Rev.Info.Faqs - Next-gen format war Part 1: HD DVD

We shall take a brief look at the next generation media format war which started to heat up and will likely influence which player that one eventually will buy in the future. Coverage will be separated in several parts. First off, we take a look at HD DVD.

HD DVD also known as High-Definition DVD. It is designed to be the successor to the ever popular DVD format as we have all grown to love.

Faqs:

• Storage: It can store 3 times as much data (15GB) compared to a DVD disc (4.7GB) on 1 side and double the capacity in dual-layered discs.
  

• Developer: Jointly developed by Toshiba and NEC on 19th November 2003.

• Drive: First HD DVD rom drives were released at the end of 2006. First HD DVD recorder drive were released in mid 2007.

• Hybrid formats: 2 types of hybrid format available (1 for DVD & 1 for HD-DVD).

• Disc Type: Combo Ddisc - 2 sided (1 for DVD and 1 for HD-DVD) both supporting up to dual layers each. Twin Disc - 1 sided but supported up to 3 layers (3 layers can be split into both DVD or HD-DVD format)

• Video: Supported resolution formats are 720p, 1080i (i= non progressive scan), 1080p (p=progressive scan). Encoding method is in existing MPEG2 and new VC-1 and AVC.
  

• Audio: HD DVD discs support encoding in up to 24-bit/192 kHz for two channels, or up to eight channels of up to 24-bit/96 kHz encoding. (New big-budget Hollywood films are mastered in only 24-bit/48 kHz, with 16-bit/48 kHz being common for ordinary films nowadays.)

Latest development so far:

Although have been finalized, developers continued to refine and advancing the existing HD-DVD technology. On January 2007's Consumer Electronics Show, Toshiba announced that they have created a 17GB layer disc and demo a triple layers disc amounting up to 51 GB of storage. However, current reader does not support that many layers yet.

November 2006, Microsoft announced the new add-on to its XBOX360 gaming console which will enable the machine to play HD-DVD movies. The drive sells for US$179.95 which includes 5 HD-DVDs.

HD-DVD Industrial Support (main promoters):

• Toshiba
• NEC
• HP
• Sanyo
• Microsoft
• Kenwood
• Intel
• RCA
• Memory-Tech Corporation
• Hitachi Maxell, LG, Lite On, Onkyo, Meridan, Samsung and Alpine supports the format non-exclusively.

Next up we shall look at Blu-ray Disc. :)