This article falls under the category of "insanely expesnsive gadgets that are hard to afford....but are still REALLY cool". A repitition of the VHS vs BETA tape battle makes its way into the '06 in the form of Blu-ray discs versus HD-DVDs, both next generation recording Media that claim to offer video quality that has never been seen before.
Blu-Ray (BD-ROM)
Blu-ray media developed by sony (also known as BD-ROM) is a completely new implementation of new technology using new types of lasers to record and read information on the disc. BD-ROMs use blue lasers which ocur at a smaller range of the spectrum than conventional red lasers, working at something like 50-60 nm wavelength range. Current drafts of BD-ROM support 25 GB. and 50 GB. discs, which boast a potential HD video quality of 1080p.
HD-DVD
HD-DVDs are basically an improvement on current DVD technologies that allow for more storage on a single disc. Hddvd is recieving backing from more companies and media conglomorates than Blu-ray, however software giants like Sony are hard to take down. As seen above, the largest capacity, dual layer HDDVD can hold up to 30 GB. which is enough to store movies at resolutions up to 1080p, just like Blu-ray.
Overall, both medias have the ability to store massive amounts of data and extremely high quality video. However, a very obvious observation that can be made is that HDDVD media is just an imporvement of old technology and methods, while Blu-ray is a completely new concept that has room for growth. Another thing to consider is the promised 1080p resolution which looks good on paper as specs. but is usually very hard to implement. There are very little 1080p capable hi-def screens out there, and the ones that are available hit price tags as far as $10,000 U.S.. Ultimately, the consumers will decide which media format will survive throughout the next decade as these next-gen medias hit stores during the holidays in the form of home entertainment players and the long-awaited PS3 (Blu-ray) and MAYBE the HD-DVD external drive for the Xbox 360 (again, maybe). w00t
