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09 Jan 2006
The Blu-ray Disc Association has announced that the specification for the next-generation DVD format is complete and that licensing is ready to begin for BD-ROM, BD-RE and BD-R media.
The development comes as the first generation of high-definition movies were unveiled by the HD-DVD and Blu-ray camps at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The Blu-ray Disc Association finally approved all specifications for both single-layer (25GB) and dual-layer (50GB) discs on 2 January, and for the BD-R and BD-RE 2.0 specifications on 26 December.
Film producers supporting the Sony-led Blu-ray technology have announced the first batch of movies, including The Fifth Element, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Desperado, For a Few Dollars More, The Guns of Navarone, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, A Knight's Tale, Kung Fu Hustle, The Last Waltz, Sense and Sensibility, Black Hawk Down and The Bridge on the River Kwai, among others.
Meanwhile, the Toshiba-led HD-DVD camp announced that there will be almost 50 HD-DVD titles on offer including Aeon Flux, Batman Begins, The Bourne Supremacy, Jarhead, The Matrix and U2: Rattle & Hum.
The Blu-ray Disc Association expects products to be hitting the shelves this spring.
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Here we go again
That same old garbage of who is the best marketer rather than what is the best product for the public. Think about the VHS/Beta war. VHS won and we the public have been paying for it ever since. It is generally accepted that Beta was and is the far better system. Sound engineers and especially TV cameras continually use Beta because of it's superiority. Haven't we learned anything? Storage may not mean anything to you today, but in five years it may be the most important factor when purchasing DVD drives. Play your existing DVD's on your existing equipment as I do my Betas, but ensure the future by getting as much storage as possible. The future software will demand that you have it.
Posted by: Greg Harrison 10 Jan 2006
Sony is Evil
After their rootkit shenanigans, anyone who would buy another Sony product needs to get his read head realigned.
Posted by: Zoltan Fibonacci 10 Jan 2006
Better Do Your Research Fella
http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/#2.4 Yes its from a pro Blu-ray site, but Blu-ray will be backwards compatible. Read the dates on places you're getting your information from. The news articles and stories and rumours about Blu-Ray not being backwards compatible are the extremely outdated ones. Sony solved that issue ages ago. So don't pick HD-DVD over Blu-Ray simply because you think HD-DVD will allow you to play your existing collection and Blu-Ray will not. That just is not the case. You can find articles as back in 2004 talking about Blu-Ray backwards compatbility working fine... Anyway, if you are seriously going to buy one or the other when they hit the market, do a little more research first. Personally I'd rather let dust settle first and save myself some money.
Posted by: Matt 10 Jan 2006
Blu-ray is backwards compatible
You got me scared for a moment, so I thought I'd look into the backwards compatibility... after a quick google search, I found this link on the blu-ray site http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/#2.4 to sum up, it says "Yes. Blu-Ray can be (and for most of the big-name manufacturers, will be) backwards compatible." I was pretty sure this had to be the case when Sony promised the PS3 (like the PS2) was backwards compatible. It seemed that for the PS3 to be backwards compatible, it had to also read DVDs.
Posted by: CrazyJimmy 09 Jan 2006
Blu-Ray players can play older DVDs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray#Compatibility
Posted by: Consumer 09 Jan 2006
Don't worry
Neither Blu-Ray nor HD-DVD will force you to throw away your existing DVD collection. Both players will be compatible with classic DVD, although they won't be compatible with each other. The only compatibility claim by HD-DVD refers to the fabrication process. In exchange for this "compatibility", the user loses 20GB: a dual-layer Blu-Ray has 50GB, while a dual-layer HD-DVD only has 30GB.
Posted by: Cosmin 09 Jan 2006
Backward compatibility
Don't get confused by the name, both HD-DVD and Blu-ray can be made backward compatible with DVDs.
Posted by: zzz 09 Jan 2006
Blue-Ray is the way to go
You said that you want compatibility, then you need to go Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray is a totally new technology, but completely backward compatible.
Posted by: sbcroix 09 Jan 2006
HD-DVD = DVD 1.5
except for the fact that you can burn your whole DVD collection to a couple Blu-ray disks. Besides, according to the theory of compatibility, we should have stuck with VHS since everyone had to upgrade to DVDs!
Posted by: Zack (www.whoscomingwithme.blogspot.com) 09 Jan 2006
Compatibility correction
BOTH formats are compatible with the existing DVD standard. Either new player will work with your existing collection. HD-DVD can be PRODUCED on the same equipment as current DVDs. Blu-Ray can't. As long as the actual disc costs of Blu-Ray don't go up because of this, it shouldn't affect consumers at all. Some factories will need retooling, but you won't have to buy everything again.
Posted by: CrazyCanuck 09 Jan 2006
You won't need to throw out your old discs
Contrary to what another commenter suggested, you won't need to throw out your old discs. Both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players will play older DVD discs, since no consumer would buy such players if they weren't backward compatible in some form. Any statements otherwise are nothing but FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) tactics to steer people toward one format or another. Best to just wait and see what shakes out of the market.
Posted by: Robert Poole 09 Jan 2006
It's about compatibility, not storage
I'm still pleased with the actual DVD format and I don't want one that forces me to throw away my current disc's collection. That's the Blu-ray technology led by Sony! So I'll wait for HD-DVD developed by Toshiba.
Posted by: Humberto 09 Jan 2006
Both are backwards compatible
I believe that devices of both types of players (HD-DVD and Blu-Ray) will be able to play regular DVDs. That would be a huge difference that would have probably settled the argument long ago in favor of the backwards compatible variant.
Posted by: Jeremy Hanna 09 Jan 2006
blu ray
your current collection of dvds will still play on the new blu ray, if i remember correctly.
Posted by: ej 09 Jan 2006
you won't have to throw it out
The new players will likely have the red laser technology. Enabling the machine to play both red and blue type dvd's...it's only a win win situation...wait untill the ultraviolet disk...kapow!
Posted by: dvd geek 09 Jan 2006
DVDs are compatible with Blu Ray Disc players
Just wanted to mention that the BD players are also able to play DVDs. Which actually makes the choice even more tough, since both have DVD compatibility.
Posted by: Sid 09 Jan 2006