Get ready for HD-DVD format confusion!

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

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Just as consumers are beginning to get comfortable with their DVD players, electronics manufacturers are set to introduce next-generation discs that store more — and would be harder to copy.

 

A dozen companies, headed by Sony Corp . are pushing a disc called the Blu-ray.

 

The other main contender, the High Definition DVD, is promoted only by Toshiba Corp. and NEC Corp. But it has an important endorsement from an industry group and is also expected to get Microsoft Corp.'s support as the software giant seeks a toehold for its multimedia format in the consumer electronics arena.

 

Movie studios generally aren't commenting on the new formats. And the rival industry groups aren't saying exactly when they expect to have players on the market. Both, however, consider the DVD ripe for replacement next year.

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Microsoft demonstrated that when it helped bring out a high-definition version of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" on a DVD-ROM last year. It played only on computers, but in theory, a specially built DVD player could play it back. That lesson wasn't lost on Japan's Asian competitors. In China, the EVD, or Enhanced Video Disc, is already on sale. It uses software from On2 Technologies Inc. to store a high-definition movie on a slightly modified DVD, read by a red laser.

 

Not to be outdone, Taiwanese researchers this month demonstrated the FVD, or Forward Versatile Disc, based on the same principle. Players should be on sale this year.

 

The advantage of using red lasers is that the components are much cheaper than the blue-laser technology, and the players can read DVDs without a second laser.

 

With all these alternatives, there's a "very good chance" that there won't be one successor to the DVD, but several, says Sistla. The Blu-ray may dominate Japan, the cheaper EVD the rest of Asia, and the HD-DVD could be the format of choice in the United States and Europe.

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One thing the studios are sure to appreciate is that the new discs promise much better copy protection than DVDs. While the older format has been a boon to the studios — it grossed them more than theatrical releases last year — its susceptibility to piracy has been a thorn.

 

A new disc format probably holds another attraction for the studios — the opportunity to sell old movies all over again on new media.

 

So there are at least 4 formats although 2 of them probably won't see the light of day in the US..they didn't learn after all the confusion between the different recordable DVD formats did they?

 

My guess is that Sony's offering, which isn't going be backwards compatible, won't be sucessful in the U.S. I figure whatever Microsoft backs will be the most sucessful, even though its not maxed out as far as storage (only 30 GB vs 50 for Blu-Ray) but it uses a red laser and compression on the discs to store more data meaning its backwards compatible. People are going to want something to play back all the movies they've bought over the last several years instead of having them rendered useless on the new players.

[NoCalMike 0]

I am not worried about this, the technology is too split up to be dominant yet. I'd say though in no more then 5 years, they will have discs approx the size of mini-discs that can store 10x the data that current dvds do, then we will have to be worried.

[razazteca 0]

In China, the EVD, or Enhanced Video Disc, is already on sale. It uses software from On2 Technologies Inc. to store a high-definition movie on a slightly modified DVD, read by a red laser.

The new VCD?

[Karnage 0]

In China, the EVD, or Enhanced Video Disc, is already on sale. It uses software from On2 Technologies Inc. to store a high-definition movie on a slightly modified DVD, read by a red laser.

The new VCD?

Or bootlegs that have a slightly higher image quality.

[MrRant 0]

This will be at least 5 years away.

[Sandman9000 0]

I'm wondering how much longer hard forms of media (CD's, DVD's, games, etc...) will exist and we'll have everything downloaded and streamed to us, a la MP3's. It can't be too far off now, maybe 15-20 years?

[Anakin Flair 0]

On the bright side, this may mean that DVD prices will go down.

 

Still a while away, but nevertheless a good thing for DVD lovers.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

This has been all over the place and I think we've got nothing to worry about. Everything about it is so uncertain at this point and while I'm sure there will be those who make the upgrade, too many people have invested so much into the standard DVD format, that they'll never fully abandon it. Hell, VHS is still around. It's not as dominant as it once was, but DVD has yet to fully eliminate it and it's become the primary form of media in the last several years. So don't toss out those shiny discs and DVD players just yet.

[razazteca 0]

Why worry about this when HDTV isn't even fully accepted as standard yet?

[MrRant 0]

HDTV is an accepted standard.

 

It's just still too expensive. They are were DVD players were 3-4 years ago when the low end DVD players were $100-150.

 

About another 2-3 years and HDTV will pick up I imagine.

[razazteca 0]

But not every channel is broadcast in the HDTV format and unless a you live in the big city the only way to get it is thru a subscription service. I don't think HDTV will be cheap enough for the general public for another 5 years.

[dubq 0]

Screw this shit. If this becomes a 'manditory' formatting within the next few years, then the players had BETTER be backwards compatible with regular DVD's or I'll be mighty pissed off.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I wonder if all the DVD confusion could ever lead to a comeback for VHS?

[Mole 0]

If I want to see HD-DVD in its TRUE FORM, don't I need a HD-TV?