DVDs remain the predominant medium for home entertainment. The technology is being refined and improved in a number of producers, which makes its future somewhat uncertain although it is quite clear that it remains one format or another. Many of you have probably heard about Blu-ray and HD DVD discs and their path as the next generation DVDs. The difference between the two is confusing many home buyers, so it is important to know what each of these new technologies have to offer, so you can take an informed decision about what to buy and when.
Let us start by discussing exactly what Blu-ray is. Chances are, if you have stepped into one of the leading home theater and electronics stores in the country, you've seen Blu-ray discs are advertised in the DVD section. In truth, the Blu-ray discs are somewhat like traditional DVDs, except that they have the ability to record, rewrite and playback high definition (HD) video, which is consistent with the increasing number of HD television find their way into home theaters each year. In contrast to traditional DVDs, Blu-ray discs contain nearly five times as much data. On a single layer disc can hold 25GB of data and 50GB can be stored on a dual layer disc. By being able to keep so much more, Blu-ray discs are able to easily save the advanced information necessary to provide content in HD format.
HD DVD offers the same technology, although it is unable to hold as much information as Blu-ray. Developed by Toshiba and NEC, it is able to meet three times as much data as traditional DVDs. Although it may be less than Blu-ray, data capacity HD DVDs still exceeds the amount needed to see big blockbusters in high definition. HD DVD also came out much earlier and was first noted to be the successor to the standard DVD format. HD-DVD is completely compatible with HD-DVD players, which again is compatible with HD TV. High definition technology is definitely the wave of the future of home entertainment and HD-DVD was the first disc technology formatted for it.
Both Blu-ray and HD DVD use a new type of laser that improves on what the standard DVD is used. While older, standard DVD models used a red laser to transfer content from the disc player to the screen, these two technologies use a blue-violet laser instead. The biggest advantage of using blue-violet lasers is that they have a shorter wavelength than red lasers. This means that they can focus with a much higher accuracy.
As can you see the differences between the two formats are very few, short, Blu-ray is able to hold more information than HD-DVD, but HD DVD has been around for much longer and still holding an adequate amount of all applications currently on the market. Both formats use blue-violet lasers to better read the information.
The biggest question right now is which format will end up on top. Blu-ray has the added advantage of being backed by some of the major actors in the movie business. Seven of the eight major Hollywood film studios have released movies on Blu-ray format recently, while five of them are releasing movies exclusively on Blu-ray. HD DVD has the backing of several major consumer electronics manufacturers, but has a some ground to make up with production companies. But, with the added thrill of being in production longer and get consumers more familiar with the name, it is very possible for them to pull ahead. The race to be the top home entertainment format will continue, and consumers will simply have to wait to see which one wins. In Meanwhile, the players available for both formats, and some manufacturers have players who meets both formats available.
~ Ben Anton, 2007
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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Blu-Ray: How HD-DVD And Blu-Ray Differ
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