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Upgrading: Choosing Between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray

If you're anything like me, you remember the switch from good old VHS tapes to DVD. You already had what you considered a nice collection of your favorite flicks from the 80s and 90s on tape, and were forcefully shoved into accepting a whole new format-- the DVD. Giving up VHS tapes was a painful sort of experience, like losing a trusted pet. Now that we've come to love and trust the DVD, we're being forced (or, really, slowly nudged) into going though that whole painful experience again. But this time, instead of having a clear heir to the film format throne, we have to choose between two: High Definition DVD (HD DVD) and Blu-ray.

If, like me, you spend more time on internet dating sites like Datepad than you do on tech-related sites, you are probably a little unclear as to the differences between these two formats. And so was I before I got to work researching this article. But if you're going to be forced to upgrade, you need to know which format to choose?

First, let's start with an overview. In essence, HD DVD and Blu-ray are high definition disc formats, and though they both look like DVDs, they're actually incompatible with each other-- most Blu-ray players don't play HD DVDs, and vice versa. Both are vying for the opportunity to take the spot of the traditional DVD on the market. And while both formats have their positive and negatives, whether they win or lose a spot on your TV stand is really dependant on one thing: the number of movies that are available in each format.

Blu-ray

We'll talk about the forerunner first. Blue-ray discs store both video and data, and are read with a blue colored laser (hence the name). Because of this special laser, more data can be read and stored on a disc. This means that, though the discs look pretty much like a DVD, they can store as much as 25 GB (single layer) or 50 GB (dual layer) of information. Which means there's plenty of room on each disc for high-definition video.

HD DVD

HD DVD stands for High Definition (or High Density) DVD. This technology was developed by Toshiba, and works similarly to a traditional DVD. However, they do not play on traditional DVD players, and store more information in order to provide high definition video. A single-layer HD DVD can store up to 15 GB of data, which is less than the Blu-ray, but still plenty for high definition video.

Which Should You Choose?

Both Blu-ray and HD DVD are better in many ways than the traditional DVDs currently lining your living room shelves. They are able to store much more information, enabling producers to provide higher audio and video quality. And while they seem quite similar, there are several major differences. A lot of it has to do with wavelengths and a bunch of techno-babble that I don't quite understand. But you'll also find differences in simpler features, such as region coding. Blu-ray discs come coded with 3 regions (traditional DVDs use 8 region codes), while HD DVDs come region-code free.

Despite their differences, these two media disc formats are quite comparable-- quality and price are similar, though HD DVD players do tend to be a bit cheaper. But the big decision maker lies in how many movies you can watch on them. In the battle for leadership in the high-definition disc format market, major film companies were forced to choose sides, signing exclusive distribution contracts with either the HD DVD people or the Blu-ray people. And, unfortunately for HD DVD, it looks like Blu-ray is winning out. Signed up to distribute their movies exclusively through Blu-ray are Sony, MGM, Columbia Tristar, Disney, Touchstone, Miramax, Fox, and Warner. HD DVD has only signed on about three major film companies-- meaning their movie offerings are scant in comparison.

If you want to choose your favorite high definition disc format according to technical specs and all that jazz, you're probably better qualified to determine which is best than I am. But if you're looking to watch all your favorite films in high definition, there's really one clear choice: the Blu-ray player. Because what's the point of having some fancy disc player if you don't have any great movies to watch on it?

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