HD-DVD -- why do they need to change the discs themselves?? (1 Viewer)

[John CW]

Ok, I'm completely baffled by this, so maybe somebody can explain it to me:

For the new HD-DVD format they've spent time and money developing a new "blu-ray" format for the discs themselves?

Storage space on DVD's is not a problem, HD transfers of movies can EASILY fit onto old DVD-ROMS -- with the right codec.

MPEG-2, the codec currently used, is years out of date; The compression algorithms used today mean that we can store higher quality media in smaller files... including fitting them onto the original 8.5GB DVDs we've got now.

For a quick example: See the Terminator 2: Ultimate Edition, it included a high definition version of the film along with the normal MPEG-2 version.

The only thing that needs to be changed in your current DVD player are the chips used for the decoding. More memory, custom made chips and bigger bandwidth and I think you could have a HD-DVD Plyaer machine for $800 right now!

Obviously it's a bit much to start off with, but the price will come down (as it always does with techology). But adding this new "blue-laser" techology too will surely make it even more expensive to the consumer... so why are they doing it?

Thanks for any explanations! I'd love to understand this!

- John

 

[Andrew Bunk]

I'm no expert on this subject, but wouldn't compressing more on a disc cause more compression artifacts when viewing on large screens?

 

[Ed St. Clair]

MONEY!
If Sony were to use any other company's propriety HD system. They would have to pay said company for each & every HD unit they built and sold.

 

[MikeMcNertney]

DVDs are not actually enough to hold really high quality HD. Yes they have been making a few select releases of WMV encoded HD material, but there are a few problems with this. First of all, it is so highly compressed that the hardware requirements for decodng are extremely high. Second, it doesn't quite meet the quality standards that people want from a next-generation technology. Third, there is demand in general for a larger disk format (such as for PC use), so it makes sense to tie the two together.

FYI, one of the new HD disk standards (HD-DVD) has already determined that WMV9 will be a supported coded. The other (Blu-ray) is strongly considering it. So with the new formats we get the best of all worlds... newer codecs and more space for higher quality video and sound.

 

[Harold Southard]

Here you go.

http://www.guru3d.com/newsitem.php?id=978

I am looking forward to this. I will buy one (if the wife lets me. ) The T2 in HD looks great. I watched it on my laptop. My screen res is only 1600x1200, but it still looked nice.

Here is the website for the maker.

http://www.vinc.com/news.asp?page=newReleases

 

[Michael Qualen]

First of all, that was the Extreme Version, not the Ultimate version...

Second of all, the hi res WM9 version is placed on the 2nd disc along with some extras. The "ordinary" film is not on the same disc as the WM9 version...

 

[Michael Qualen]

First of all, that was the Extreme Version, not the Ultimate version...

Second of all, the hi res WM9 version is placed on the 2nd disc along with some extras. The "ordinary" film is not on the same disc as the WM9 version...

 

[Harold Southard]

"First of all, that was the Extreme Version, not the Ultimate version..."

Yes that is right, but I think that is what he meant.

 

[Harold Southard]

"First of all, that was the Extreme Version, not the Ultimate version..."

Yes that is right, but I think that is what he meant.

 

[John CW]

And your point is...?

 

[John CW]

And your point is...?

 

[Michael Qualen]

Uhm...my point ? Simply that its not true that both the normal version and the WM9 version fits on one DVD...is it clear now ?

Maybe I got your meaning wrong...I read it like you said that both a hi res and a normal would fit on ONE dvd...maybe thats not what you meant ?

 

[Michael Qualen]

Uhm...my point ? Simply that its not true that both the normal version and the WM9 version fits on one DVD...is it clear now ?

Maybe I got your meaning wrong...I read it like you said that both a hi res and a normal would fit on ONE dvd...maybe thats not what you meant ?

 

[Kwang Suh]

Considering when DVDs were invented, they contain a ton of space. Lots of people already have terabyte storage in their PCs; HD-DVD is actually way behind the curve in terms of storage space.

 

[Kwang Suh]

Considering when DVDs were invented, they contain a ton of space. Lots of people already have terabyte storage in their PCs; HD-DVD is actually way behind the curve in terms of storage space.