Facts about the raging competition between Blu-ray disc and HD-DVD

With the continuous demand on market, it is still undecided for which format will eventually win. But what does it really take to be the number one?. For the past years, we all witnessed how HD DVD format embraced the market. Its precise capability (technically speaking) really caught the eye of many people, making it be a futuristic technology for home theater equipment. Lately, the Blu-ray format was introduced and it really gave HD DVD a tough competition on the market. The said format enhanced some of the specifications acquired by the HD DVD. With my previous article, I stated valid comparison between the two devices as far as its technical specification is concern and as you review it you can already judge whether which format will win.

Blockbuster chooses Blu ray

Blockbuster has decided to stock only Blu-ray discs in the vast majority of its nationwide locations.although HD DVD titles will continue to be offered online and in the 250 (out of 1,450) stores that have been testing both formats since last year.

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European Commission looks into Blu-ray studio agreements

At the urging of some in the HD DVD camp, the European Commission has sent letters to many of the Hollywood studios asking them to produce any correspondence relating to their backing of the Blu-ray format. Of the major studios, Sony, Disney, Fox, Lions Gate, and MGM only release titles on Blu-ray, while only Universal is exclusive to HD DVD.

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Paramount, Dreamworks dropping Blu-ray in favor of HD DVD exclusivity

Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks Animation which started off HD DVD only before deciding to go both ways have officially announced plans to release movies exclusively on HD DVD, dropping Blu-ray support entirely. This means that hits like Transformers, Shrek the Third and Blades of Glory won't follow Mission: Impossible III as cross-format releases when they debut this holiday season.

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The Pricing Strategy

"Either format can produce a very good image," says Richard Dean, director of technical business development at THX Inc. "To me, it boils down to the price of the equipment and the availability of content."

He explained that the consumer will not notice any real quality difference between the format, but he also says HD-DVD may end up with an advantage if it can under price Blu-Ray discs and players. "I think that's going to play a very large role." As for Blu-Ray's greater storage capacity, "more space is always an advantage”, Dean says, "but the question is how much more space is really needed”.

"The studios will be the kingmakers here”, he says. Ultimately, consumers may struggle to figure out what kind of players and media to purchase during the next couple of years. "The most important benefit to the consumer is that the HD-DVD players that we'll be introducing to the market this year will be fully backward compatible with the current DVDs that are already in consumers' homes. With the Blu-Ray formats' backward compatibility isn't so simple,It would be best if we went to market without two formats”, says Panasonic's Doherty. "We're very disappointed that we're in a format war." As the battle heats up in 2005 and well into 2006, consumers will decide which format will succeed.

HD DVD vs. Blu-ray Disc

DVD is very successful, and would definitely be around for quite sometime. However, as implemented. It is not a high definition format instead its just a typical output video. With the new technology it is now being enhanced to provide people the best quality of entertainment they ever wanted.

All the actions, all the adventures that we have right now can definitely make you say I've got everything I want in an entertainment. But what if there is something your eyes is missing, something perfect, with 6 times resolution of standard dvd. You are about to enter to entire the new world. Collect clips of your favorite scene while the movie is playing. Go behind the scene. Change camera angle High def fully connected online that allows you to download contents. The future of high definition is here. Everything yow want just got a whole lot better, spectacular high definition feature. You can now own the movies you want with the entire new level of interactivity. Below are the difference between Blu ray disc and HD DVD

Blu-ray Disc

It is the next generation optical packaged media disc format. It was named as Blu-ray for the reasons that the laser beam which reads the data from the new discs is blue violet instead of red. This so called blue laser disc technology has a shorter wave length than a red laser, that makes it possible to read data with greater precision. The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video, as well as storing large amounts of data. Great privilege of watching

HD DVD

The HD (High-Definition) DVD standard is designed to be the successor to the standard DVD format, and is derived from the same underlying technologies. It is a next-generation optical disc format, featuring a significant increase in storage capacity facilitating support for high definition (HD) video and audio. The HD DVD name is derived from its origination as a high-definition extension of the DVD optical disc format.

Technical Specification

Parameters	Blu-ray Disc	HD DVD
Storage capacity	25GB single layer 50GB double layer	15GB single layer 30GB double layer
Laser wavelength	405nm (blue laser)	405nm (blue laser)
Disc diameter	120mm	120mm
Disc thickness	1.2mm	1.2mm
Protection layer	0.1mm	0.6mm
Hard coating	Yes	No
Data transfer rate (data)	36.0Mbps (1x)	36.55Mbps (1x)
Data transfer rate (video/audio)	54.0Mbps (1.5x)	36.55Mbps (1x)
Video resolution (max)	1920 x 1080 (1080p)	1920 x 1080 (1080p)
Video bit rate (max)	40.0Mbps	28.0Mbps

High-Def Market share

HD DVD and Blu ray disc Sales Comparison as of 7/22/07

From the average consumer's stand-point, there is little difference between the two technologies. Both formats offer support for HD audio and video and they both have the potential to emerge as the sole successor to DVD. Some of the major differences are BD's higher production costs and superior storage capacity of 23.3GB per layer vs HD's 15GB.

Other Interesting facts:

• The Nichi Corporation, who holds the design patents to the Blu-ray's laser system, sits as an associate member of the HD DVD Promotion Group.

• Even though Apple sits on the Blu-ray Board of Directors, its DVD Studio Pro software supports authoring HD DVD media.

• Blu-ray, unlike HD DVD, requires a hard coating on its discs because it's 0.5m closer to the surface. The polymer coating it uses, called Durabis, was developed by TDK and is supposedly extremely resilient and fingerprint resistant.

• The Java platform is mandatory on Blu-ray as it's the standard for menus/multimedia (i.e. all Blu-ray systems must support JVM)

• DVD version of the Xbox 360 is rumored for the future.

Gadgets and appliances for home entertainment

"It is appallingly obvious our technology has exceeded our humanity" - Albert Einstein"

As technology became part of our lives the desires for it are getting a up a bit higher. Entertainment is really captivating the hearts of many people. We can either classify ourselves in to what would best fit for us whether in music, video, or gamings. The battle between the technology and the humanities does not end up just there. The economy is becoming the subject of the this system. Yesterday was Science, but for today and in the future, it is technology. For the computer savvies, everything should be portable. What they have on their computers must get out from there and bring the entertainment anywhere they want. With the help of technology, all these things are possible. To cite few examples, here are the latest trends of technology when it comes to entertainment gadgets.

I believe everyone knows an IPod, and it is obvious that it was made for people who are inclined to music. It was developed by Macintosh and really hit the market and almost everyone is craving to have one of this, for some reason it is a fad nowadays. The competition on the market is getting higher, the Microsoft unveil their newest Zune player and it is quite the same as IPod but they have enhanced its features to appear better. With Zunes media player, it is possible to convert DVD format and have it stored on its drive.

For those who haven't heard about the Blu Ray technology, it came from the fact that the laser beam which reads the data from the new discs is blue violet, instead of red which is used for current DVDs and CDs. This new blue laser is at the heart of Blu ray disc technology and have a shorter wavelength than a red laser, which makes it possible to read data with greater precision. Apparently the Blu-ray versus HD DVD battle isn’t enough, another contender came at hand it is futuristic DVD, the HD VMD or what they call DVD ultima. It was developed by London-based New Medium Enterprises which brings 1080p video to High Definition TV screens for less than $200, which would potentially make it the least expensive. It is capable of holding more data than traditional DVDs because of the inclusion of two more data layers, where each layer gives the discs an extra 30GB of storage space.

Introducing the latest DVD player, Harman Kardon recently also unveiled their brand new Cinespecial 29, bringing a high end DVD player and the uber powerful AVR 350 A/V receiver in a totally new industrial design. The 7.1 channel AVR 350 receiver comes with a couple of HDMI 1.2a inputs that offer the ability to send and receive video signals in full HD 1080p. Other features include the EzSet/EQ automatic-calibration system, A/V Sync Delay for synchronizing audio and video signals, as well as the integration of The Bridge interface with expanded iPod audio and video playback, docking station, and remote control capability.

Want something different for your DVD player? Lets take a walk on KiSS 1600 DVD player, this player invokes a different experience since it comes with the ability to stream media over a wired Ethernet connection or through the integrated WiFi adapter something that no other player can't do. You must first install the sharing application in all computers that you want to stream from before getting started. Features include a USB socket behind, DVD upscaling capability via HDMI or component.

It is amazing how technology works in our lives. Once, it will just knock on our doors and tell us "hey I got new gadgets available for you". In different area of our house we can place our gadgets may it be in kitchen, dining area, and in our Salas. The continuous development of new gadgets are giving people a heart beat of owning one.

The Emanating Industry of Home Theater Equipments

People have been talking a lot about DVD's, honestly it took me a little while to know more about this technology. Digital Versatile Disc or simply DVD is on the run together with the computer industry in todays raging pace of technology. We can trace its history on the evolution of home entertainment equipments and be familiarize on the movements of the technology in to becoming a home theater feel.

The Camera was the first media device that was used to gather collections of significant photos on every occasions and gatherings. It somehow became a way to entertain people, sooner it turned as an in demand gadget to a lot of people. Today, advancements are getting into deep end of technology in the camera equipments. Digital Cameras are booming in the market and truly is considered as one vital equipment in home appliances. The gramophone or phonograph on the other hand are what they call turntable, record player or record changer. Technically, anything that is used to record sound or reproduce a creative sound is considered to be a type of phonograph. It has been long forgotten by many people but it was a major equipment on our history of media industry.

The Motion Pictures began to ramp out and take one step in the media industry. Hollywood movies emerged across America. It somehow gave an opportunity for studios and actors to be famous and help the economy to get a large amount of money in the industry. It also gave an opportunity to a lot of people to have a job by managing the movie itself for the theater and movie distribution.It was in the same year since the Radio was invented, and since, it created a rival between the phonograph and the radio industries. The invention of such became a pass through of disseminating information to the public. The news, sports, weather and playing of songs were the basic approach of radio industry to the public. Having said that, the invention of the phonograph and the radio on the same occur was somehow intertwined with each other. The phonograph media was able to use the radio in providing information to the people for the upcoming shows and events with respect to its industry.

People strives for better entertainment, the television media system take part in. It became a threat for the motion pictures industry where in fact made them force to widen up their screen just to float out against the television industry. Unlike the relationship between the radio and the phonograph industry which results to better compliment, the television wrapped up the industry since it also became a one of the basic home appliances. As the same way goes in promoting jobs to a lot of people with the radio and phonograph industries, as to whom will maintain and manage the events and media distribution of a particular show, the television also created a job opportunities to the people, advertising would be very vital in promoting and directing the television industry. A Home Video Camera became a part of the growing media industry, it is often called to be the television camera for it displays moving images that is stored in it. It had been the way of recording electronic moving images. Portability and very easy way of recording of sounds are the edge of the Cassette tapes invention. It became well known for its size. It was declared that cassette tapes were the first successful entertainment medium. The quality of the sound of a recorder are far better than the sound of a cassette tapes though.

Since the moving entertainment are very hot to the industry, later years the VCR was developed. It was Sony who was the first to introduced the betamax and informed a lot of manufacturers with their product, unfortunately many manufacturing industries fail to recognize it. After a year the JVC VHS was released. It created a satisfying feeling to lots of people, they had thought of adult movie which will become the ultimate success of the industry since people could already have a chance to view films that are uncomfortable to be seen in the public. Various enhancement had been made to improve the quality of the VHS including its sound system.

Entertainment Industry are getting much better for the succeeding years. Video Cameras that are now capable of immediate transferring of record information file to the VCR tape became available. It was later years that they had developed a camcorder with the combination of tape recording and video camera unit.Laser disc was being repopularized in the later years, it was already available on the market back then. It became the first media storage primarily for movies and home viewing, it had improved the quality of both the audio and video of the equipment far better than the VCR's. The profoundness of its usage had been extended for the long run since it was embedded to Personal computers. It became a corporate training tool and interactive training for educational environment. The IBM, Integrated Business Machines later on brought the Home computers to the market and became the home and industry standard.

Later years, innovations with respect to the home entertainment had been gradually emanating and had showcased the relevance of it into many aspects. Tracing the history of the media entertainment industry really gave us an idea on the movement of technology to the media, hence we can already prove that the fast pace of computer technology are somehow at par with the booming of information technology now a days. The media equipments has brought into life basically to improve and enhance the home theater. It does not mean that it would replace or otherwise eliminate the movie theater, and other media entertainment available to the public. With the list of invention and reproduction of media equipments, it aims to provide amusement to the people with vast satisfaction with entertainment, the emergence of the DVD are unique and incomparable with the previous inventions.

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Current Trends and Innovations of the intensifying DVD gadgets and technology equipments