Netflix as Switzerland in Blu-ray vs. HD DVD War

by James Murray
Published on Jan 26, 2006 9:00 AM



January 26, 2006 - Netflix Incorporated announced plans this week to begin carrying both HD DVD and Blu-ray formats within the year. Netflix, the largest online movie rental service, currently provides subscribers with films formatted only for DVD. Come late March, Netflix will begin carrying HD DVD films. Blu-ray formatted DVDs will follow once the technology has formally launched in the United States, which is expected to be sometime in late spring of 2006.

According to Netflix CEO and Chairman Reed Hastings, the HD DVD format provides their more than 3.5 million subscribers with “far sharper images, better sound, and more features.” He added that this technology will “enhance DVD’s consumer appeal and extend its popularity over the next decade or more.”

Why Can’t We Be Friends?
In a format war which mirrors the Betamax and VHS format wars of the 1980s, Blu-ray and HD DVD camps have been firmly established. Warner Home Video, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, and The Weinstein Company all announced their positions, siding with the HD DVD format. Meanwhile, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Lionsgate, and Paramount are backing Blu-ray hardware.

Each camp has compelling arguments that theirs is the superior format. Debate across the Internet, from chat rooms to message boards, has been fierce and polemical, all peppered with inaccuracies. In an attempt to clarify the arguments of both groups the following will provide potential consumers with pertinent information which will better lead them to make proper purchase choices in the next few months.

The HD DVD format will become available in the end of March 2006, providing users with HD DVD-ROM, HD DVD-R, and HD DVD-Rewriteable formats. These three disc types will have a standard capacity of 15 GB, with dual layer discs recording up to 30 GB. Because manufacturing methods are similar to current DVD production, there will be less cost for manufacturers looking to switch to HD-DVD. A potential for cost-cutting is one of the major selling points for the HD DVD format, even though the offered storage capacities are lower than Blu-ray discs'.

HD DVD players are on their way. Although Microsoft’s holiday hit, the Xbox 360, does not currently contain an HD DVD drive, the company has announced their intention to provide an additional attachment drive option for that purpose. Heading the push towards HD DVD, Toshiba has announced the impending release of HD DVD players in the United States, ranging from $500 to $800.

Blu-ray technology has a slated release date of spring 2006 in the United States although it is already available in Japan. Blu-ray uses the same blue laser that is found with HD DVD technology; however, Blu-ray is able to provide users with larger storage capacities – up to 25 GB standard. It is also possible to store data at capacities of 23.3 or 27 GB depending on quality settings. Blu-ray discs will offer users options for BD-R (Blu-ray Recordable) and BD-RE (Blu-ray Re-writeable). With dual layer recording users will be able to record at storage capacity levels of 46.6 GB, 50 GB, or 54 GB.

The cost of these advances in capacity may be too steep for some manufacturers to swallow. Unlike HD DVD, Blu-Ray manufacturing requires serious retooling of production plants. This is likely to drive unit and media prices up. Nevertheless, Sony is pushing hard for the format. They refute the cost argument, and have already announced that their PS3 video gaming system will include Blu-ray technology. Blu-ray’s other backers are equally confident that their format will come out the winner.

How Different Are They?
HD-DVD and Blu-ray formats both use a blue laser to record data to disc. This provides a distinct advantage over the red lasers used in the production of standard DVDs, due to the blue lasers' shorter wavelength. A smaller wavelength allows for more information to be recorded in the same amount of space. Both formats support numerous recording formats, including MPEG-4, AVC, VC-1 MPEG-2, and MPEG-2 TS.

One of the most readily understandable variations between the formats is aperture. HD DVD format has an aperture which only marginally improves upon the optical pick-up head found inside older DVD drives and players. Standard DVDs have a 0.6 aperture, while the new HD DVD aperture measures 0.65. Blu-ray technology is able to boost storage capacity by using a larger 0.85 aperture.

There are, of course, a myriad of other factors which might sway opinion one way or the other, and ultimately the consumer market will decide. Below is a list of articles which explain the Blu-ray / HD DVD debate in far more detail.

As for their implementation in camcorders, plans have been made but seriously delayed. In 2004, Sony and Matsushita announced Blu-Ray camcorders were forthcoming in 2005. That year has come and gone. No word has been released on a new date.

http://www.techspot.com/articles/blu-ray_vs_hddvd/
http://www.cdfreaks.com/article/186
http://www.blu-raydisc.info/
http://www.hddvdprg.com/hddvd/