Curious about HD-DVD and Blu-Ray? Well wait until you hear about HVD... (1 Viewer)

[Tom De Rosa]

Here's a review for a

NeuNeo HVD208 High Definition DVD Player

Inexpensive, but no software.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

If Blu-ray and HD DVD are headed for a unified format, and that results in a delayed release of about two years then there will be an even better chance that HVD might have a far greater impact on pre-recorded HD titles than what is currently being predicted. If that is the case, studios will have almost no limitation to what they would be able to offer regarding the amount of content, resolution, compression, special features, etc.

Now that seems worth hoping for!

At the very least, I will be happy to have an HVD unit both as a TV recorder, and as a PC storage device - ASAP! Terabyte drives are still much to expensive, and unwieldy when used in a multiple RAID server set-up. Not only that, but they will always be limited by their rotational speed thus not allowing the ultra high bandwidth that HVD is capable of.

All I can say is I wish it were available today, as the wait is frustrating me knowing they already have working prototypes.

 

[Mike Wadkins]

The companies that currently make up the HVD Alliance are:
Optware

FujiFilm

CMC Magnetics

Nippon Paint

Pulstec Industrial

Toagosei


^^ big content providers those

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

I would hope by now that for most folks following the Blu-ray HD DVD debate they would have the understanding why at this point there would be no film related content providers publicly involved in HVD as of yet.

It would be unreasonable to expect them to show an alliance to a new technology when they only recently have announced their support of Blu-ray, HD DVD, or both.

However, business is business, and if a unified format delays the release, and if by chance HVD is at that time prepared to offer a product with similar costs associated with it, then try not be completely shocked if/when studios announce support of HVD. After all, you do not have to be a member of the alliance to support HVD, and I have it on very good authority that at least three of the major studios are evaluating HVD prototypes.

On the other hand, I certainly will not be shocked if the studios do not support HVD should circumstances be different, such as the failure of a planned unified format, or an earlier release of a unified format, or a unified format with significantly less costs associated with it than HVD.

The odds of the studios jumping on the HVD bandwagon within the next couple years are currently extremely slim, but there is more hope now that there are rumors of a long delayed launch date for a unified format.

Regardless, I'll be happy to have HVD even without studio support as it will still be a far superior recorder than either Blu-ray or HD DVD, and will likely be easy enough to store my DVD collection on for easy access and as a convenient cost effective storage solution.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

(wrong thread) :b

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

RECENT HVD RELATED NEWS:

• Bayer MaterialScience is now developing polymers for HVD.
• InPhase just completed their third round of VC financing and apparently it went very well for them. Nelson Diaz, CEO of InPhase, was quoted as saying that the amount was "a lot larger than the second round".

Diaz estimates that the third round financing will get InPhase to profitability, and that the money will go to product development so that a holographic storage product reaches the market by the fall of 2006.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

At this point...I say we make it a 3-party HD format war...

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

I'll be happy just to have Blu-ray for pre-recorded HD material and HVD for storage, but the wait is excruciatingly painful...

2006 simply can not get here fast enough!

 

[Scott Simonian]

I have been following the holographic storage medium since I read an article about it in Widescreen Review, years ago. I think I still have the issue hidden somewhere. As much as HVD sounds superior over Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. I doubt it will see the consumer market.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

Why?

After all, both Optware and InPhase have had working prototypes for over a year now, and InPhase has already begun to sell production models to developers. In addition, they already announced plans for releasing a consumer product by late 2006. Optware also has plans to release a consumer HVD product by 2007. Both these companies currently have the financial and developmental support necessary to complete production plans.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

From yesterday's issue of DVD Insider

 

[Brian-W]

And every year for the last 20 years, the same writers are always willing to "bet" on the holographic horse that is sure to trump existing/newer technologies...

vaporware.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

Thanks for that Brian. Would you share with us who those same writers were that said this every year for the last twenty years, or was this just an attempt to stir the pot?

BTW: Vaporware by definition: A term used to describe a piece of software that does not exist.

Unfortunately the word vaporware has been so loosely used that now it seems people use it to describe any product they do not believe in that has yet to be sold commercially.

In this case, HVD not only has several working prototypes, but is already in the hands of third party developers.

In addition, there is already a strong alliance of HVD developers with enough capitol to finish the development process.

In what way can you compare what is happening today with what early developers were trying to do twenty years ago? The situation is very different today.

Coincidentally, some called blue laser optics 'vaporware' just two years ago.

Of course, anything can happen in the high paced world of cutting edge technology, but this close to the starting gate I would say there is less than a 5% chance holographic drives wont be available to consumers in the next four years, with a slim chance of something being available as early as 2007.

 

[Brian-W]

Vaporware, yes, I'll grant you that your definition is correct. However, I also don't believe it's inaccurate to describe something that has been publicly touted, yet cannot be purchased.

Dig through the archives on this board, remember back in 1997-1999, Constellation 3D? They had working prototypes of this kind of storage. Where are they now? Gone. Long gone. Nothing shipped.

IBM back in the late 80s and early 90s was also touting Holographic storage, and granted it was still lab based, more a look into the future, here we are nearly fifteen years later and this technology is still being talked about with nary a shipping product.

I'm not trying to stir the pot, but these (and many people are guilty of it) "wait until you see (insert technology)" threads as if it's going to almost overnight change a market starts to become absurd. There are a million different factors, one being manufacturer acceptance (don't have that, you don't have nothing), let alone a product that is actually shipping.

I can easily predict that in 5 years time, there will be some quantum leap in storage. Anyone can.

I've been reading about Holographic storage since the early 80s. I was shocked to see it went even further back than that. We still have nothing, zero, ziltch, nada.

Be realistic, HVD isn't going to ship in a year, let alone 3 or 4, and Blu-Ray or HD-DVD is where it will be at. And I'm not talking just video, I'm talking about computer storage too.

The companies above claim they'll ship in six months. Let's see in six months.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

I am still not seeing how you can find similarities with what is happening right now with holographic media to what was happening twenty years ago, even five years ago. The differences are massive.

Just so I understand, which companies claimed that?

 

[Tony Stark]

I have been following HS for years.

Inphase has demonstrated a prototype for at least three years. (Infact, their web page is almost identical to what it was in 2002. I think only the news updates have changed).

You can find articles back "then" describing the end all storage solution. Fast foward to today and you will see that they have unvieled another storage system. Again - it's in a testing phase.

Anyway, if they couldn't get their device (and media) to the market place in 36 months, then clearly something is wrong. Could be the laser alignment mechanism, could be the recording media changing its properties when illuminated - but something is wrong.

Sending the devices to developers shows some promise, and yes, they did raise $32.1M in venture capital (April-05) vs $6M (in 2002).

But...

If Inphase is so close to producing a real item, then they would be seriously considered for the next video format, would have seriously been courted by the Sony's, Kodak, Pioneer, ect., they would be working in committee on encrytpion and copy protection, they would stop submitting press releases and start work on a heavily guarded company proprietary player, and would have contracts in place for media manufacting.

I do not see this happening.

I can't put my finger on it. InPhase 'seems' to close to something. But something as they say 'just aint right'. Kind of like if you take a half step towards a goal you never get there.

 

[Brian-W]

Well, on Optware's FAQ page they list:

"When is the drive for business and professionals released?

A sample will be released in the beginning of 2005."

This would imply for business and professional use, with consumer use listed as 2006. However, I'm not aware (in doing some checking) of any drive available for sale to professionals from Optware. Even a professional drive available for sale would mean there is something tangible that is working and can be purchased. But there isn't, even by the date they listed.

Additionally, on InPhase's website, there is zero mention of any consumer electronics company signing on board with this technology from a hardware perspective. As I said above, no hardware manufacturing support, no dice.

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

As mentioned before, even Sony already has a HVD product, which they bought from Optware and are using it as part of a design for a high capacity HD recorder.

You both use words like

• "Vaporware"
• "won't see the light of day"
• "no dice"
• "pure marketing"
• "this reads of snake oil all the way around"
• "clearly something is wrong"

So I think the only thing that is truly clear is that neither of you believe holographic storage will be available to consumers any time soon, if ever based on your disappointment that the technology did not happen sooner.

Personally, I think you are underestimating the vast differences between then and now, but you are certainly entitled to your opinion.

I’ll be keeping my eye on this technology and reporting any significant updates as they become available because for me, I believe this is going to happen sooner than you realize and will have a major impact on the PC industry and media recording and storage markets.

 

[Jerome Grate]

Here we talking about a format being succeeded before it's release, YIKES.

DVD
EVD
FVD
HVD
M
O
U
S
E

Egads, I love technology, but do it for the consumer not for the money grabbing studios who want to get the most of the format and give the consumer the least. Interesting read though thanks for the info.
PEACE.

 

[Carlos Garcia]

Wouldn't it be great if only so we could back up our entire regular DVD library (Let's say 3,000 movies and TV shows) on just 10 or so HDV discs? That would sure do away with having to own numerous 300 disc carousel players, don'tcha think?