Did you know your DVD player is obsolete?
Well, maybe not completely obsolete, but it's no longer the best video playback medium available for consumers.
It seems like only yesterday (though it's been about a decade) that DVD's stormed onto the video world, pushing VHS tapes off store shelves more quickly than nearly anyone could have imagined. But as good as DVD's are they can't drive high definition televisions to their maximum capabilities and that makes a compelling argument that DVD’s should go high definition as well.
I discovered this, much to my chagrin (and delight, since I'm an insufferable video snob) when I ran the Lord of the Rings The Return of the King side by side in both HD pay per view and regular DVD. Since DVD’s only offer 480 pixels of resolution (from the top to the bottom of your screen) while HD has up to 1080, the high definition version made the DVD look as if I was watching through a screen door. And that wasn't even particularly great HD, since my provider tends to compress the signal.
Imagine how your favorite movie would look in real HD, not compressed, in all its glory and displayed to the limits of your new HDTV set!
That's the theory behind high definition video discs, which aren't affected by the bandwidth issues that can cause transmitted pictures to be "dumbed down". Therefore, a high definition disc could theoretically offer better quality than the best HDTV broadcast – and, except for the warnings, lawyer screens and trailers that afflict high definition discs just as they do DVD's, without commercial interruptions.
The good news is that high definition DVD's are available now, the prices of the players are dropping like a stone and the number of titles you can buy and/or rent is increasing rapidly.
Alas, not all is good news. The consumer electronics industry is repeating an unfortunate home video history, and you as a consumer are caught in the middle. There's a format war happening right now, a throwback to the old VHS versus betamax battles when two competing formats caused consumers confusion, forced video stores to stock twice as many copies of half as many titles, and generally messed things up for everyone.
Currently, the consumer electronics industry is punching itself out over whether the high def disc of choice will be HD DVD or Blu-Ray. HD-DVD is being pushed by Toshiba, NEC, and Sanyo and its major software proponents are Universal, Warner Brothers and Paramount and the brands they distribute (such as Dreamworks). Blu-ray is Sony’s darling and has the support of Samsung, Panasonic, Sony Pictures (not surprisingly), Fox, Warner Brothers, MGM and others.
Players of either persuasion are "backward compatible", so you won’t have to throw out your existing DVD’s (just your player!) and may even up convert them to approximate – though not equal – the high definition standard of 1080 pixels.
Blu-ray has a higher storage capability: 50 gigabytes compared with 30 gigabytes for HD DVD, on discs the same physical size as a DVD or CD. Compare that capacity with a DVD's nearly nine gigabytes or a CD's 700 megabytes and it's obvious that the new technologies are a huge leap forward.
And of course the formats are incompatible, so an HD DVD won't play in a Blu-ray player and vice versa.
To get the full 1080p picture quality (which is better than broadcast HDTV signals) you'll need to hook the high def disc player to your HDTV via an HDMI cable. This is a combined video/audio cord that passes pure digital signals from the disc player to the TV and/or audio system.
Audio delights….
High Def DVD's of either persuasion also can offer better sound quality as well, with Dolby TrueHD, dts-HD and uncompressed PCM upping the ante over the already-spectacular Dolby Digital and dts surround formats offered on DVD's. As you might expect, a new audio receiver or preamp is required to exploit the new audio choices properly, but this equipment is also becoming readily available in the marketplace. And doesn't it just figure that you'll need one?
Well, you don't need one, really; the high def discs will still play back their audio via your current audio system (assuming you can play DVD's now); you just won't get the extra oomph.
I should also mention the gaming systems that are helping drive both formats: Microsoft's Xbox 360 is HD DVD based, while Sony's PlayStation 3, not surprisingly, exploits Blu-ray. Both systems can be used as movie players as well as gaming devices.
Both formats are/will be offered as computer disc drives as well, in the same way as CD's and DVD's made the leap from home theater to home office. Toshiba already markets notebooks with HD drives, and Sony's Vaio series can be had with Blu-ray.
Which format is better? It depends more on the quality of the individual disc and player than it does on the format and, all things being equal, it shouldn't matter which you choose. The danger is that you'll end up with a white elephant if "the wrong one" dies out.
It sucks. When VHS and beta were battling it out, most studios supported both formats. But the opposite seems to be happening now. Paramount recently dropped its support for Blu-ray and now offers only HD DVD, while Sony, Fox, MGM and Disney offer only Blu-ray. Right now, Warner is straddling the fence by releasing discs in both formats but there are rumors that they may drop one format soon, and the scuttlebutt is that it'll be HD DVD. As of this writing it's only speculation, however, so don't take it to the bank.
But even in the midst of the unfortunate format war there's some good news. LG has introduced a hybrid player that will play both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, though apparently without full functionality on the HD DVD side, and Samsung also announced such a player for the beginning of 2008. Both should give consumers the opportunity to jump onto the high definition disc bandwagon without risking getting burned – though they're both relatively expensive.
Meanwhile, Wal-Mart has announced a sub $100 HD DVD player just in time for Christmas and, though they haven't yet reached that level yet, prices of Blu-ray players are dropping quickly as well.
If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on the Blu-ray side, even though the players are still more expensive. In my never humble opinion, it's the availability of the software titles that'll drive the market and it appears that Blu-ray has an advantage here – at least for now.
On the other hand, two formats could co-exist just as multiple platforms survive in the video gaming world. But it'll take the studios offering their wares in both formats for that to happen and, as mentioned above, the opposite seems to be happening.
And you can bet Sony will fight tooth and nail to avoid releasing its studio's titles on HD DVD.
I'm tempted advise you to let the electronics giants beat each other up on their own dime and, once there's a winner, jump on board later – by which time there'll be more affordable players and many more titles. But then I started playing with a PlayStation 3 and using it as a Blu-ray player and it spoiled me so much that I can't bear to go back. There's nothing quite like driving your TV to its limits!
I guess that means I've chosen my side. I hope it doesn't blow up in my face like Laser disc did!
If you do opt to sit this one out, fear not! There's an abundance of conventional DVD players available that will up convert DVD's to near high definition quality. They aren't as good as real HD but, depending on the model, they can be excellent – good enough to let you thumb your nose at Hollywood and the electronics companies until they come to their senses.
Copyright 2007 Jim Bray
TechnoFile.com
