All the latest UK technology news, reviews and analysis
|
|
|
28 Sep 2005
Sony has defended its Blu-ray DVD format following the news that Intel and Microsoft are putting their considerable weight behind Toshiba's HD-DVD.
Sony insisted that there would be "no impact" from Microsoft's and Intel's decision, and that Blu-ray offered better copyright protection, according to a report in the Financial Times.
But Toshiba now believes that the endorsement of Microsoft and Intel is likely to make HD-DVD the standard for the next generation of DVDs.
Analyst firm Gartner advises caution, however, predicting that DVD recorders and games consoles will be a major factor in determining the preferred format.
The company pointed to the importance of Sony's intention to put a Blu-ray player into the forthcoming PlayStation 3 console.
For the moment at least, Blu-ray appears to have public support. In a July poll in the US 58 per cent indicated that they preferred Blu-ray, 26 per cent were undecided, and 16 per cent preferred HD-DVD.
A selection of Blu-ray players, recorders and computer drives are in development from leading vendors such as Sony, Hitachi and Sharp, as well as PC hardware from HP and Dell.
HD-DVD players are expected to be available by end of this year and recorders will be due in the first half of next year. Sony expects Blu-ray recorders and players to be out in the first half of next year.
In June the HD-DVD camp narrowed the gap between the two specifications by announcing plans for a 45GB triple-layer disc, bringing it closer to the dual-layer 50GB Blu-ray disc under development.
Latest stories from Peripherals
Related articles
Related jobs
Poll
What is the most important IT priority for your company this year?
Sneak peek at the forthcoming glass-based machine
Connect with V3.co.uk
This paper focuses on a series of best practices and techniques for development teams looking to improve their software development processes
Why good data management at all levels is essential in the modern business (video, 6mins)
Software Developer / Web Developer (C# ASP.Net) – Leeds...
Required for my Market Leading Client. The position requires...
PHP Web Developer - Nottingham - £20K My client is...
IT Trainer / E-Learning Designer - London - This leading...
Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies. IThound.com brings you over 2,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.
Do you agree?
History Proves Blu-ray Superior
Look 25+ years past. Sony developed the transport system used in VHS machines, but they did not intend to use it with 1/2 inch videotape. Instead, using 3/4 inch tape, "Broadcast Quality" news camcorders came about as did distribution of TV shows on 1 hour "U-Matic" tapes. An alternative was 2 inch "Quad Videotape." Consumers? Sony developed the technically superior Betamax using 1/2 inch tape. Most other manufacturers used Sony's time-proven helical scan transport system. Using 1/2 inch tape, VHS was born. My point? Sony believed that a DIFFERENT transport mechanism was needed for 1/2 inch tape. Beta died because Sony tried to corner the marketplace and refused to license Betamax technology - until the format was doomed. What a blunder; the consumer really lost. The "Compact Cassette" tape was first designed for dictating machines; not high fidelity recording. And the somewhat obscure "DAT Cassette" (still used by some radio broadcasters)has sound quality equal to and on paper superior to the CD. Not too suprisingly, the recording industry (3 or 4 Companies now?) pressed for legislation making it nearly impossible for consumers to make digital copies of anything. File sharing issues appeared in the late 80's - because of the DAT recorder. The above history regarding broadcast and recording in general came from an electrical engineer with decades of hands-on experience. I have no equity interest in any tech. stock whatsoever, with no financial incentive for either camp to win. My only hope is that the technically superior format becomes the new defacto recording standard. Clearly, there exists an immense range of data storage needs in almost any industry that plans to survive. Only ONE format will prevail. As the end users we deserve the best and should have it. I call upon anyone reading this to investigate the issues. Is this is a "wag the dog" situation or is it simply corporate power play and greed that in several ways economically pits Microsoft against Dell? The stakes are huge! Demand what is best and realize that the cost of a medium drops: PC-RAM; CD/R's. "White Papers" for Blu-ray tell the technical story. Blue-ray (BRD)is truly a revolutionary recording medium capable of holding 50G of data. While it can play and record the existing 700M disc media, one should not compare it to HDVD on the basis of simply recording HDTV. That's quite a waste. Consider a total HD backup using two Blue-ray discs. Someone at the top of both the net worth and the PC market share may have other priorities than you or I. Information and entertainment storage requirements are merging. Look at the big picture - whatever it is.
Posted by: Dan Taylor 19 Oct 2005
Smart!!
Supporting Toshiba was not a technical decision by Intel and MS. It was simply a clever way to pressurise Sony into agreeing to a single format. Both MS and Intel have a lot to lose with a format war, as MS will lose Xbox 360 sales if they dont include the right format disc and intel suffering because it wont be able to effectively develop its viiv platforms.
Posted by: Varun 29 Sep 2005