Blu
Ray Burning > Blu Ray vs HD
DVD > Articles
A
Closer look at Blu Ray vs. HD DVD Part 3
Download this entire Blu
Ray vs HD DVD Guide
|
or |
 |
Technology and Manufacturing Process of Blu Ray and
HD DVD
It is essential to describe the exact pattern and style
of both formats. Blu-ray discs have a tighter track pitch
that has the ability to hold more pits than an HD-DVD of
equivalent size with a laser of the same wavelength. The
tighter track pitch is the result of a single thread of spiral
data that continues from the disc all the way out towards
the groove. It should be noted that both the formats are
using the same type of lasers. The difference lies in the
fact that the Blu-ray has different pick up apertures due
to a different track pitch. In measurement, the track pitch
is equal to 0.65 for HD-DVD and 0.85 for Blu-ray.
This makes
both the pickups technically insufficient to become compatible.
When you come to the surface layer, the HD-DVD is made
up of clear plastic on the data surface. This causes unwanted
fingerprints and scratches on the disc. HD-DVD has a thicker
surface layer as compared to Blu-ray discs and the difference
in thickness measures to 0.5 mm. It also cannot be denied
that a smaller aperture is better as it enables the laser
to get in focus with the aperture.
Why Blu-ray is more
costly?
People who are not equipped with the technical aspects
of both the formats are confused why Blu-ray format is the
more expensive choice of the two formats.
- Blu-ray has a thinner surface layer. Even though, there
is an advantage in keeping the data layer closer to the
surface, it builds up considerably towards the final cost.
- Blu-ray discs also need a special hard coating to protect
the data which lies a mere 0.1 mm beneath. All these features
contribute towards the final cost.
In layman’s terms, Blu-ray is capable of storing
more data, but proves to be more expensive when compared
with its counterpart, HD-DVD.
Format War and the Kids
Children are interested in the compatibility of video game
consoles.
- An HD-DVD player is compatible only with an Xbox
360, but requires an external accessory. On the other
hand, Blu-ray is compatible only with Play Station3.
- HD-DVD players are more economical starting from $499,
which is a lot cheaper than Blu-ray players, starting from
a whopping $999 or more.
With this new technology, the consumers will have to spend
more than they are on current technology. The retail price
of an existing DVD format movie is around $7, while the retail
price of an HD-DVD movie ranges from $29 to $40. The wholesale
price of a movie on Blu-ray ranges from $18 to $24.
It should
also be noted that set top recorders are not available
in either of the new formats. However, both are backward
compatible with the existing DVD videos. This means you can
still enjoy your old format DVD movies on the new players.
According to market experts, both of the formats have equal
chance of becoming popular in the electronics consumer market.
Both of the technologies are equally good in terms of the
managed copy option and eventual high-def at full resolution.
The managed copy will make it possible for viewers to view
the discs on a portable video device or on a home network.
HD-DVD formats do not have any region-coded discs or players
at present, but that could change in the near future. This
feature is available in the existing Blu-ray formats. Industry
watchers feel that the nine-region system honored by DVD
needs to be followed by the HD-DVD and Blu-ray format as
well.
The movie studios have made it very clear that the
video capacity is completely dependent on the type of encoding
used. Higher compression leads to more video per gigabyte.
The compression rate is higher in the latest MPEG-4 or
VC-1 formats. Existing DVDs are encoded with the older MPEG-2
Codec.
Major studios like Sony, Columbia , and Fox are
committed to not using any image-constraint flag in the
initial stages. The latest movies will be displaying full
resolution via component outputs. The existing audio-equipment
and A/V receivers are not compatible with Dolby Digital Plus,
Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD surround formats. To make this happen,
both Sony and Toshiba will have to make certain changes
to their respective players by incorporating built-in decoding
and analog audio outputs.
There is also a possibility that
the manufacturer and studio support will change with time.
Neither of the companies has issued press statements regarding
whether or not they are comfortable with that idea. It
also needs to be clarified that the early generation Blu-ray
and HD-DVD players do not have recording capabilities. You
can only play the movie and enjoy it.
The ability to make
Blu-ray movies or an HD-DVD movie viewable on a home PC
or a portable video device is known as managed copy. This
feature has not been practically implemented yet, but is
on the planning charts of both the format manufacturers.
It is also possible that advanced copy protection techniques
such as Macrovision or other related analog outputs could
be used by these formats.
|
|
