The BBC has an article on the two competing high-definition DVD formats that are now available for consumers: HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. The latter certainly has the nicer name, but since when has that mattered? Besides, it’s Sony and I just don’t trust them.
HD-DVD certainly has the edge at the momen, it’s available in 15GB (single layer) and 30GB (dual layer) sizes, which is more than enough for HD video and, more importantly, it’s cheaper (current units are half the price of Blu-Ray) as are manufacturing costs. Blu-Ray is more advanced and not only supports larger sizes now (25GB for a single layer, 50GB for a dual layer disc), but with multi-layer support, can go as high as 120GB per disc. Both are being pushed hard, with Microsoft due to launch an HD-DVD player for the Xbox 360 and Blu-Ray coming built-in on the PlayStation 3 (MS obviously joined the HD-DVD camp just to help be a thorn in Sony’s side and give them similar specs to the PS3).
As a consumer I’m not picking one until I’m forced to, preferably after the format wars are over. I get the feeling they may never be though and, as with recordable DVDs, we’ll just end up with machines that can play them both.
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