Sign in Subscribe
Software industry

Two Competing Blue-Laser-Based Formats Emerge for DTV

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The emergence of two blue-laser-based formats for Digital Television, HD-DVD and Blu-ray, is sparking intense competition among tech giants. Backed by different alliances of companies, HD-DVD and Blu-ray are poised to revolutionize the way we consume digital content. HD-DVD, supported by NEC, Sanyo, and Toshiba, boasts 47 supporting companies, including Microsoft, which plans to integrate support for HD-DVD in its upcoming Longhorn operating system. On the other hand, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) counts 70 or more companies among its members, including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Sony. Hollywood, however, remains undecided on which format to support, with a primary concern being the video and audio codecs that will be included.

Key Takeaways:

  • HD-DVD is backed by 47 supporting companies, including Microsoft, which plans to integrate support for HD-DVD in its upcoming Longhorn operating system.
  • Blu-ray is backed by 70 or more companies, including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Sony, through the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA).
  • A primary concern in the competition is the video and audio codecs that will be supported, with HD-DVD requiring three video codecs for playback devices (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Part 10 AVC, and VC-9).
  • Blu-ray has the same mandatory video codecs as HD-DVD and also includes DTS as a mandatory audio format.
  • The scalability of video codecs, especially MPEG-4 and VC-9, will allow HD-DVD discs to serve up higher quality video at lower bit rates than DVD.
  • Physical specifications, manufacturing, authoring tools, and release dates are among the topics covered in the specifications for both formats.

Statistics:

  • 47: number of supporting companies for HD-DVD
  • 70 or more: number of companies supporting Blu-ray through the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA)
  • 3: number of required video codecs for playback devices in HD-DVD (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Part 10 AVC, and VC-9)
  • 2: number of formats included as mandatory audio formats for HD-DVD playback devices
  • MPEG-2: video codec included in the DVD-Video specification but not universally supported by DVD players
  • Dolby and DTS: audio codecs included in the DVD-Video specification

Sources:

  • Victoria Heiland (no date): "Two competing blue-laser-based formats for DTV"
  • (Article snippet not accompanied by a source that includes a date, author, or publication.)

Read more