| Cinema Cynergy February 2005
Next-Generation Video
Although the standard DVD-Video disc is capable of
providing a digital picture of very good quality, it has a maximum storage capacity of
only 9GB and a video resolution of only 480 lines of interlaced (i) or progressively (p)
scanned video. Because high-definition (HD) video is generally considered to have a
resolution of 720p, 1080i, or 1080p, DVD-V has only about half the resolution of the HD
video signals currently available from digital satellite and cable services or D-VHS
tapes. Even though DVD-V has been around for only seven years and is one of the most
successful formats in the history of consumer electronics, its successors will be
available sooner than you might think.
Blu-ray vs. HD DVD
The two new formats that will bring true HD picture quality
to optical discs are known as the Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. Although they are similar
in some ways and both are expected to be released sometime in the next year, the formats
are incompatible with each other, and many in the industry fear another format war.
Similarities
Like DVD and CD, Blu-ray and HD DVD use a 120mm
(4.75") optical disc. Both of the new formats -- not just Blu-ray -- will be read by
blue lasers. More efficient compression schemes than those currently used on DVD-V allow
both formats to store the much greater numbers of data needed to store HD video, along
with high-resolution audio and the extras that have come to be expected on DVD releases.
Differences
As its name implies, HD DVD is supported by the DVD
Forum, which oversees the specifications of the DVD format; HD DVD can thus be
thought of as an extension of standard DVD. Blu-ray, on the other hand, is based on new
technology not formally supported by the DVD Forum. However, many of the manufacturers
supporting Blu-ray are also members of the DVD Forum, and are developing the format
without the Forum’s endorsement.
HD DVD can currently store 30GB of data and Blu-ray
can store 50GB, each on a dual-layer disc. With the new, more efficient compression
schemes, either format should be capable of storing an entire movie in HD, along with
high-resolution audio and extras, on a single disc.
Who supports what?
Blu-ray has the support of many hardware manufacturers,
including Sony, which has announced that the next-generation PlayStation videogame console
will include Blu-ray technology. Other Blu-ray supporters include such industry
heavyweights as Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Thomson, and computer makers Dell
and Hewlett-Packard.
HD DVD’s biggest backers are NEC, Toshiba, and
Sanyo -- but remember that the format is officially supported by the DVD Forum, which may
carry some weight within the industry as well as with consumers, who will recognize the
familiar DVD name and logo.
MGM, now owned by Sony, has already announced their support
of Blu-ray, but it’s likely that all of the film studios will release their
films on whatever format or formats the market demands -- Blu-ray, HD DVD, DVD-V, or
all three.
When can I get one?
Toshiba showed a prototype HD DVD player at CES
2005.
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Panasonic showed a Blu-ray player that they say is
already available in Japan.
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Verbatim is ready with media for both formats.
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Blu-ray recorders are already available in Japan, but HD
DVD seems to have a head start in North America. HD DVD players are tentatively
scheduled to go on sale here near the end of 2005, Blu-ray machines not before next year.
This has prompted Paramount, Universal, and Warner Bros. to
announce the release of close to 100 titles on HD DVD later this year, to coincide
with the rollout of HD DVD players. The films will include new releases, such as Batman
Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Dukes of Hazzard, SpongeBob
SquarePants, The Phantom of the Opera, Coach Carter, Ocean’s
Twelve, and Polar Express, as well as many back-catalog titles. The
first batch of Blu-ray titles will likely be announced once a date is set for the release
of Blu-ray players.
How they compare
On paper, Blu-ray’s greater storage capacity and early
backing by many major hardware manufacturers would seem to make it the technically
superior format. However, the greater storage capacity of Blu-ray discs will be an
advantage only if it is used to provide unmistakably higher-quality video and audio,
and/or if it is used for additional worthwhile extras unavailable on HD DVD releases.
Because HD DVD is based on current DVD technology, the
DVD Forum claims that HD DVDs are easier and less expensive to make than Blu-ray
discs, which will require modifications to current pressing machines at a minimum.
Hybrid discs
Several companies have already announced that they have
developed hybrid discs containing Blu-ray or HD DVD data in addition to standard
DVD-V data. The standard-definition, DVD-V content on these discs would be compatible with
current DVD-V players. Such hybrid discs would also mean that retailers would not have to
stock both HD and standard-definition versions of a title; both versions could be
incorporated into a single disc readable by either type of player.
New audio standards
New Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD codecs have been
announced that will provide higher-quality audio than standard Dolby Digital and DTS, to
go along with the new HD formats’ higher-resolution video. Meridian Lossless Packing
(MLP), the audio codec used for DVD-Audio, is included in the HD DVD standard.
The new codecs should be capable of providing sound quality
similar to that of DVD-A and SACD, and of supporting additional channels. They are also
said to be back-compatible with current DD and DTS hardware.
Who will come out on top?
While Blu-ray appears to be technically superior to
HD DVD, technical superiority does not always guarantee that a format will be
successful, as anyone who remembers the Beta-VHS war knows. Both formats will be capable
of delivering HD-quality video and high-resolution multichannel audio, so their success
may depend more on factors unrelated to their performance. Availability of hardware and
software -- and, especially, the price -- will play critical roles in whether consumers
ultimately adopt either format.
Although it will probably be close to the end of 2005 and
possibly even 2006 before we see any HD optical-disc players and movie releases in North
America, a format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD seems inevitable.
...Roger Kanno
roger@hometheatersound.com |
