The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has confirmed that a task force is evaluating proposals for adding new features such as 4K playback to the format.
(Credit: steve01119)
In all the discussions around the arrival of Ultra-High Definition (UHD) and 4K televisions and projectors, there is still a gap in the delivery system for watching 4K content on these screens. Blu-ray Disc is the one current disc platform with the capacity to contain such content, but, to date, no official word has been released on when we could expect any update to the platform to support 4K playback.
Today, the BDA, in a statement given to CNET, has confirmed that format extensions have been under consideration for some time, with a final recommendation expected later this year.
As part of its ongoing responsibility to maintain Blu-ray Disc as the premium platform for watching movies and other content at home, the BDA established a task force last year to study a range of possible format extensions, including those that potentially enable 4K content playback on Blu-ray.
Through the first quarter of this year, the task force solicited and received numerous proposals, and is now evaluating the various technologies.
The task force, which is comprised of representatives from BDA member studios, consumer electronics manufacturers and media technology companies, looks forward to sharing with and receiving input from content creators, and is expected to make specification and technology recommendations to the Blu-ray Disc Association board of directors later this year.
A format update would require a number of changes to the standard Blu-ray video format used to distribute HD video today. Apart from the larger file sizes required to store 4K content, decisions must be made to agree on codecs, bitrates and colour bit depth standards and options, as well as exactly what resolution will be supported. In cinema, 4K is 4096×2160 pixels, while in home entertainment, the UHD and 4K labels are being used to describe a television at 3840×2160 pixels (exactly four times a standard HD frame).
With the entire film industry now behind the Blu-ray video format, it seems we should expect to see any platform changes this year, but should hope to see Blu-ray introduce a UHD/4K delivery platform in 2014 to go with the televisions hitting the market this year.
Looking for the perfect chiller to watch around Halloween? Hulu’s got you covered. Below is a list of great horror flicks on the streaming service that will fit right into your binge-watching queue. But before we get into that, let’s cover some worthy alternates. Hulu is home to M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense (1999), …
Blu-ray is well on its way to replacing DVD as the format of choice when it comes
to watching movies on the living-room TV. So, with Blu-ray player prices tumbling, it could be time to ditch that standard-definition deck once and for all. But what type of Blu-ray player should you buy? There’s certainly no shortage of choice.
These days, Blu-ray players can do much more than just spin discs. Do you want your
Blu-ray player to be feature-skinny or full-fat? It’s time to weigh up which type of deck
will suit you best.
Picture quality
Any Blu-ray player will blow your dusty DVD machine out of the water when
it comes to picture performance. While a DVD stores 4.7GB of data, Blu-rays can hold
50GB. That equates to a darn sight more picture detail. If you have a hi-def TV, you
won’t find a better source of HD content.
Backwards compatibility is a given. All Blu-ray players can play DVDs. What’s more,
they’ll upscale them to 1080p, so your treasured collection of discs will look better than
ever. Blu-ray decks will also play CDs.
For the ultimate picture performance, you can’t beat movies on Blu-ray. Even
the cheapest decks offer a super-crisp 1080p picture. And it’s not just the image that’s
sharper. You’ll also get ultra-high-quality surround sound, in the form of DTS-HD Master
Audio and Dolby TrueHD. These cutting-edge technologies bring bit-perfect audio from
the Hollywood studio mixing desk direct to your living-room sound system.
Networking
Every Blu-ray player sold today can go online — BD-Live is a standard feature of the
format and it means that all decks come with an Ethernet socket. When you connect your
player to the Internet, you can access bonus content, view trailers and explore other cool
stuff. Not every Blu-ray disc offers BD-Live functionality — it’s up to individual studios if
they want to include it.
If you haven’t got wired network access in your living room, you’ll want a Blu-ray player with
Wi-Fi. Some models have this built in. On others, it comes via a dedicated Wi-Fi dongle,
which is an additional expense.
Web features
Just as TVs have become ‘smarter’, offering access to online portals full of
streaming video and downloadable apps, so too have some Blu-ray players, such as the Samsung BD-D7500 (right). Taking
advantage of the network connection provided for BD-Live, a number of companies have built
Web-portal access into their players. What you get varies from company to company. Several offer catch-up TV in the shape of BBC iPlayer and YouTube, as well as
other services.
If you already have a Web-connected TV, it’s probably worth buying a Blu-ray player from a
different manufacturer. That way, you’ll gain access to two different Internet portals, rather
than just the same one twice. It’s a good way of broadening your viewing options.
3D compatibility
Not every Blu-ray deck will play the latest 3D movie discs. If you have a 3D TV, or are
planning to get one soon, it’s probably worth spending slightly more to bag a 3D-compatible
player, such as the Sony BDP-S480 (right). Unlike 3D from TV broadcasters, Blu-ray delivers a 1080p 3D picture for extra detail.
A few 3D Blu-ray players will even convert your regular 2D discs into faux 3D. This
feature isn’t common to all decks, though, so check to see if your shortlisted model includes it.
Audio
If you’re a hi-fi fan, the chances are you’ll have some Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio discs lurking in your music collection. If you want to keep playing these, you’ll
need to get a so-called ‘universal’ Blu-ray deck. They’re not as cheap as regular models,
but they tend to be optimised for the best-possible audio playback. Typically, beneath
the lid, you’ll find high-grade digital-to-analogue converters, and other esoteric
components.
Blu-ray recorders
If you’re into archiving TV, then the idea of burning your own Blu-ray discs probably
appeals. In that case, a Blu-ray recorder, such as the Panasonic DMR-BWT700 (right) will be right up your street.
Combining a Blu-ray burner with a hard-drive recorder, they come with either a Freeview HD or freesat
satellite tuner. The basic idea is to record TV shows directly onto the hard drive, and then, if
you want to archive anything, you can burn a copy to a blank Blu-ray disc.
Broadcasters have the power to restrict just how many times a recording can
be copied, though. They can even prevent any discs being made altogether, thanks to copy
prevention flags. While this restriction may keep copyright-holders happy, it’s rather frustrating if you’re used to burning your own DVDs or recordings to tape whenever you
feel like it.
It’s probably also worth bearing in mind that not all Blu-ray players can play home-made
Blu-ray recordings.
One other compelling reason to own a Blu-ray recorder is to make HD recordings of your
own camcorder footage. Using the AVCHD format, these discs will play on almost every other Blu-ray player. It’s a great way to share your home movies.
Media playback
If you have music and video files on your computer, you’ll ideally want a Blu-ray
player with a built-in USB media reader. While many decks offer just such a USB input, file compatibility varies significantly. It makes sense to ensure
that the player you fancy works with the files you like to use.
There are also differences between decks when it comes to presentation. Do you want
album art delivered with your MP3s or is FLAC file compatibility a bigger deal?
Prioritise your feature list.
Finally, try and ensure that your Blu-ray deck is also DLNA-compatible. This is vital if you intend to stream media files across your network
from a PC or network-attached storage drive. DLNA compliance guarantees that your
new Blu-ray player can see other DLNA-certified products on your home network.
If you’re thinking of picking up a Blu-ray player this holiday season, the buying process can be overwhelming.
The differences between different models are often minor; every manufacturer supports a difference suite of streaming-media services and they all pretty much look the same. And a lot of the information you need to make an informed choice isn’t readily apparent by browsing the placards at a local retailer.
Luckily, you can narrow your choices quite a bit by asking the right questions. We’ve isolated the most important features, and once you’ve made your picks, you should be to make an informed choice from just a handful of players.
1. Do you need built-in Wi-Fi?
If you don’t need Wi-Fi, you’ll be able to get by with an entry-level player from a major manufacturer, which will probably cost you a little over $100. If you need Wi-Fi, you’ll have to step up to a player that’s closer to $150.
2. Are you a gamer?
This is an easy one. If you’re a gamer, the Sony PS3 Slim is still the best value, since you get a solid Blu-ray player, media streaming, and high-def gaming console in one box. If you’re not a gamer, you’re probably better off with a standalone player, which is easier to use for nontechies and works with a universal remote without the need for an adapter.
3. Which streaming services do you need?
Blu-ray players these days are as much about the streaming services as they are about disc playback. Each manufacturer has its own suite of services, so you want to make sure you get a player that supports the services you’ll actually use. It’s also worth delving into our reviews to check out the user interface for each manufacturer; we tend to think LG and Panasonic players offer the best overall streaming experience.
Beyond these basic questions, we’ve got a few additional tips to put you on the right path:
Skip the extra features
Most of the other bonus features you’ll see promoted (2D-to-3D conversion, dual HDMI outputs, onboard memory) aren’t worth considering. The 2D-to-3D conversion almost always looks bad, the advantages of dual HDMI outputs are minor (unless you have a projector), and onboard memory is only useful for BD-Java extra features that are almost never worth watching. Most Blu-ray players are 3D-compatible already, but there’s not enough content available to make it a feature we’d look for. In short, don’t put a lot of consideration in these features when shopping.
Don’t worry about image quality
We’ve tested a lot of Blu-ray players over the years, but nearly all modern Blu-ray players put out a nearly identical image on Blu-ray movies. In fact, only the Philips BDP5506/F7 had noticeably inferior image quality compared with other players this year in our image quality tests. Unless you’re dealing with a giant projector screen where you may see some differences with a premium player like the Oppo BDP-83, you’ll be perfectly fine with a Blu-ray player from a major manufacturer.
Don’t let them sell you an HDMI cable in the store
We can’t say it enough: all HDMI cables are the same, so buy a cheap one from an online retailer. The expensive cables in the store aren’t worth it, no matter what your salesperson might tell you.
Look out for holiday deals
And of course all this advice goes at the window if there’s a great deal to be had. At moment I’m writing this guide, the excellent LG BD670 (built-in Wi-Fi, excellent streaming services) is available for just $110 from Amazon–the same price as the Ethernet-only LG BD650.
Don’t have time to read all that? The Panasonic DMP-BDT210 and LG BD670 are our favorite Blu-ray players this year, both featuring built-in Wi-Fi and excellent streaming-media services.
Since the launch of HD DVD and Blu-ray there have been two ways to watch HD video on your TV: HDMI, and the lower-quality but much-loved component. Starting this year, Hollywood wants to phase out the latter and force consumers to use HDMI — to the extent that it will prevent component outputs on the Blu-ray player you’ve already paid for from pumping a hi-def signal to your TV.
The ability to output 1080i HD on an analogue connection is a legacy arrangement informally known as the “analogue hole”. Hollywood sees it as a way for pirates to illegally distribute HD video — although illegal copies virtually never originate from this capability.
The analogue hole harks from a time, particularly in the US, when HD TV transmission started and HDMI wasn’t widespread. The US has been migrating to HDTV for as long as us Brits have had Sky Digital and digital terrestrial. So high-definition video being piped over analogue component cables was commonplace.
When Blu-ray launched, HDMI arrived with it. This was an all-digital way for the signal to move from your player to the TV without being converted to a format that’s more susceptible to being degraded by poor-quality cabling. It meant that everyone could get 1080p, and it was important for Hollywood, because it enabled secure video to be transferred from device to device with no way for those nasty pirates to intercept it, and post the results on that naughty Internet.
Now, in 2011, the march of technology means analogue outputs on Blu-ray players will start to disappear. New players, marketed from this month onwards, will not be allowed to have component video outputs that deliver a 1080i video signal. Instead, new players must downconvert it to 540p.
“Ah,” you’re thinking, “but my old player can still send 1080i via its component?” Here’s the rub: not necessarily. There’s also another technology that’s now “allowed” by the Blu-ray security system AACS, called the Image Constraint Token. The ICT allows any new Blu-ray to force your player to downconvert its analogue HD outputs to 540p. The only stipulation appears to be that users are warned on the disc packaging that this token is present.
So if you’ve spent money on a Blu-ray player but have connected it to your TV via component for whatever reason, you won’t see the HD picture on the disc you’ve just paid extra for.
Why is all this necessary? The AACS, which exists at the behest of Hollywood, is clearly intended to stop piracy. There are several elements to it, but the whole stream is locked down so you can only watch on a TV that’s HDCP-enabled, and you can’t rip a copy of the movie to your computer to watch on a flight, for example, and you can’t put a bit-for-bit digital copy on the Internet.
It’s an incredible success story — since AACS was implemented, there has been no movie piracy whatsoever.
Except that’s not true, is it? Because no pirate in his or her right mind would use the analogue hole to rip a Blu-ray for ‘scene’ distribution. The ‘rips’ that are distributed via the Internet are all-digital and are a result of a digital rip of the video on the Blu-ray. Any pirate who ripped a movie via an anlogue HD output would be a laughing stock in this cutthroat and impolite society.
Removing the ability to output HD via component connections doesn’t hurt pirates, it hurts people who have older equipment — often loyal, early adopters. Pirates, on the other hand, are still ripping video with few problems and certainly not doing so via analogue outputs.
While we were planning this story, we contacted Sony, Samsung and the Blu-ray Disc Association for comment. Samsung told us that this was an industry matter, and implied that it was following the licencing rules as legally required. Sony and the BDA have yet to come back to us with a quote of any kind. If that changes, we’ll let you know via an update to this story.
How do you feel about this? Is your equipment likely to be affected? Did you know this was going to happen? We’re fascinated to hear your thoughts, so hit us up via the comments below.
The Office for National Statistics has made its latest update to Britain’s shopping basket of goods and services — its hypothetical collection of goods used to measure UK inflation. The addition of liquid soap, cereal bars and garlic bread isn’t terribly interesting, but the changing face of Britain’s technological affair certainly is. Kindly welcome Blu-ray players into the average consumer’s home.
With living costs varying every year, the ONS updates its imaginary basket to contain items that reflect the average urban consumer’s spending habits. Considering the amount of goods in there, we like to think of it as more of a trolley — perhaps a white van. It’s used to calculate the consumer prices index (CPI), which the Bank of England is furiously trying to keep below 3 per cent, The Guardian reports.
The ONS believes British consumers are typically spending their money on Blu-ray players, with the high-definition tech adorning the weighty basket to “capture price changes in this new expanding technology”. The price of Blu-ray players has dropped dramatically over the last year, with the best Blu-ray players falling below the £200 bracket, helping the technology reach more than just early adopters.
Video game accessories make their first appearance, likely due to the increased spending on games such as Guitar Hero, Wii Fit and Singstar. The ONS calls this a “relatively new market”, but with the advent of the Xbox 360’s Project Natal and the PlayStation 3’s Move later this year, 2010 is expected to see bumper growth in game peripheral sales.
To make room for these additions, a number of products have been thrown out, including disposable cameras, due to “decreasing expenditure as digital compact cameras and mobile phone photography become increasingly popular”. Electric hair straighteners and tongs replace hairdryers, since they reportedly represent a greater market share. So that’s why people are walking around with straight wet hair — we thought it was just the weather.
Perhaps it’s the drop-dead gorgeous animation. Maybe it’s the story of geeks who come good. Or, possibly, it’s just that there’s a monkey with a thought translator — but we adore Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It’s not too preachy either, despite having a couple of worthy morals to impart. Having said that, this isn’t a Disney film, so there’s no obvious attempt to make you cry for the first 10 minutes before rushing out to buy something with a copyrighted mouse stamped on it.
The movie itself is based on a bestselling children’s book, about a frustrated inventor whose machine for turning clouds into food is unexpectedly — and alarmingly — successful. Cloudy has been animated in a way that keeps the cartoonish charm of the story, and, like the wonderful Up, doesn’t attempt photo-realistic people. This is the right approach to take, because it gives the whole thing a warmer feel.
Each of the character voices are chosen with skill rare in animated movies. We’re certain you won’t care who lends their vocal talents to this film, because you’ll be far too busy falling in love with the people they portray. But in case you were wondering, Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Mr T and the legendary Bruce Campbell are all involved.
Most crucially though, we laughed from start to finish. The showers of food become more outrageous as the movie goes on and whatever makes you laugh, we’re sure this movie will have something that tickles you. There’s slapstick humour, amusing social commentary and most importantly, a talking monkey — could anyone want for more?
The Blu-ray disc earns much credit from us for not making the same mistakes as other recent releases. The menus are simple, but functional, so loading the disc doesn’t take an eternity. The extras are recorded in HD, and the audio soundtrack is glorious DTS HD MA, which is the best possible audio experience you can have at home. The making-of docs and extended scenes are fun and entertaining to watch too.
The Blu-ray doesn’t have any sort of 3D capabilities though, which might disappoint people who enjoyed the cinema experience. What you do get, however, is the most beautiful picture quality you can imagine. Animation always looks amazing — even on DVD — so that’s not a surprise. But we’d be very surprised if the combination of HD audio and stunning 1080p doesn’t make this a Blu-ray demo disc for many proud home-cinema owners.
What’s more, the Blu-ray edition comes with a DVD version too. This might not sound that useful, but owners of children will tell you a second DVD copy will stop your precious Blu-rays from being used as a rusk, and can easily be used in the car with a cheap portable player. Maximum peace and quiet on long journeys — at no extra cost.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is available from Monday 25 January, and costs around £15 for the Blu-ray/DVD combo and £10 for the DVD-only edition. If you don’t utterly love this film, you’re dead inside. Just saying.
Universal has unveiled the first Blu-ray/DVD ‘flipper discs’, packing both Blu-ray and DVD versions of a film on the same platter.
A flipper disc is a single, dual-sided disc that has Blu-ray on one side and DVD on the other, so you can watch a movie on your fancy Blu-ray player, and then go for a walk and watch it on your laptop or at a friend’s house. Friends who are too poor to have a Blu-ray player, that is.
The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum will be the first films to benefit from the new technology. Hopefully, Free Willy, Jaws and other sea-life-related films will follow soon. Flipper, y’see. Oh, never mind.
Blu-ray: we’re sort of stuck with it now, aren’t we? We love our movies with glorious 1080p and beautiful lossless surround sound, but we’re not so keen on its restrictive DRM, which prevents us from using our films the way copyright law suggests we should be able to. We’re talking here about making a copy for personal use, so we can stream it to a media player or put a copy on an iPod or other PMP. But rejoice — in a restrained, Sunday kind of way — because managed copy is on the way to Blu-ray, according to Engadget and Video Business.
Managed copy allows users to ‘rip’ video from a Blu-ray disc, but in a controlled manner, with DRM remaining in place to prevent copies ending up on the Internet. The copy-protection system on Blu-ray, known as AACS, has always theoretically supported managed copy, but from 4 December it will become mandatory for discs to allow consumers to make at least one copy. Try not to get too excited though, because in order to make a copy using this system, you’ll need a piece of hardware that supports it, and have a guess how many currently do. That’s right: none.
And, as you might imagine, there aren’t a whole lot of hardware companies queueing up to make players that allow managed copy right now, because this isn’t, and never will be, something most consumers are especially bothered about. Hopefully PC drive makers will be the first to jump on the system, because it makes most sense to allow copies to PCs, as they have all the necessary hardware needed to make the system work. Namely Internet access and a hard drive to store the video.
We’re especially interested to see if this move to support managed copy spurs Apple into adding Blu-ray support to its computers. After all, iTunes, the iPod touch and Apple TV are all strong candidates to take advantage of a system like this. Imagine if you could rip a Blu-ray on your Mac and stream it to other Apple devices in your home. That would, as we say in the trade, r0x0r.
As this news comes to us from the US, it’s unclear if the same rules will apply across the rest of the world. Theoretically, the Blu-ray region code could prevent certain titles from non-US regions from allowing managed copy, but we think that’s quite unlikely.
updateOne major issue holding back early adopters from plunging headfirst into the world of Blu-ray or HD DVD has been the dearth of commercial content available in Australia. What’s the use of having hot new next-generation hardware if you can’t watch any of the movies that are supposed to be so visually and sonically astounding?
After a long wait — and amidst the format war that’s only just getting started — Blu-ray and HD DVD titles are finally hitting Australian shores. Here’s a look at what’s around.
What titles are available in Australia?
As we speed further into 2007, more commercial Blu-ray and HD DVD content will be finding its way onto the market. Sure, the list of upcoming releases isn’t exactly mammoth so far, but the trickle has become a steady stream. Here is a list of what is already available to take home:
Blu-ray
50 First Dates
Batman Begins
Behind Enemy Lines
Blazing Saddles
Click
The Corpse Bride
Eight Below
Enter The Dragon
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Fantastic Four
Flight of the Phoenix
Flightplan
The Fugitive
Full Metal Jacket
Gone in 60 Seconds
Goodfellas
Hitch
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Hostel
Into the Blue
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Kiss of the Dragon
Kung Fu Hustle
Lady in the Water
The Last Samurai
Lethal Weapon I
Lethal Weapon II
LXG
Mission Impossible box set (three films)
Mission Impossible III
Monster House
The Perfect Storm
The Polar Express
Poseidon
Rocky
RV
S.W.A.T.
Sky High
Speed
Syriana
Talladega Nights
Tears of the Sun
The Transporter
Troy
Under Siege
Underworld: Evolution
Unforgiven
V for Vendetta
World Trade Center
X-Men 3
XXX
HD DVD
2 Fast 2 Furious
Apollo 13
Batman Begins
The Bourne Supremacy
The Corpse Bride
Doom
Enter the Dragon
The Fast and the Furious
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
The Fugitive
Full Metal Jacket
GoodFellas
Jarhead
King Kong (2005)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Lady in the Water
The Last Samurai
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon II
Miami Vice (2006)
Mission Impossible III
Mission Impossible box set (three films)
The Perfect Storm
The Polar Express
Poseidon
Rambo: First Blood
Rambo III
Serenity
Syriana
Total Recall
Troy
Under Siege
Unforgiven
V for Vendetta
Van Helsing
World Trade Center
How much do high-def DVDs cost?
Pricing is a little higher than standard DVDs. Representatives from Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. and Universal told CNET.com.au they expect to release both discs with a recommended retail price of $39.95. Local online retailer EzyDVD has Blu-ray and HD DVD titles listed from $29.83 to $49.83.
Are Blu-ray and HD DVD discs region coded?
There are three region codes for Blu-ray discs:
Region A: North America, Central America, South America, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia
Region B: Europe (EU), Africa, Middle East, New Zealand, Australia
Region C: China, India, Russia, rest of the world
The waters are a lot murkier as far as HD DVD is concerned. The DVD Forum, an industry association which sets standards for the DVD and HD DVD formats, is currently investigating the logistics of region coding. While commercial titles are not subject to restrictions at the moment, it’s unlikely that things will stay that way. Region coding allows studios to have greater control over worldwide release dates and distribution, and we would be very surprised if the movie makers allowed HD DVD free reign while imposing restrictions on Blu-ray.
What titles have been released overseas?
Wikipedia has a comprehensive list of Blu-ray and HD DVD titles that have been released in the United States. While most releases are recent action flicks designed to show off the superior sound and look of the formats (like Van Helsing, Batman Begins and Mission: Impossible III,) there are some more offbeat inclusions — for example, Blazing Saddles, Caddyshack and The Adventures of Robin Hood, originally released in 1938.
As HD DVD discs are currently region free, it’s possible for Australian high-def heads to buy their content from foreign sites like Amazon.com — for now.
What extra features do high-def DVDs offer? Will there be more extras than standard DVDs?
The amount of bonus features varies by title, but given the high disc capacity of both high-def formats, there is scope for Hollywood to cram in a bunch of interactive extras.
The official HD DVD Web site provides the example of The Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift. This title has a plethora of interactive features, including the ability to edit clips using footage from the film and deleted scenes. You can also view a GPS map of where the car chases happen and design your own car, then see it in a scene from the movie. Whether you’ll be able to sit through the film is another matter.
Just give it to me straight: do movies really look as good as the hype says?
The CNET.com.au team recently bunkered down to watch several hours of demo discs and commercial titles on a Samsung Blu-ray player. High-def DVD is undoubtedly impressive. There was an almost 3D effect with a lot of the footage; there was impressive detail in the shadows, and lighting effects were a lot more pronounced. Human faces have a level of detail approaching reality, much to the chagrin of aging Hollywood actors.
During our footage watching sessions, what most impressed us were images that were well lit and contained a lot of detail. Clips from the animated film Chicken Little, for example, exhibited a very impressive level of sharpness when it came to feathers and fur. When we played the DVD version and the Blu-ray version side by side, the difference took us by surprise.
For titles like S.W.A.T., however, the difference was much more subtle, mainly due to the fact that much of the action takes place in near darkness. The main drawcard for flicks like these is the enhanced sound — if you have a solid home theatre set-up, you will really notice the difference.
updated Another year, another global battle for tech supremacy. For most consumers, the decision whether to go with a plasma or LCD television is difficult enough. But consumers are now faced with the tough choice of two competing, next-generation DVD standards — Blu-ray and HD DVD.
With the release of the PlayStation 3 and other HD players some people have already made their choice, but it’s still too early to predict an outright winner. Not the least of all because Paramount recently announced it was pulling up stumps on Blu-ray and pitching its fortunes with HD DVD.
One of the problems is that Blu-ray and HD DVD formats are incompatible — that means your Blu-ray player won’t play HD DVD movies, and your HD DVD machine won’t be able to read Blu-ray movies. There is currently one player on the market that will play both, but as with many players which are first to market it’s been plagued with reports of compatibility problems.
No matter which format you choose, the new players aren’t exactly what you’d call ‘cheap’, and the last thing any consumer wants to do is buy a machine that becomes obsolete in favour of another incompatible format.
So which format is worth your hard earned cash? What are the technical differences between the two? What products are available right now? And what do the editors here at CNET.com.au recommend? Read on for everything you need to know about the Blu-ray vs HD DVD battle.
1. Blu-ray and HD DVD: what’s all the fuss about?
Amidst all of the hype surrounding next-generation DVD formats, you may be asking yourself one simple question: what’s all the fuss about? After all, your current DVD player produces a pretty good picture, right? Are Blu-ray and HD DVD really worth bothering about?
The short answer to that question is yes, Blu-ray and HD DVD do deserve your consideration — but not necessarily your money (not yet, at any rate). The long answer is a lot more complicated, and involves other considerations such as your current home theatre set-up, the limited availability of movies and more (questions we’ll get to later in this feature). For now, the fact that Blu-ray/HD DVD are to DVDs what DVDs once were to VHS means it is important for any prospective home theatre shopper to know exactly what the pros and cons are.
2. What’s the difference between Blu-ray/HD DVD and normal DVDs?
The major difference between Blu-ray/HD DVD and DVDs is capacity — that is, both Blu-ray and HD DVD can store more information than current DVDs on the same size 12cm optical disc we’re all used to.
Without getting too technical, the reason for the increased storage has to do with the type of lasers used. DVDs (and CDs) use a red laser to read and write data to and from a disc. Blu-ray and HD DVD both use a blue laser, which has a shorter wavelength than red ones. The shorter wavelength, coupled with improved lenses, results in a smaller beam enabling a higher amount of data to be written to each disc.
DVDs can store around 4.7GB worth of data on a single side (8.5 for a dual layer DVD). In contrast, HD DVDs can store up to 15GB on a single layer while Blu-ray can hold 25GB on one layer. Even more can be packed into Blu-ray/HD DVD discs if they use more than one layer or one side of the disc.
3. OK, so Blu-ray/HD DVD discs hold more stuff. What does that mean for me?
More capacity means more information can be stored on each Blu-ray or HD DVD disc. In entertainment terms, that means full high definition movies or shows can be stored on a disc — something previously impossible with DVDs (which only stores its content in standard definition). The greater capacity also improves the audio experience thanks to the ability to include more sound formats and, in some cases, uncompressed surround sound. The bottom line is Blu-ray and HD DVD movies and television shows look and sound much better than what is currently being produced by DVDs.
The added capacity, plus the added power of Flash, has also resulted in new functionality appearing on Blu-ray/HD DVD movies. For example, in standard DVDs users have to stop playback of a movie if they wanted to look at the DVD’s menu. Blu-ray and HD DVD movies allows users to dynamically interact with the movie menu while watching it.
From the home office/home computer side of things, the higher capacity on Blu-ray and HD DVDs mean just that — the ability to store much more data on a single disc. Entire hard drives worth of information can easily be backed up using just one next-generation disc.
You’ll need a high-definition television to make the most out of Blu-ray/HD DVD.
4. What other home entertainment gear will I need to make the most out of Blu-ray/HD DVD?
It all sounds peachy so far, but here comes the first (and probably biggest) caveat — to make the most out of what Blu-ray and HD DVD have to offer, you’ll need some fairly up-to-date home entertainment gear, particularly a high definition television.
A major part of what made DVD an overnight success was the fact you could plug a DVD player into any television and immediately see improved visual quality. Don’t expect the same to occur with Blu-ray/HD DVD — if you have an old analog set (or even a newer flat-screen plasma or LCD with fairly low resolution) the picture Blu-ray/HD DVD delivers won’t look much better than what DVD will produce.
Here’s the minimum we recommend you’ll need to be happy with Blu-ray/HD DVD: a decent 5.1 surround sound system, a flat-screen plasma or LCD with the capability to display 720p pictures at minimum, and at least one HDMI connector.
5. Why are there two competing formats in the first place?
The two formats — Blu-ray and HD DVD — were developed separately over many years, with Sony spearheading the Blu-ray camp and HD DVD championed by Toshiba. Both formats were competing for official recognition by the DVD Forum as the successor to DVD — a battle which Toshiba eventually one. However, Sony and its partners decided to persevere with their invention, and hence the format wars began. Though there were several attempts to unite the two factions, they were unsuccessful — and hence the difficult choice was instead passed on to consumers.
6. Which format is better?
Ask anyone from either the Blu-ray or HD DVD and they’ll happily spruik about how their format is the superior one. The bottom line is both technologies have their strengths and weaknesses — read on to find out what those pros and cons are.
7. So what Blu-ray/HD DVD products are available?
Blu-ray and HD DVD have landed in Australia, and at present there’s at least a dozen lurking in a store near you. Standout devices so far have included the Sony PlayStation 3 and the Pioneer BDP-LX70 for Blu-ray and the Toshiba HD-XE1
for HD-DVD.
Several laptops have also included HD disk playing as an option from Toshiba and Sony. For a full list of the available players so far, click here.
Want to see at a glance what each format has to offer? Check our table below for more information.
As you can see below, while both Blu-ray and HD DVD offer much more than plain old DVDs, the differences between the two technologies aren’t that pronounced. In terms of technology, Blu-ray can currently store more on a single side of a disc than HD DVD — although double-sided, dual-layer and even other disc combinations coming in the future could see that storage difference become academic. Blu-ray can also currently output to 1080p — most HD DVD units now output at 1080i, but the latest Toshiba HD-XE1 is able to display 1080p.
Feature
DVD
Blu-ray
HD DVD
Maximum native resolutions supported via HDMI
576p
HDTV (720p, 1080i, 1080p)
HDTV (720p, 1080i, 1080p)
Maximum image-constrained native resolutions supported via component video1
Sony Pictures (including MGM/Columbia TriStar), Disney (including Touchstone, Miramax), Fox, Paramount (Steven Spielberg titles only), Warner, Lions Gate
Paramount, Studio Canal, Universal, Warner, The Weinstein Company, Dreamworks, New Line
Compatible video game consoles
PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo Revolution
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360 (via external HD DVD accessory, sold separately)
Player prices
AU$150 and less
From AU$999
From AU$899
Movie prices
AU$10 and more (retail)
AU$29.95 to AU$39.95
AU$25.00 to
Number of titles available in the US by the end of 2006
50,000-plus
Dozens to hundreds
Dozens to hundreds
Players are backward compatible with existing DVD videos
Yes
Yes
Yes
Can record high-def at full resolution (eventually)5
No
Yes
Yes
“Managed copy” option6
No
Yes
Yes
Copy protection/digital rights management7
Macrovision, CSS
AACS, BD+, BD-ROM Mark
AACS
Region-coded discs and players8
Yes
Yes
No (currently; could change in future)
Sources include: thedigitalbits.com, dvdfile.com, blu-ray.com, Toshiba HD DVD, Blu-ray Disc Association, CNET News.com, Business Week, HDbeat.com, About.com, and Wikipedia.
Notes
1. Each movie studio may choose to implement the image-constraint flag (HDCP)on a disc-by-disc basis, which constrains or down-converts the movie’s resolution to 960×540 via the component outputs (HDMI output remains at full resolution). However, most major studios — Sony (Columbia/Tri-Star/MGM), Fox, Disney, Paramount, and Universal — have publicly stated that they will not make use of the image-constraint flag, at least initially. If true, movies from those studios will display at full resolution via the component outputs.
2. Video capacity will vary depending upon the type of encoding used. Discs encoded with MPEG-4 or VC-1 offer better compression and, therefore, more video per gigabyte (standard-definition or high-definition) than those encoded with the older, less efficient MPEG-2 codec.
3. All HD DVD and Blu-ray players should incorporate built-in audio decoding and analog audio outputs. Those features should enable the newer Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS-HD surround formats to be heard by using existing A/V receivers and audio equipment — but the resulting soundtrack may be a down-mixed Dolby Digital or DTS-EX version that lacks the theoretically better audio fidelity that’s encoded on the disc.
4. Manufacturer and studio support is subject to change. With the exception of Sony’s devotion to Blu-ray and Toshiba’s to HD DVD, other manufacturers and studios can (and already have) switch sides, or they can support both formats. Also, the depth of support for companies aside from Sony and Toshiba has yet to be determined; while some have already released single-format players, “support” for both formats has largely been limited to press releases or future product schedules and remain theoretical until they are available for purchase.
5. Early-generation set-top (non-PC) HD DVD and Blu-ray players are players only, with no recording capabilities. Future set-top recorders are expected to become available in both formats in 2008 or later, but look for copy-protection and digital rights issues to severely restrict the HD programming you’ll be able to record from TV.
6. Managed copy refers to the ability to make an HD DVD or Blu-ray movie viewable via a home network or a portable video device. The details haven’t been worked out yet, leaving managed copy as more of a theoretical option than a usable feature for the foreseeable future.
7. It is likely that HD DVD and Blu-ray will feature additional copy-protection methods (including Macrovision or other protections for analog outputs) than the ones listed here.
8. As of autumn 2006, HD DVD discs and players are not region-coded, but that could be changed at any point in the future — for example, the appearance of region-coded discs and a firmware upgrade for the hardware needed in order to play them. Blu-ray discs are coded to three regions (roughly, the Americas and Japan; Europe and Africa; and China, Russia, and everywhere else not included in the previous two regions) that are far more streamlined than the nine-region DVD system. That said, HD DVD and Blu-ray players should honour the nine-region system when playing standard DVDs — so don’t expect to play out-of-region discs.
Capacity
Blu-ray, the brainchild of Japanese giant Sony and backed by more than 90 member companies of the Blu-ray Disc Association, has the edge over HD DVD when it comes to storage, at least when you’re talking about a single layer on a disc. Blu-ray can store 25GB on a single layer — HD DVD can only store 15GB. The whole capacity issue is blurred somewhat when you move beyond single layer discs, however. Dual layer, triple layer, double sided and even quad-layer discs are in the pipeline for both formats, which means capacity can and will vary greatly.
1080p output
1080p is the best image that’s possible with consumer entertainment devices today — and the image quality is, frankly, stunning and almost 3D-like. 1080p delivers a resolution of 1920×1080 at up to a 54MBit/sec bandwidth — and to to put it into perspective, normal DVDs output at 576p, while the highest HD signal in Australia only comes out at 1080i (for more about screen resolutions, click here). While the software in most current HD DVD players can only display at 1080i resolution, we expect 1080p technology to become more widespread in future players.
Widespread industry support
The Blu-ray camp has long claimed that its industry support from both hardware and content providers is superior to that of its competitor, HD DVD. The situation isn’t so clear cut today as it was last year, however, as many companies have stated that they were willing to support both formats and not just one. Blu-ray’s list of supporters is still longer than HD DVDs, but not by much.
On the content side of things, all Hollywood studios bar Universal and Paramount have pledged to release movies in the Blu-ray format. On the hardware side, Blu-ray is backed by Apple, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Hitachi, LG Electronics, Mitsubishi Electric, Panasonic (Matsushita Electric), Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson.
Sony’s PlayStation 3 doubles as a Blu-ray player
Comes in the PlayStation 3 as standard
Gaming could be the dark horse here in deciding which standard will reign supreme. After all, Sony’s inclusion of the then fledgling DVD format in the PlayStation 2 did wonders for that format. All PlayStation 3s come with a Blu-ray drive as standard, and as a result it is the highest-selling player of either standard.
PS3’s aren’t exactly be cheap, however. The retail price is still set at AU$999 for the next-generation games console, while its Wii and Xbox 360 competitors hover at the AU$400 mark. The price may be high, but it’s still pretty cheap for a games console and next-generation DVD player in one.
Backwards compatible with DVDs and CDs
Blu-ray devices have been designed to be backwards compatible with both DVDs and CDs, so there should be no problem playing your old collection of movies and music.
Downside
More expensive than HD DVD players
With only a couple of HD DVD players available in Australia at the moment, it appears that unless you but a PS# you’ll end up spending more on a Blu-ray player. However, as the competition heats up there’s bound to be price-cuts in place before the end of 2007.
It’s a different situation when it comes to the notebook-based players, however. The Blu-ray-equipped Sony VAIO VGN-AR18GP is the same price as the HD-DVD-bearing Toshiba Qosmio G30 — AU$5499.
Top of the line gear needed to make it shine
Forget about plugging a Blu-ray player into a CRT or older flat-screen panel — you’re going to need a display that can display at least 720p images to be happy with what Blu-ray can produce. And if you want to take full advantage of its image capabilities, you’ll need a 1080p capable screen — those screens are still very expensive compared to 720p models.
Console support only in the form of an Xbox 360 add-on
Upside
High capacity
HD DVD may not be able to pack in as much on a single layer compared to Blu-ray, but it’s still a leap over what DVDs can manage. Single layer HD DVDs can store 15GB of information, with dual layer discs (at 30GB) already available. Other permutations of discs are also in the works (such as double-sided, triple-layer and more), with capacity stretching out to as much as 60GB on one HD DVD disc.
Widespread industry support
Toshiba, the developers of the original DVD specification and the driving force behind HD DVD, may not have as extensive a list of backers behind their new format as Sony does with Blu-ray, but the list is impressive nonetheless. Importantly, the gap in numbers of hardware and software supporters is diminishing every month. On the hardware side, HD DVD has the backing of industry giants like Microsoft and Intel. The list also includes LG, Thomson/RCA, Hitachi, TEAC, Kenwood, Onkyo, Fujitsu, Samsung, Sanyo, HP, NEC, Toshiba, Canon, Ricoh, Maxell, Acer, Lenovo and Imation. On the software side, HD DVD is supported by Paramount, Studio Canal, Universal, Warner, the Weinstein Company, Dreamworks and New Line.
Cheaper prices for media and players
Toshiba claims the fact that HD DVD can use the same manufacturing plants as DVDs (Blu-ray needs manufacturing plants built from scratch) is the major reason why HD DVD players will be cheaper for consumers. However, recent reports from the US have suggested that the difference in manufacturing costs are now minimal. On the hardware side, Toshiba currently sells the cheapest player on the market — the Toshiba HD-E1.
“Twin disc” support
Unique to the HD DVD format is a “twin disc” capability, which allows both HD DVD content and DVD content to be imprinted on the same disc. Twin discs are HD DVD on one side and normal DVD on the other, which allows them to be played on both HD DVD players and DVD players. At the moment, however, none of these disks are available in Australia.
Backwards compatible with DVDs and CDs
Just like Blu-ray, HD DVD players will be able to read and play DVDs and CDs, which means your existing collection of movies and music won’t become obsolete overnight.
Downside
Most players max out at 1080i resolution
1080i is the same standard as the Channel Nine and Ten HD TV feeds in Australia. While it’s not as big a difference between 1080i and 576p (normal DVD resolution), the lower specification means HD DVD will be compatible with more flat-screen televisions. A minimum display capability of 720p is probably ideal, however. The second generation of HD DVD players — which are starting to appear — are capable of outputting at 1080p.
Xbox 360: sorta-kinda HD DVD compatible
Game support only in the form of an Xbox 360 add-on
As we saw with the inclusion of DVD in the PlayStation 2, the appearance of an emerging technology format on a games console can do wonders for the uptake of said format. While Blu-ray has the advantage (in gaming terms at any rate) of being standard on the PlayStation 3, HD DVD doesn’t have the same level of gaming support. While Microsoft’s Xbox 360 features an add-on HD DVD attachment, no games are currently available in the format.
Getting caught out on the wrong side of Blu-ray vs HD DVD battle isn’t the only thing you should be worried about when considering a next-generation DVD player. Here are a few more points CNET.com.au thinks you should consider before plonking your money down for either a Blu-ray or HD DVD device.
Where’s the wow?
Sure, Blu-ray and HD DVD produce superior pictures tto DVD, but is it really that much of a leap? The opinion of most CNET.com.au editors here is that while the pictures produced by Blu-ray and HD DVD are impressive, it’s not as big a leap as we experienced when seeing DVD compared to VHS for the first time. Our advice is for prospective buyers to see normal DVD pictures side-by-side to Blu-ray/HD DVD images before making a purchase — after all, the last thing you want is to be unimpressed by the picture quality of your new player. If you’re concerned about making the wrong choice then investing in a upscaling DVD player may be a better option in the short term — just until this ‘war’ sorts itself out.
Copy protection from hell
If you thought the rights management on digital music was restrictive, just wait until you step into the next-generation DVD world. The companies behind Blu-ray and HD DVD have worked very closely with Hollywood studios to ensure copy protection was an integral part of both the hardware and software behind the new formats. Built into both formats is the option to lower the resolution of a movie if it isn’t running over an HDMI cable (which conforms to strict copy protection measures). Blu-ray and HD DVD players can constrain an image down to 960×540 if the signal is going over a component cable — still better than DVD but nowhere near the full capabilities of Blu-ray/HD DVD. That means consumers with older sets (those without HDMI) could find their viewing hamstrung if the movie studios decide to use this feature on upcoming next-gen releases. Thankfully, most of the studios — Sony (Columbia/Tri-Star/MGM), Fox, Disney, Paramount, and Universal — have publicly stated that they will not make use of the image-constraint flag, at least initially.
Shifting industry support
The lines between those in the Blu-ray and those in HD DVD camp are shifting on a seemingly daily basis, as companies on either side of the fence can and will switch sides if the going starts to get rough. In the past year, we’ve already seen several Blu-ray/HD DVD stalwarts switch sides or declare their allegiance to both formats — expect more in the coming months after the Paramount announcement.
Some people may not think the ‘wow’ factor a Blu-ray/HD DVD player provides is enough to justify the cost.
Early adopter price gouge
We early adopters have a tough cross to bear. Sure we get the latest and greatest, but we usually have to pay through the nose for it. If either of these two formats take off, expect to see massive price reductions in players within a year. Buyer’s remorse, anyone?
Where are the recorders?
Current Blu-ray/HD DVD home entertainment units are players only — so you’ll have to buy a notebook or PC to get a next-generation DVD that you can record to. If you want to record HD television, you need to wait until Blu-ray/HD DVD set-top recorders come out in 2007
Miniscule movie list
In order to kickstart sales of their players, manufacturers have been bundling disks and redemption vouchers with their Blu-ray/HD DVD devices — with up to five in a box!. Australia is slowly catching up with the US in terms of available titles, but buying online from the US is probably the only way you’ll be able to find next-generation DVDs. Fingers crossed a flood of movies arrives on our doorstep sometime before Christmas.
Going universal
The theory goes like this: These are both just optical discs after all; why can’t someone create a universal player that plays both? Buy that player and build your movie collection with impunity. Samsung is still reticent on details for on its BD-UP5000 universal player, but LG recently brought its BH100 to the market. However, one problem that the BH100 has is that it lacks support for HD DVD’s HDi format — meaning no interactive menus or advanced features while watching HD DVDs. But we’re hopeful that this trickle of machines will one day become a flood — if more companies can provide combo players, the format war could quickly turn into a peaceful coexistence.
Who needs discs anyway?
We’re going to get all future-focused here, but who says disc formats are the way to go anyway? Online delivery of HD content may not exactly be a reality in Australia yet, but who knows what the scene will be like in two or three years time? If everything’s being delivered via the Internet and stored in our big home backup drives, who needs optical discs?
The first products off the rank weren’t dedicated home theatre units, but laptops — both Toshiba and Sony packaged their high-end notebooks with next-generation DVD devices. Over the course of the last year, dedicated players have started to appear on the market. Below you’ll find a selection of the Blu-ray and HD DVD devices which have been through our labs.
Meanwhile, we here at CNET.com.au would love to hear about your experiences with next-generation DVD. Are you happy with your purchase? Which players/units did you buy? What made you choose either Blu-ray or HD DVD? And if you’re sitting on the fence, we’d like to hear from you too.
Why are you holding back? What needs to happen before you buy a next-generation DVD player. Add your comments below or visit us in the forums.
If you have a big-screen TV in your living and you’re hungry for HD content, the Toshiba HD-E1 delivers great picture quality. It’s a cheaper alternative to the Blu-ray players we’ve seen, but we had some minor performance issues. Read review
Forward-looking cinephiles with deep pockets and the patience to wait for more Blu-ray content will no doubt revel in the high quality sound and images served up by Panasonic’s DMP-BD10 Blu-ray player. Read preview
If you’re happy to wait a few months for more Blu-ray content to land, the AR18GP is a powerful, multimedia-rich laptop whose only glaring omission is a TV tuner.
Although the benefit of HD DVD is questionable, the Toshiba Qosmio G30 is still the most feature-rich home entertainment notebook we’ve seen to date. Read review
Imagine (pun intended) there’s a race. In one lane is the late, great John Lennon. In the other, James Blunt. The starting gun fires, and somehow Lennon, who has been dead for 27 years now, beats Blunt to the finish line. Well, that’s exactly what’s happened with HD DVD. The dead format has managed to rise from the grave and muster enough energy to raise a pair of rotting fingers to Blu-ray.
No one is going to claim that HD DVD is anything other than finished. But it still warmed the cockles of our hearts when we saw the Nielsen VideoScan results for the week of 24 February . For that week, the HD DVD release of American Gangster was the number one selling high-definition release. Of course, it would be negligent of us not to point out that all the other discs in the top ten were Blu-ray. So it’s not exactly a massive victory, and we can’t somehow see all the studios switching to HD DVD now.
This comes when all of the studios have now admitted they will be releasing on Blu-ray. There have been sketchy reports that Paramount is already gearing up for some releases on Blu-ray — the question on most people’s lips is will we see the
immediate return of discs that Paramount previously produced on the format? After all, it should be a reasonably simple matter for these to continue production. The only studio we don’t expect to move quickly is Universal, which has never supported Blu-ray and, as such, will probably have to re-think all its releases.
It seems odd that the remaining studios aren’t rushing to start releasing on Blu-ray. Perhaps there is something else going on — perhaps Hollywood is about to ditch disc formats and distribute only online. And maybe if you look out of your nearest window, you’ll see a levitating Sus scrofa domestica too. -Ian Morris
When Warner Bros announced
it was becoming a Blu-ray exclusive studio, most observers of the
format war agreed that it was a mortal wound for HD DVD. The only
remaining question was, how long is HD DVD going to last? Well,
according to the latest NPD data (as compiled by Bill Hunt at The Digital Bits),
not very long.
During the week of 5-12 January — the first week the
market had to respond to the Warner announcement — Blu-ray absolutely
trounced HD DVD in hardware sales, grabbing nearly 93 per cent of the
hi-def disc-player market. That’s pretty ugly for the HD DVD camp,
but it only gets worse.
The most damning aspect of these numbers is
that they do not include the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on drive — only standalone players. We previously thought HD DVD’s only road to victory was by selling loads of cheap standalone HD DVD players,
so the fact that relatively expensive Blu-ray players are starting to
sell makes it seem like this format war has been officially declared
over — by the consumers.
Of course, Toshiba slashed prices on its HD DVD players just a few days after this data ends — and
we’re very interested to see what kind of impact that has on hardware
sales — but it’s going to be hard, if not impossible, to overcome
Blu-ray’s momentum. Blu-ray also continues to outsell HD DVD in
software sales, largely because of the PS3 user base. –Matthew Moskovciak
Two major video rental chains, Video Ezy and Blockbuster, have announced a partnership with Sony designed to educate customers about the Blu-ray format.
Over 200 stores around the country will be fitted with stands featuring PlayStation 3s, Sony’s BDP-S300 Blu-ray players and Bravia TVs, as well as educational content. Most of the featured stores will make BDs (Blu-ray discs) available for rental, while some will also sell the discs.
The two chains began installing the stands on the weekend with the last store expected to be fitted out by 15 December.
In June, Blockbuster in the US announced it would only rent Blu-ray discs, and not HD DVDs, in its 1,700 company-owned stores.
Video Ezy aims to promote the format across TV, radio, direct mail, catalogues, mobile and online mediums, while Blockbuster will concentrate on print and online channels.
“We endeavour to sell to demand — at this stage Blu-ray is clearly the leading HD format and industry data backs that up. The future will depend on hardware sales catering to either format and we will move with those trends,” Richard Clutsom, General Manager, Buying, at Video Ezy said.
However, availability of Blu-ray disks still continues to lag behind DVD, with Sony Pictures — for example — only publishing 51 of its titles in the format.
We’re into November now, and that means that all new Blu-ray players must conform to the BD Full Standard Profile — profile 1.1 — specification. This doesn’t mean that all the players on the market now are compliant — far from it — but the new ones should be, aside from the Sony PlayStation 3.
Of course, if you’re waiting for Internet connectivity, you’ll have to hang on for profile 2.0 — otherwise known as BD-Live players — but those are already planned and include the new LG Super Multi Blue BH-200, which is hopefully expected on 1 December.
This list isn’t every player that is out, or coming out soon — it’s just some of the more interesting ones. -Ian Morris
Panasonic DMP-BD30
This machine gets the award for being the first player on the market with full profile 1.1 compliance. Indeed, it also has the sort of advanced features you’d expect from a new player, including HDMI 1.3 — good news for audiophiles who want uncompressed DTS and Dolby TrueHD.
The price looks promising too — at around $500 (£240), it could be one of the best value Blu-ray players on the market. Of course, there is every chance that when it lands on British shores it will have had an iPhone-esqe random price increase due to the premier cost of flogging stuff to us gullible Brits.
Sony PlayStation 3
Okay, here’s the thing. The PS3 isn’t actually a profile 1.1 player, but it’s capable of being so via a firmware update. There is as yet no clear word as to when the update might take place, although rumours point to the new year.
However you look at it, the PS3 remains an excellent entry to the Blu-ray market, because it’s an incredibly powerful console it has more scope to improve over time than other players — plus, you get to play games on it.
Samsung BD-UP5000
We’re rather keen on the BD-UP5000. Firstly, it’s a fully profile 1.1 compliant player, but the bonus is that it will also happily play your HD DVDs. That’s right — the dual format player has finally come of age.
As much as intellectual property owners would like a format war every week to keep those patent royalty cheques rolling in, it’s hardly good for the consumer. We’re pleased to see a fully-featured dual player on its way. We’re just hoping it has a sensible price tag.
Denon DVD-3800BD
It might cost a tiny bit more than most of us are prepared to pay — estimates suggest around £1,500 — but you can be sure the DVD-3800BD it is going to be one hell of a Blu-ray player when it lands in January 2008.
The Denon will also have excellent support for the multitude of audio formats knocking about on hi-def disc formats. It’s HDMI 1.3 also makes it a must if you think you’ll want uncompressed audio pumping into your AV receiver.
LG BH-200
As much as we liked the BH-100, we couldn’t recommend it heartily because it cost a small fortune and didn’t support the interactive features of HD DVD. While it suited people who just wanted to play movies, it really felt like a Blu-ray player that would grudgingly play HD DVDs as a little bonus.
The great news is LG has compensated for the shortcomings of the BH-100 by producing an amazing follow-up machine. The BH-200 isn’t just a profile 1.1 player, its a full on profile 2.0 player. That means it has 1GB of persistent storage, an Ethernet socket and support for BD-Live. In addition to that, it also fully supports HD DVD and includes logo certification for both formats to prove it.
If LG can keep the price at a sensible level — rumours of a US $1,000 (£479) RRP are encouraging — this is going to be the best choice for HD movie fans.
Despite oft-repeated claims that the Blu-ray vs HD DVD battle is similar to the VHS vs Betamax scuffle of the 80s, the latest news makes it appear that Sony might actually have backed a winner this time.
The most recent sales figures generated by Nielsen VideoScan, a US company responsible for measuring the sales of video products in retail stores, indicate that Blu-ray has stepped up its game and sold twice as many discs as HD DVD in the first two weeks of January. And although HD DVD has sold more units overall so far, it doesn’t sound like it will be able to maintain its lead for long.
It’s probably fair to assume that the PlayStation 3 has a lot to do with this sudden surge. According to sales figures, the PS3 sold 1 million units in its first six weeks on sale. We can only imagine that the lucky Americans who were presented with one on Christmas Day all immediately rushed out and bought something to play on their shiny new Blu-ray drive.
Looking at the Superman Returns sales rank on Amazon.com, the Blu-ray version was further up at 1,476, with the HD DVD edition languishing at 2,133. What surprised us was the discovery that the Blu-ray version was cheaper than the HD DVD — an interesting turn of events, given the early claims that HD DVD was the cheaper format to produce.
Could the war be over already? Not yet: the absolute numbers of all next-gen discs sold are still tiny compared to the established DVD format. But no doubt Sony will be jumping for joy with the thought of the enormous royalty payments it will receive if Blu-ray does ultimately succeed. -IM
In the HD DVD versus Blu-ray shin-kicking contest there are many victories claimed, most of them by the Blu-ray camp. This week is no exception, as the first two Pirates of the Caribbean movies on Blu-ray outsold The Matrix trilogy on HD DVD. The good news is that together, consumers spent about $2m on these films, which can only be viewed as good news for the hi-def formats.
According to US site The Hollywood Reporter, the Pirates movies sold a timber-shivering 47,000 units in the US, with the Matrix box set shifting around 14,000. Obviously there’s a price difference between the two products. There are two versions of the Matrix box set — one costs $64 (£32), while the other, better version goes for $74 (£37) — whereas the two Pirates movies together come to a grand total of $48 (£24).
Another point being made is that, quite simply, the second two Matrix movies utterly, utterly sucked and as such, no one in their right mind would admit they exist, let alone pay good money to own them. A fair point, we think you’ll agree. Although that doesn’t take into account the unremitted arrr-fulness of the second Pirates.
You could also make the point that The Matrix will sooner or later be available on Blu-ray, although possibly on a restricted number of players with full Blu-ray Java support. Whereas Pirates is unlikely to ever be available on HD DVD, because of Disney’s stubborn attitude. Anyone who remembers the ‘rental’ DVD format ‘DIVX‘ it supported will know it doesn’t have a brilliant track record with this stuff.
Crave doesn’t actually care which format claims victory, we just want this pointless bickering to end so we can settle down to some lovely high-definition jiggery-pokery in whatever format we like. -Ian Morris
Blu-ray discs are more resistant to damage caused by scratches and fingerprints than DVDs due to a TDK hard coat applied to the surface of the disc, according to proponents of the storage format.
Michael Hoog from the Blu-ray Disc Association and Michelle Garra from the Blu-ray Disc Working Group discuss disc durability with CNET.com.au at the official launch of Blu-ray in Australia:
What is the lifespan of a Blu-ray Disc?
Can Blu-ray really survive being scrubbed with steel wool?
Does having more data on Blu-ray compared to DVD increase the amount of damage a scratch causes?
What effect will online delivery of content have on physical media such as Blu-ray?
By the time JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released last year, it had already been pre-ordered by over 100,000 people on Amazon.co.uk. The question is — will the same happen with the much-hyped Blu-ray and HD DVD disc formats?
Online retailers Amazon.co.uk, Play.com and HMV.co.uk have now started accepting pre-orders for HD DVD and Blu-ray discs, bringing high definition another step closer to reality. HD DVD looks like it will be pipping Blu-ray by a few weeks, by releasing Saw 2, Gangs Of New York and various other titles at the end of September. The first Blu-ray movies will be released in mid-October, including thrilling titles such as Hostel, S.W.A.T. and Ultraviolet, according to the Play.com site.
The question remains, though: how many people are going to want to fork out upwards of £500 for a player, along with discs priced at twice, if not three times the DVD price? (And let’s face it, these aren’t exactly mouth-watering titles.) For example, while the standard edition of Hitch costs £5.99, the Blu-ray version is retailing for £13.99 on Play.com. Unless you’re a big movie fan with money falling out of your pockets, you’re likely to think twice before committing to Blu-ray or HD DVD. Then again, they always said there was no money in writing children’s books, and look what happened to JK Rowling… -IM
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has confirmed that its first batch of Blu-ray movies will arrive in the US on 20 June. The films, 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, Hitch and the House of Flying Daggers are set to coincide with the release of the first Blu-ray players, but are we wrong not to be excited?
House of Flying Daggers has been around as a high-definition sampler for ages, and the others have been getting heavy rotation in our DVD players for at least a year now, so the prospect of seeing them again doesn’t exactly fill us with glee. Neither does the fact that we’ll have to spend an inordinate amount of money for the pleasure of a few more pixels.
We’ve done the maths, and it’s not pretty. To join the HD bandwagon at its most basic level (720p) you’ll need to spend around $1,000 (£540) on a Blu-ray player and £700 on a 32-inch HDTV such as the Samsung LE32R41BD. To get the HDTV in its full 1080p glory, you’ll need to spend around £2,200 on a TV such as the 37-inch Philips 37PF9830 and $1,500 (£810) on a high-end Blu-ray player — bringing the total to £3,010.
So what do you get for your £1,240 or £3,010? In the case of 720p packages, you get movies that look just over two and a half times sharper than ordinary DVDs, or six times sharper in the case of 1080p. It hardly seems worth it, considering you can pick up a 32-inch non-HD television and DVD player for a quarter of the price of a 720p HDTV package, or a tenth of the price of a 1080p package.
It’s early days for Blu-ray, but we can’t help but think it’s overpriced for what it delivers. Prices will certainly fall over time, but the initial success of the format could be hampered by HD DVD, its less expensive rival. HD DVD players should retail for around $499 (£270), and the movies should also be cheaper than their Blu-ray rivals.
One thing is clear: there really isn’t room for two formats. VHS ate Betamax, and consumers will again decide whether it’s Blu-ray or HD DVD that gets the nod.
What are your thoughts on the impending high-definition format war? Leave us your comments in the forum by hitting the link below. -RR
The story that dominated CES this year was the standards war around high-definition DVD. This is no longer a phony war: both Blu-ray and HD DVD players will arrive in less than six months. What’s clear from talking to people at the show is that this format war is bad for everyone, most of all the consumer. Toshiba’s HD DVD player will cost $499 (£280), a Blu-ray machine even more, so it will be only the hardcore AV fan or the super-rich that will buy both. And with movie studios supporting different formats, that means that we’ll all be missing out on some of our favourite movies if we choose one over the other.
If we were judging the winning format on the quality of its press conference, then Blu-ray would easily win, with Men in Black director Barry Sonnenfeld and R&B singer John Legend jumping out to back the format in a convincing show. The Blu-ray format is supported by the AV world’s biggest names — Sony, Philips, Panasonic and Samsung all have players due for release. It also has the backing of more major movie studios than HD DVD, and with a higher disc capacity of 50GB, these content providers should have enough space for super-high quality movies and interactive extras.
Perhaps the biggest feather in Blu-ray’s cap is the support from PlayStation 3. Even though it’s a very poor quality player, the PlayStation 2 was a major catalyst for DVD movie sales, and the same could easily happen for Blu-ray. There’s no doubt that the PS3 will be the most popular way of watching Blu-ray movies, and even though there’s been no price announcement at CES, we’ve heard strong rumours of a $499 price point.
While HD DVD has more limited hardware and software support, it’s still putting up a very strong fight. It will be the first to launch (as soon as April), and it’s based on existing technology, so the players will be cheaper to buy. This also makes the format more attractive for content providers, because they can make HD DVD discs more cheaply than they can Blu-ray. For this reason, we may see smaller movie studios adopting HD DVD, and the lower production costs may encourage studios to release movies that may not sell in high numbers.
There was also a big boost to HD DVD thanks to Microsoft’s announcement of the Xbox 360 add-on HD DVD drive, which should offer the cheapest upgrade option for console owners. However, with little support from other mainstream AV manufacturers, Toshiba’s HD DVD format looks like it needs a few more friends to match up to the party that’s being held over at Blu-ray’s house.
Crave attended a CNET 2006 panel debate in which around 200 people from the industry voted on which format they thought would win. Blu-ray overwhelmed HD DVD, and it’s certainly difficult to argue with the manufacturers and movie studios that are supporting the format. While we agree that Blu-ray will eventually win, the Crave monkeys are such gadget addicts that we’ll probably end up buying an HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360 and a PS3 for Blu-ray playback. Roll on the high-definition revolution!
