Blu Ray vs HD DVD: Which is Better?
By Krista on Nov 5, 2006 in Gadgets, Trends
The Nov 2006 issue of Computer Shopper describes the face off between HD DVD and Blu Ray as a successor to the standard DVD. Their conclusion? Wait and see which ends up on top.
Here are the pros and cons of each as I see them:
Player Price: HD DVD wins. The players are roughly half the cost of Blu Ray at this point - HD DVD players start at $500 while Blu Ray starts around $1000. That said, the PS3 will narrow the cost gap once stores start carrying the machines. Even non-gamers may be tempted to pick up a PS3 at $599 for the Blu Ray player that comes with it.
Media Price: Blu Ray wins. Currently, HD DVDs are going for about $29 MSRP for older titles and $35-40 for new titles. Blu Ray discs are going for about $23 for older titles and $30 for newer titles. (update: although on Amazon.com, the discs are virtually the same cost.)
Quality: Blu Ray wins. Both formats are capable of High Definition standards, but currently, HD DVD players can’t play the 1080 High Definition output. Blu Ray can. (update: although Toshiba now has released a 2nd gen model that can play 1080.)
Capacity: Blu Ray wins. Blu Ray discs can hold 25GB on a single layer and 50GB on the dual-layer discs, while HD DVD discs can only hold 30GB on a dual-layered disc.
Game Consoles: The PS3 will come equipped with a Blu Ray player while Microsoft will sell an HD DVD player as an external drive for the Xbox 360. Had they decided to equip the Xbox with the HD DVD players from the start, they’d have a full year on Sony. As of now, they’re starting on relatively equal ground. This is also a toss up.
Selection: Blu Ray (maybe)? At this point, it’s probably a toss up since the technology’s so new and the selection for both is so poor. Blu Ray has a number of big studios like Disney, Miramax, Fox, and Sony supporting it. Studios like Paramount and Warner say they’ll support both formats. It looks like the money’s with Blu Ray technology, though.
Conclusions:If you’re a non-gamer, then I’d probably agree with Computer Shopper that you might as well sit this one out. Personally, I’m planning on buying a Playstation 3 once they become readily available - which may not be until March as it looks now - so I’m going with Blu Ray since it comes with my console anyway.
As it looks now, I think Blu Ray is the better technology and has the support of movie studios. It’s main problem is price, which will change when the PS3 comes out. At $499 or $599, I can see non-gamers picking up the console simply for the Blu Ray dvd player if they really want one.
That said, Microsoft is releasing an external HD DVD drive for $199 for the Xbox 360, so I wouldn’t count Microsoft out yet. If they’re supporting the format, there’s money on that side too… it’s just a matter of how much Microsoft will throw at it.
update - For an ongoing comparison of the sales numbers of the two formats, check out TheDVDWars.com. As of right now, there are currently 64 Blu Ray movies on the market and 91 HD DVDs - not a very good selection! HD DVDs are currently outselling Blu Ray, but it looks like regular DVDs are by far the most popular choice.
sergio | Jan 19, 2007 | Reply
some of what you said leaves out important details on the blu ray vs hd-dvd
media price. most hd-dvd’s at target can be bought for 19.95 new and old ones. and the dual format wich include both dvd and hd-dvd so you can play in both players cost 29.99 wich doesnt exist in blu ray
quality. hd-dvd is also 1080p just pick up an hd-dvd and read the back
also the xbox add on is 1080p the 2nd generation hd-dvd players are 1080p also and will beocming out in 2 weeks
capacity blue ray wins but they use mpeg wich defeats the porpuse espeacially when with vc1 you can fit a 4hour++ movie on the dual layer disc and triple layer disc is coming also but not really needed
selection hd-dvd has more hd-dvd out right now and more coming then on blue ray. what good is it having studio support when they dont release anything?
and with current sales hd-dvd is outselling blu ray by more then 3 to 1. yes ps3 will help sales but so will the xbox add one it has sold out on amazon two times and its up for the third allocation. and sold out in compusa and other places. so its obviously gonna do well just like the ps3.
in my opinion i think blu ray will be around for along time so will hd-dvd. i think blu ray is more of a storage format and since it costs studios less to make hd-dvds they pass the savings to us. and studios want $$ so even if they dont they still make more $$
Bart McCoy | Jan 19, 2007 | Reply
Broadcom just unveiled a chip (11/9/06) to support both Blue-Ray AND HD DVD. The format war may decline into a skirmish.
Key Quotes:
…company is claiming a complete system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution that combines both competing blue laser DVD optical disc formats, Blu-ray and HD DVD, into an integrated, single-chip design
Our information suggests that certain drive vendors out there will soon have drives that can support both formats.
We think there is an excellent chance that [Blue Ray and HD DVD formats] will both be out there for some time.
We have found that four out of five American consumers have expressed knowledge of and/or interest in the availability of consumer products and PCs which could play both HD DVD and Blu-ray media.
http://www.edn.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6389715&partner=