Blu-ray wins over HD-DVD

[MuGen]

Following recent announcements of a move towards compromise in the heated battle to become the next generation home video standard, the Tuesday morning Nihon Keizai Shimbun contains a first report on the shape that such a compromise will take. According to the paper, Sony and Toshiba have entered into final preparations for a format which combines disk technology from Sony with software technology from Toshiba. The two companies plan to offer a unified format to members of their respective high definition video forums as early as next week.

Toshiba's decision to give way on the disk format was apparently made after examining cost issues related to the Sony technology. The merged format will make use of Sony's 0.1 millimeter Blu-ray disk technology with Toshiba's software in place for reading and writing from the disk and handling copyright protection. Toshiba's 0.6 millimeter HD-DVD disk technology will be dropped. The resulting technology will be offered as a new format. It's unclear at this point if the new format will adopt the Blu-ray or the HD-DVD name, or if something completely new will be used.

Sony announced late last year that the next generation PlayStation would make use of the Blu-ray format. The Nihon Keizai article reveals that, as part of the compromise, Blu-ray supporters Sony and Matsu****a were demanding the highest possible storage space for future IT and game applications. This would suggest even though Blu-ray as it was known is gone, the new merged standard will end up serving as the format for PS3. Expect further announcements later this week or at E3.

Link: PS3Portal (http://www.ps3portal.com/?view=article&article=103&PHPSESSID=cc330ba3bbc2b224b9bf191d593ce6dc) | Their Source: IGN

Good news... I see nothing but a good disc technology coming out of this. Blu-DVD

[GameMaster]

Hmm, I suppose this will suffice as long as I can still enjoy games and music.

[Xantar]

*ahem* That doesn't say that Blu-ray won over HD-DVD. It says that the two consortiums are compromising and coming up with a merged format so that they can avoid having two next generation formats on the shelves at the same time. And that makes perfect sense. After all, last time that happened, Sony was trying to sell BetaMax.

I wonder what this means for the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Revolution...

[Stray_Bullet]

Blu-ray supporters Sony and Matsu****a

... Hahah

[gekko]

Means a lot for more than just Nintendo and Microsoft.

Sony is set to show the PS3 console this month, unlike Nintendo who can avoid talking about it. So Sony needs an answer, and soon. Unfortunately, now that the compromise is pretty much been decided, there's a lot of other steps to be taken in the next year before Sony is supposed to launch their console. They need to develop the disc, do extensive testing on it, name it, patent it, bring it up to Hollywood, possibly change it, determine licensing issues, find a way to mass produce these things, and then license the technology out to Sony. Meanwhile, they're fighting a date, because you can only hold off so long before your hardware is final and the production factories have to start mass producing these things in time for launch.

There's no way Xbox 360 will get it in time. PS3 maybe, but I smell delays. And it'll probably be ready by the time Nintendo reveals the revolution. ;)

[gekko]

On second thought, IGN needs a new translator...

Toshiba expands HD-DVD capacity to 45GB
By Martyn Williams, IDG News Service

Toshiba Corp. has developed a prototype HD-DVD disc that increases the format’s storage capacity by 50 percent and brings it much closer to that of the rival Blu-ray Disc, the company said Tuesday.

The new disc has a capacity of 45GB, which is just under the 50GB offered by a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc, and will give content producers additional space to store longer high-definition movies or extras such as trailers, out-takes or interactive features.

Toshiba accomplished the capacity jump by adding an extra data storage layer to the disc. Each HD-DVD layer has a capacity of 15GB and the new disc packs three such layers.

The company also announced a second prototype disc that uses the same basic technology. The hybrid disc combines a dual-layer HD-DVD with a dual-layer DVD to provide a double-sided disc that can be played in either HD-DVD or DVD players. The disc could be used as a transitional format enabling consumers to buy discs for use in DVD players while building up a library of high-definition content for the time when they purchase an HD-DVD player.

More details of the two discs will be announced on Wednesday at the Media-Tech Expo 2005 exhibition in Las Vegas.

The announcement could give Toshiba a boost in ongoing talks with Blu-ray Disc-supporters Sony Corp. and Matsu****a Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (Panasonic) regarding a single, unified high-definition video disc standard.

The talks began earlier this year and are aimed at heading off what many expect will be a damaging format battle that will harm both consumers and the consumer electronics and entertainment industries.

The current state of the talks is unknown. However, a report in the Tuesday morning edition of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily said an agreement between the two sides could come as soon as next week. It reported that Toshiba, Sony and Panasonic are discussing using Toshiba’s software technology and the Blu-ray Disc structure, the latter because of its greater storage capacity.

Toshiba reacted fast to the report and said “absolutely no decision has been made for unification on any basis” and called the report’s claims “unfounded and erroneous.”

Whatever the eventual outcome of the talks, time is running out for both sides.

The HD-DVD group said in January that it plans to have players and content available in U.S. stores in the last quarter of this year, and the first machine to support prerecorded Blu-ray Disc is expected to be announced next week, when Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. shows off a prototype of its next-generation PlayStation 3. The console and other Blu-ray Disc players aren’t expected to be commercially available until 2006.

[Null]

flying cars might be ready by the time nintendo reveals the revolution also ;p

[Jonbo298]

Awesome news

Blu-Ray has the best promise

[gekko]

HD-DVD has the best promise, actually.

Blu-Ray is just a better disc.

[Teuthida]

flying cars might be ready by the time nintendo reveals the revolution also ;p

Sweet. Gonna install a Revolution in the back seat of my Volkswagon Stratosphere Turbo.

[MuGen]

*ahem* That doesn't say that Blu-ray won over HD-DVD. It says that the two consortiums are compromising and coming up with a merged format so that they can avoid having two next generation formats on the shelves at the same time. And that makes perfect sense. After all, last time that happened, Sony was trying to sell BetaMax.

I wonder what this means for the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Revolution...

I guess you don't understand the meaning of the title of the article. Blu-Ray won over HD-DVD with their disc structure and format, while they are using Toshiba's HD-DVD software, and encryption.

The dispute was originally over which disc structure was to be used, and Blu-Ray came out on top giving HD-DVD the software portion of the deal.

[Dark Samurai]

Aren't they denying any kind of partnership now? They were talking about it, but nothing as of yet, so I've read...

[gekko]

I guess you don't understand the meaning of the title of the article. Blu-Ray won over HD-DVD with their disc structure and format, while they are using Toshiba's HD-DVD software, and encryption.

The dispute was originally over which disc structure was to be used, and Blu-Ray came out on top giving HD-DVD the software portion of the deal.

Yes, except that Blu-Ray didn't win anything. No decisions have been made, it was a mistranslation.

[Jonbo298]

I still like Blu-Ray over HD-DVD because of size difference. 2 hours or so of HD programming vs many many more hours of HD programming/video on a single disc. I think I want more. We've seen how many DVD's companies shove out because of size limitations. Lets not make the same mistake twice.

Granted, Blu-Ray will use many depending, but not as much as current DVD's are today

[gekko]

But HD-DVD now has 3-layered capability, giving it only 5GB less than Blu-Ray, but by having the multiple discs (single, dual, triple layered) it saves on costs if you don't need it so big.

And HD-DVD can do triple-layered HD-DVD on one side, and dual-layered DVD on the other, creating hybrid discs to bridge the gap during the transition period.

Also, HD-DVD can be made on current production facilities.

But Blu-Ray has more support for it, and why not find a way to triple-layer the current Blu-Ray disc, getting 75GB out of it?

The debate goes on...