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Blu-ray vs HD DVD
There's many debates between Blu-ray and HD DVD. But to many consumers, we only know the Blu-ray is more expensive than HD DVD and Blu-ray has much more contents than HD DVD. That's all.
Here I list some useful Blu-ray vs HD DVD comparation.
| Capacity | |||
| Blu-Ray |
HD DVD |
||
| ROM single layer: ROM dual layer: RW single layer: RW dual layer: Highest test: Theoretical limit: |
23.3 / 25GB 46.6 / 50GB 23.3 / 25 / 27GB 46.6 / 50 / 54GB 100GB 200GB |
Single layer: Dual layer: - - Highest test: Theoretical limit: |
15GB 30GB - - 45GB 60GB |
| Codecs | |
| Blu-Ray | HD DVD |
| MPEG-2 Microsoft Video Codec 1 (aka VC1, WMV HD, etc.) H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC Dolby Digital AC-3, DTS, linear PCM Optional: Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD |
MPEG-2 Microsoft Video Codec 1 (aka VC1, WMV HD, etc.) H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC Dolby Digital AC-3, DTS, linear PCM, Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD Optional: DTS HD |
| Security |
|
| Blu-Ray | HD DVD |
| Mandatory HDCP encrypted output ROM-Mark watermarking technology BD+ dynamic crypto (physical layer) Advanced Access Content System (AACS) |
Mandatory HDCP encrypted output (for HD) Volume identifier (physical layer) Adva |
| Movie studio support |
|
| Blu-Ray | HD DVD |
| 20th Century Fox Buena Vista Home Entertainment Hollywood Pictures Lions Gate Miramax Entertainment MGM Studios New Line Cinema Sony Pictures Entertainment Touchstone Entertainment The Walt Disney Company Vivendi Universal Games Warner Bros. |
Dreamworks Paramount Pictures Universal Studios |
| Nationwide retail and major online support |
|
| Blu-Ray | HD DVD |
| Amazon Best Buy Circuit City Costco K-Mart Target (said to be mostly Blu) Wal-Mart |
Amazon Circuit City Costco K-Mart Targe |
Other interesting facts:
- Blu-ray, unlike HD DVD, requires a hard coating on its discs because it's 0.5m closer to the surface. The polymer coating it uses, called Durabis, was developed by TDK and is supposedly extremely resilient and fingerprint resistant.
- Even though Apple sits on the Blu-ray Board of Directors, its DVD Studio Pro software supports authoring HD DVD media.
- The Java platform is mandatory on Blu-ray as it's the standard for menus/multimedia (i.e. all Blu-ray systems must support JVM).
- Microsoft, of course, did eventually side with HD DVD -- not surprising, given its number of long-standing IP cross-licensing deals with Toshiba. HD DVD systems continue to run Windows CE.
- The first consumer Blu-ray device in the US market wound up being the Samsung BD-P1000, and not the PlayStation 3 as expected.
- The Nichi Corporation, who holds the design patents to the Blu-ray's laser system, sits as an associate member of the HD DVD Promotion Group.
Anyone who wanna know more details, you can search "Blu-ray vs HD DVD".
