HD DVD Versus Blue-rey for Independent Filmmakers

We have come a long way since the first Digital Video Disc (DVD) was released in the early 1990's. Today, high definition video is what standard definition DVD video quality was to VHS video quality back in the old days. The high definition DVD war continues between Blue-rey and HD DVD as to which format will replace standard DVDs in the future. Warner Bros. Entertainment recently announced their decision to support Blue-ray technology, while HD DVD is being backed by DreamWorks, Universal and Paramount.

So what's the main difference between HD DVD and Blue-ray? “They are different formats of discs that are used to deliver content to the end user. Both formats support high definition video, and have nothing to do with resolution,” says our Asheesh Barman, Acutrack's DVD format expert.

Why do we need both formats? We don’t need it, but technology seems to work this way - each company offers different features. Another example of this type of format war is evident in the photography world. Many new technology companies spent money researching, patenting and trade marking first SD cards, then memory sticks, and flash cards, etc.; each hoping to offer different features and beat the others in benefits in an effort to win end users and reap the gains for years to come.

General content producers, independent filmmakers, trainers and documentarians would consider cost as the main problem because they are not shooting their work in high def yet. They cannot afford HD DVD or Blu-ray because -- basically for DVD replication of 500 to 1000 copies of a film on HD DVD or Blu-Ray -- it would be too expensive. And authoring the first master disc is pretty complex when it comes to Blu-Ray and adds to the production cost. HD authoring is easier, but still not quite as cost effective.

Filmmakers can focus on producing content and marketing their work in the meantime. Many of them are using our on demand publishing model—a concept in which physical discs containing music or videos, are not manufactured, printed, packaged and fulfilled until after an order for them has been received.

Back to HD DVD versus Blue-rey, there is some confusion about the video resolution of each format, but the reality is that both formats support high definition video, which is 720 lines to 1080 lines on the TV screen. HD DVD is less expensive and easier to manufacture. Plus the interactive aspect that was co-developed by Microsoft Toshiba and Disney is much easier to use. Therefore the value is in its authoring capabilities since the discs are cheaper than Blue-rey.

Blu-ray Disc (BD) is a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). This is a group of the world’s leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers and includes Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson. Blue-rey was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), and to store large amounts of data. It offers at least five times the storage capacity than traditional DVDs -- up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. Films in high definition video are space consuming and require alot of storage capacity.

HD DVD is an optical disc format that stands for High-Definition Digital Versatile Disc, which uses a laser that allows for more data density per disc than a standard DVD. It delivers six times the picture resolution of normal DVDs, or up to 7.1 channels of high-resolution audio. One of the pluses is its interactivity and capabilities to deliver this type of content. There are basically no differences in the audio of either format.

Blu-ray discs are offered in single and dual layers, with BD 25 holding 25 gigabytes (GB) of data, and BD 50 holding 50 GB of data. HD DVD's three versions include single layer with 15 GB, dual layer with 30 GB and triple layer with 51 GB.