HD DVD and Blu-ray: An Introduction

This is a great introductory article to this topic but if you want to learn the latest information about the Blu-ray and HD DVD format battle, please read our Latest News About the Blu-ray and HD DVD Formats article.

If you purchased a new television set recently, chances are that it's capable of displaying high-definition signals. If you also forked out the money for an HD satellite or a digital cable receiver then you've probably been watching some HD primetime shows, movies and sporting events and you're well aware of the advantages of an HD picture. But the selection of HD programming is still rather limited and lacks the advantages of the beloved DVD - you have to wait for programming to air before you can watch it and you can't get new movie releases. You also can't pause or rewind programming unless you have a DVD recorder or a PVR. Lucky, this is all about to change.

The long awaited high-definition DVDs are finally here. Two competing high-definition disc formats are available: HD DVD led by Toshiba and Blu-ray led by Sony. Both use blue lasers to record and read information as opposed to the red lasers that regular CDs and DVDs use. This is because blue-lasers use the blue portion of the light spectrum, and the height, or length, of the wave is much smaller than the length of the wave of red-lasers. As a result, high-definition DVDs are capable of storing more than five times the amount of information than a traditional 4.7 GB DVD.

The HD DVD-Video discs have a storage capacity of 15 GB on a single layer or 30 GB on a dual layer. Blu-ray discs can store up to 25 GB on a single layer and 50 GB on a dual layer. Both HD DVD and Blu-ray discs have dual layers and will encode the picture in 1080p/24. This means that they have a resolution of 1080 by 1920 and deliver 24 frames per second. For comparison, standard DVDs are encoded at 480i/24.

The new formats also cater to audio enthusiasts and audiophiles. In addition to the mandatory Dolby Digital soundtrack found on standard DVDs, high-definition DVDs will include mandatory Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD (lossless, only 2-channel support is mandatory) and DTS soundtracks. Some discs will also include an optional lossless DTS-HD soundtrack. Lossless means that the sound is bit-for-bit identical to the studio master, whereas other lossy formats lack some of the original sound because of their compression. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

New advanced navigation and interactive features are available in both disc formats. Advanced navigation, for example, allows fully graphical movie menus to be superimposed over a movie while it's still running, rather than pausing the movie to display menus as standard DVDs currently do. Some high-definition disc players come equipped with an Ethernet port which allows them to connect to home networks and offer interactive features. This allows users to download extra audio and video content, movie trailers, game demos and other similar add-ons or updates. How many of these features will be implemented on movie discs remains in the hands of the movie studios. All players should be firmware upgradeable, so that if new features become available, older models may be upgraded.

Equipment and Movies Releases

The HD DVD format was first to come to the market in early 2006. Two HD DVD players were available from Toshiba at launch, models HD-XA1 (US$799) and HD-A1 (US$499). These first generation HD DVD players output 720p and 1080i signals from HD DVDs and upconverted standard DVDs to 720p/1080i as well. A player from RCA was also released but was cancelled shortly after launch. The initial assortment of movies were available from Warner Home Video, Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment and Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Pricing of HD DVD movies ranges from $24 (for older catalogue movies) to $40 for new releases.

The first Blu-ray player, from Samsung, appeared three months after the Toshiba players. Blu-ray disc players will be manufactured by LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Sharp and of course Sony. Sony, Pioneer and Panasonic players are also now available. The Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1 is one of the first high-definition disc players to output 1080p with a price of around $1899 Canadian. The availability of Blu-ray players from other manufacturers could not be confirmed at press time. Seven movie studios have announced that they will release movies in the Blu-ray format: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, Walt Disney Pictures, MGM, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Lion's Gate Home Entertainment. Pricing of Blu-ray discs is similar to HD DVDs.

Both HD DVD and Blu-ray players are backwards compatible with standard DVDs and CDs.

What you will need

To enjoy high-definition DVDs, you will need three key components. First, you will need a high-definition disc player. Secondly, you will need a high-definition television that has a resolution of 720 or more horizontal lines (i.e. 720p, 1080i or 1080p) and a DVI (with HDCP) or an HDMI (with HDCP) input. Early adopters of HDTV will not be able to watch high-definition DVDs because many of the early sets don't have DVI or HDMI inputs. Finally you may also have to purchase some HDMI cables. High-definition DVD players will output the HD signals only through the HDMI interface. Output through component video jacks will be down converted to 540p. This is because the movie studios don't want you to be able to record or copy high-definition discs.

To take advantage of the multi-channel soundtracks found on high-definition DVDs, you'll have to be equipped with an A/V receiver and 5.1 or better speaker system.

The get the latest information about the Blu-ray and HD DVD format battle, please read our Latest News About the Blu-ray and HD DVD Formats article.

For up to the day news about both formats, please visit HDDVD.org - High Definition Blu-ray and HD DVD news and rumors website.

Blu-ray, HD DVD and Standard DVD Comparison Chart