- Post
- #143928
- Topic
- Blu-Ray Attacks Microsoft, Microsoft Bites Back
- Link
- https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/143928/action/topic#143928
- Time
Quote
Originally posted by: GundarkHunter
Who besides me has actually read the article on Slashdot?
Not many I would guess. Here it is for you lazy people:
Quote
Blu-Ray Attacks Microsoft, Microsoft Bites Back
Posted by Zonk on Friday September 30, @09:05AM
QT writes "Ars Technica has been following this week's next-gen DVD dramas closely. First, there's extensive coverage of the reasons why Microsoft backed HD-DVD, which was primarily inspired by mandatory support for copying discs to computers. The BDA, however, countered with an attack on Microsoft's reasons, and Microsoft returned fire. Richard E. Doherty, Microsoft's head of the media entertainment technology convergence group, said that 50GB Blu-ray disc are in fact many years away. Is MS playing games, or is Sony misrepresenting just how far along BD-ROM really is?" From the article: "HD DVD is proven to deliver 30GB capacity today, with the potential to deliver even greater capacity. The 50GB claim for BD-ROM discs is unproven and will not be available for many years to come, based on discussions with major Japanese and US replicators. Replicators not only do not have test lines running, they cannot even pre-order the equipment to begin evaluating this disc. They cannot judge the cost of these discs, or even whether they can be manufactured at all. Major replicators can mass manufacture 30GB HD DVD discs today and it's well understood that these discs will cost significantly less to manufacture than the lower-capacity 25GB BD discs." We previously discussed this topic when the announcement came out.
The fact is Blu-ray is boasting 50GB capacity "at launch," but there is no launch date specified. 50GB discs have been acheived, but only in lab tests. Also from blu-ray.com:
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What's the difference between Blu-ray and HD-DVD?
BD-ROM
Storage capacity (single-layer) 25GB
Storage capacity (dual-layer) 50GB
Laser wavelength 405nm
Numerical aperture (NA) 0.85
Protection layer 0.1mm
Data transfer rate (1x) 36.0Mbps
Data transfer rate (movie application) 54.0Mbps (1.5x)
Video compression MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC VC-1
HD-DVD-ROM
Storage capacity (single-layer) 15GB
Storage capacity (dual-layer) 30GB
Laser wavelength 405nm
Numerical aperture (NA) 0.65
Protection layer 0.6mm
Data transfer rate (1x) 36.0Mbps
Data transfer rate (movie application) 36.55Mbps
Video compression MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC VC-1
Yes, it would be nice if Blu-ray won or if HD-DVD had the specs Blu-Ray does. I think one reason why companies are pushing to get next-gen dvd technology out is to make up for the money what they've been investing in it the past few years. I'm in the same boat as GundarkHunter. It seems a little too soon for a new media format. I don't own an HDTV right now (though that will change in the next 6 months I hope), and I'm just starting to get into burning on DL DVD media.
People still buy and watch movies on VHS. What are these people going to think when they go to Wal-Mart to find that their tapes are being taken off the shelves to make way for the new DVD media? They will definitely not be ready to adopt a new format, and rioting will ensue I'm sure.
But damn, would it be nice to author a DVD with 54Mbs of bandwidth at your disposal, instead of the seemingly-archaic 10 we have to work with now...