, although it does sell Playstation 3, which is capable of playing Blu-ray movies. Also, Blockbuster Video only carries Blu-ray, although it will still offer both formats with online rentals. Netflix will continue to offer both formats.
I’m not going to recommend which format to go with, but I’m happy with Toshiba’s HD DVD player. You will have to investigate the prices and what movies you like because they might not be with the specific player you have or want and you might have to buy the standard DVD, which isn’t the end of the world. Maybe in the future you wont have to decide if HD DVD or Blu-ray dominated enough to drive the other out of the competition. The Time Warner, Inc decision is a blow to HD DVD because it owns one of the biggest film libraries and 20% of the market. The company LG might have another option to go with, the LG BH100, which plays both formats. This might actually be the best option, although it is quite spendy at this point.
Here is the history of the high-defintion DVD. Pretty interesting stuff.
HD DVD is on some serious life support. Checkout the beginning of this podcast. The first topic is HD DVD. The hosts of this show are very credible.
Tom said there is a 5% chance that HD DVD can keep it at a stalemate.
But HD DVD still has the richest company backing it…Microsoft!