Over at Engadget they posted a story about the specifications between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats, and they are quite interesting. Mainly they list the members and board on each side of the fence, and that gives an indication as to who is “in the lead”. Right now, I’d say we’re looking Blu-Ray…but I won’t bet on that, just remember VHS vs Betamax.
There’s a quick summary of the text up front…
Blu-ray discs are more expensive, but hold more data
…and they use a lot of technical speak and history to get there, which is interesting, but I thought the potted version would be better. So what are those sizes?
Tested Capacity
BR: 100Gb \ HD: 45Gb
Could the “Advanced Access Content System (AACS)” which is quoted under each system be the security system that the guys in the Audio Edition were talking about?
There are a couple of other interesting facts:
Even though Apple sits on the Blu-ray Board of Directors, its DVD Studio Pro software supports authoring HD DVD media.
Blu-ray, unlike HD DVD, requires a hard coating on its discs because it’s 0.5m closer to the surface. The polymer coating it uses, called Durabis, was developed by TDK and is supposedly extremely resilient and fingerprint resistant.
The Java platform is mandatory on Blu-ray as it’s the standard for menus/multimedia (i.e. all Blu-ray systems must support JVM)
Though Microsoft has not officially sided with either format, it has a number of long-standing IP cross-licensing deals with Toshiba. HD DVD systems will run Windows CE; the standard is currently the only next-gen optical standard with announced support in Longhorn, and an HD DVD version of the Xbox 360 is rumored for the future.
The first consumer Blu-ray device in the US market is expected to be the PlayStation 3.
I think that bottom line is the killer one. Within the year Blu-Ray will be through consumers homes like wildfire and playing DVD’s and games together. It’s also interesting that Blu-Ray will support Java, are they forward thinking there for mobility? Thoughts?
