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. 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?"
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?
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,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.
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.
