James Delahunty
29 Nov 2004 7:52
Four major movie studios Warner, Paramount, Universal and New Line Cinema have endorsed the HD-DVD format according to the discs co-creator Toshiba. The 4 studios represent a huge 45% of the major studios' DVD output in the United States. However, it will take at least a year before pre-recorded HD-DVD's will be available. Sony are also promoting their new Blu-ray format. Both technologies use blue laser technology instead of the current red laser technology. Blue light's shorter wavelength means that the 'spots' on the disc's surface used to encode digital data can be smaller. For this reason it is easier to fit higher capacities of data onto a 12cm disc.
HD-DVD offers 20GB a disc, but Sony's Blu-Ray format beats it by 5GB more, offering just around 25GB of data on a 12cm disc. However, the main difference between the two formats is that one would require more change than the other. The Blu-Ray is on the downside because it would require the need for new disc production lines. As for HD-DVD, all it would require is existing DVD pressing rigs to be retooled rather than replaced. Sony will be using Blu-Ray technology in their upcoming Playstation 3 console.
Sources:
The Register
Investor's Business Daily