When Comparing Blu-ray vs HD DVD

The question is no longer who will win the Blu Ray vs HD DVD format war, but rather, "What makes Blu Ray DVDs so superior?" and "Do I really need one?" Tech geeks say when Disney and Warner Brothers switched sides, from backing Toshiba and Microsoft's HD DVD to backing Sony's Blu Ray, the war officially ended. Consumers who felt the urgency of needing to have the new gear were sandwiched in the middle.

"When DVD first launched it was anything but the perfect product," said Andy Parsons, Pioneer executive and chairman of the Blu Ray Disc Association. "There were many doubters that said there was little chance of overtaking VHS." Now, he said, the same thing is happening with Blu Ray, the natural evolution in audio-video technology. The Blu Ray vs HD DVD format war finally ended when the entertainment giants changed sides and Toshiba announced that it would no longer be manufacturing the HD DVD player. Some buyers are left wondering: Is it really worth it?

There's good news and there's bad news regarding the Blu Ray vs HD DVD match. The good news is that the format war is over and the best consumer product triumphed. The new technology is both innovative and sensible, offering the best audio-visual experience money can buy, which brings us to the bad news. You'll have to say goodbye to that old DVD player, and if you were one of the eager beavers to purchase the HD DVD player, then you'll have to get rid of that too. Since the demand is so high and is currently exceeding the supply, the $400+ price isn't expected to drop on the new Blu Ray players for at least another year or two.

For a while it looked like a bitter stand off in the Blu Ray vs HD DVD war, and one that could have spanned several years, when Microsoft Corp suggested they would consider putting Blu Ray technology in their Xbox 360's. However, if you own a PlayStation3, then you're no stranger to Blu Ray player technology. Then, Disney and Warner Brothers signed exclusive deals with Sony's Blu Ray Disc Association. Netflix and Best Buy said they would support only Blu Ray and even Walmart agreed to carry only Blu Ray discs. Toshiba finally conceded and now buyers are wondering, "Well, what's the difference?"

First of all, when looking at the Blu Ray vs HD DVD specifics, you'll notice that Blu Ray discs have far superior storage space. Traditionally, DVDs were first made to hold 4.7 GB of material on a single-layer, and later, the double layer boosted storage capacity up to 8.5 Gigs. HD DVD promised to more than triple that, delivering 15-30 GBs. Blu Ray DVDs, however, can hold an astounding 25-50 GBs of data, meaning that they use more advanced coding to include more audio tracks and more stunning visual information, as well as adding more bonus features. You will notice the high definition of a HD DVD or Blu Ray disc at once. Regular DVDs supported a resolution of 720x480 pixels, while HDTV offers 1920x1080 pixels.

You may be wondering how this storage technology came about. Truth be told, the actual differences in manufacturing Blu Ray vs HD DVD discs are minimal. While standard DVDs used red lasers to burn the information onto the discs, both HD DVD and Blu Ray discs use a high-powered, short-wavelength, blue-purple laser to burn high-density information, thus assuring better quality. The advent of high definition picture quality warranted this new medium because a two-hour movie in high def requires 22 GB of storage space, which is more than regular DVDs can handle.

The next major difference between Blu Ray vs HD DVD was their alliances. Early on, motion picture companies, manufacturers and distributors understood that they would need to get aligned with the new technology. But could Blu Ray and HD DVD coexist? It would be costly, not to mention extremely confusing for consumers. When the DVD format first came out, there was no mistaking a VHS tape and a DVD on the shelves. However, with Blu Ray discs and HD DVD discs looking almost identical, buyers would really have to scrutinize the packaging to be sure they were not buying the wrong thing. Traditional DVDs will still play on the new machines, but manufacturers are working on phasing out the old DVD format, releasing all new movies as Blu Ray discs. In the Blu Ray vs HD DVD war, Paramount/DreamWorks and Universal initially supported the HD DVD format, while Warner Brothers, Disney, Sony, Lions Gate, Fox and MGM signed exclusive deals with Blu Ray. Finally, Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD and conceded defeat.

Unfortunately, the other major difference between the Blu Ray vs HD DVD players is price. You could purchase the XBox360 HD DVDs upgrade accessory for $130 and a stand-alone player for as low as $150. Sure, you could buy those super fancy combo players for nearly $1,000, but the average offering was as affordable as a regular DVD player. However, the victorious Blu Ray players are currently retailing at over $499, with $399 PlayStation3s being the cheapest way to get the BR technology. There is one other relatively inexpensive option for buyers: you can get the Denon DVD-1730 up-converting DVD player that is compatible with Blu Ray discs for less than $300.

While the Blu Ray vs HD DVD war has been won, consumers are well advised to hold off on any major Bluray player purchases until the dust has settled. Tech geeks still warn that other versions of the players are scheduled to come out. The next version, the Blu Ray players 2.0 will have more memory, moving from 256 MB to 1 GB, will include an ethernet port for connection to the internet and will offer online content capacity, also known as "BD-Live." Therefore, holding off will give consumers more advantages than just a lower price.

Some advocates see the Blu Ray disc player as training wheels for the technologically illiterate. "We can use HD discs to train consumers to move into digital, but it's a transition," explains Dan Silverberg, vice president of high-definition media development at Warner Bros. "Downloaded content will come, but the consumer will get quicker tutorials into video-on-demand, etc. by owning a Blu-ray player or HD DVD." While the Blu Ray vs HD DVD war is officially over, the Blu Ray vs. downloading war may have just begun.

So what about all those buyers who fell prey to the Blu Ray vs HD DVD war, and are now stuck with a useless HD DVD player? The retail giants have shown some sympathy as they sheepishly pull out their checkbooks. Best Buy, for example, is making a $10 million offering by giving $50 gift cards to nearly 200,000 customers who purchased the obsolete HD DVD players. Incidentally, this is right in time for Bush's economic stimulus tax rebates to arrive in the mail. Circuit City is going one step further to allow consumers to return their HD DVD players in exchange for an equal dollar amount of store credit toward the purchase of the Blu Ray disc player.

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