How are you all coming to this conclusion about formats?

[AlexKx]

How do you all come to a conclusion that Blu-Ray will win the format war with HD-DVD?

[zombie]

I've read dozens of articles and participated in numerous online discussions with others, including employees of Panasonic and Microsoft, who have given their opinions based on all the facts we presently have available. Many people have come to the conclusion that Blu-ray will win the HD disc format war because of these facts:

1. Blu-ray has nearly all of the hardware support (HD-DVD's hardware support is minimal)
2. HP & Dell are supporting Blu-ray (They're the two largest PC companies in the world)
3. Playstation 3 (Sony confirms it'll play Blu-ray discs)

Check the HD Software and HD Hardware forums at www.avsforum.com for tons of information about both formats.

[Rob]

Originally Posted by AlexKx

How do you all come to a conclusion that Blu-Ray will win the format war with HD-DVD?

I haven't. I thought I had, but I've changed my mind and am now undecided. It's just that as a technology in itself, Blu-Ray is more impressive. I had prviously assumed that because the majority of hardware manufacturers were supporting BR it was more likely to succeed than HD-DVD. Though now I'm not so sure. Especially as HD-DVD has gained the support of 3 large movie studios, whereas the main companies supporting BR are also owned by Sony, one of BR's main backers. HD-DVD players will be released in USA/JAP last qtr 2005. Almost 100 titles have been announced to be released qtr 4 2004/qtr 1 2005. There's been no announcements as to when BR recorders will be released in USA/JAP, or of abny titles, (current BR machines out in Japan won't play BD-ROMS as the specifications were not set when they were released. Infact, I think they still haven't finilised the pre-recorded specs yet, causing the hold up.

The main advantge of BR is that the discs have a larger capacity. 27/54GB compared to HD-DVD discs 15/30GB. Dual layer recordable BR discs are 50GB and already useable in Pan Blu-Ray DMRE 700. However, as the use of hdcp encoded hi-def signals seems to be the future for hi-def material, the potential for making hi-def recordings may be slim at the beginnig as sports and movies will dominate material. Even if you can record them they may be flagged so that you can only watch them once. If this is the case, then there will be little point in having the ability to record hi-def. Especially as Sky will most likely have a hi-def equivelent of it's SD Sky+ box.

[ristopalazzo]

Call me crazy but I say the hard coating will be the deciding factor. More data on the discs, smaller pits, so scratches will do more damage than on a cd or dvd. People with kids or just careless adults (I've seen many people stack cds and dvds out of cases on tables, or all over their car's interior) damage a lot of dvds right now. Think about the rental places. Almost every dvd I've ever rented has been covered with scratches and fingerprints, and there's been quite a few that wouldn't play properly. If Blockbuster starts renting out hd-dvds they'll have to replace them every 5 rentals. Blu-ray has larger capacity and will withstand the wrath of a 3 year old. I say it will definitely win.

[AlexKx]

Can you explain to me the lenght of time a disc is that holds 54 GB or 30 GB? The other numbers you gave what were those? The recording options in terms of length of running times and quality choices?
Also when you all talk about a dual lenght disc are you all meaning dual layers on one side or both? If you are referring to one side would that mean that the other side can have dual layers too?

[Gorkab]

Originally Posted by AlexKx

Can you explain to me the lenght of time a disc is that holds 54 GB or 30 GB? The other numbers you gave what were those? The recording options in terms of length of running times and quality choices?
Also when you all talk about a dual lenght disc are you all meaning dual layers on one side or both? If you are referring to one side would that mean that the other side can have dual layers too?

The lenght of the disc ? We didn't know it right here and now, it will depend of the standard... :?
The numbers they gave ya ? I don't know sorry :roll:
The recording options are simple for SDTV :
- 4.7 GB SL DVD records 2 hours of Standard Quality (1 for BEST)
- 8.5 GB DL DVD records 4 hours of Standard Quality (2 for BEST)
- 27 GB SL BD records 12 hours of Standard Quality (6 for BEST)
- 54 GB DL BD records 24 hours of Standard Quality (12 for BEST)
When we talk about DL disc, we mean DL on one sided disc. It also means that the other side can have dual layer too, like DVD 18 (DSDL) :
- 18 GB DSDL DVD records 8 hours of Standard Quality (4 for BEST)
- 108 GB DSDL BD records 48 hours of Standard Quality (24 for BEST) 8)

Have I answered your questions ?

[AlexKx]

Just about I think! Um. Except what is SDTV?! Sorry!

[shazbot]

standard-definition television

[Rob]

As far as I know, a 54GB dual layer Blu-Ray disc can hold 4.5hrs of hi-def material @24MBps. With the remaining 12MBps for extras like commentary, languages etc...