HD DVD vs Blu-ray discs – Spaced out : New gizmos, Gadgets gazette Blog

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

HD DVD vs Blu-ray discs – Spaced out

The 21st century is the age of innovation and some revolutionary developments, which have rocked the world in such a way as to elevate human lives to an entirely new level. The Industrial Revolution invoked a whole new era of multi-faceted progress that went ahead to benefit humanity through two centuries of periodic research and development.

From the initial days of the birth of electronic devices like television, radio, music system, telephone and cameras, we have travelled eventfully towards a new world infested with mind boggling gadgets like High-Definition TVs, LCD monitors, digital cameras, mobile phones, DVD players and motion-sensor based video games. I personally had my share of fun with these devices, especially with my DVD player, what with my fascination as an avid film buff.

Naturally, keeping myself abreast about the latest developments in that area was part of my homage, which amused me quite well until the arrival of HD DVDs and blu-ray discs impressed me out of my boots totally. I mean, who could have ever thought that just a simple looking disc could accommodate about 50GB of pure fun. But if you ask me what would be a formidable choice between the two, a detailed study would land me up in mixed feelings.

HD DVD or High Definition DVD is a large capacity enabled optical disc that works on a blue-violet laser, which reads pits half the size of a DVD on compressed tracks. Supporting the latest formats like H264 and VC-1 video encoding algorithms or codecs, as well as MPEG 2, HD DVDs contain up to four hours or 15GB of rich quality video on a single layer, with the dual layer running up to 30GB.

Similarly, the blu-ray disc provides high-definition video with storage space extended up to 50GB for a dual layered disc. What's more the blue-violet laser works on a shorter wavelength than a red laser used on normal CDs/DVDs making it possible to focus the laser spot with greater precision. However, HD DVDs have one advantage over blu-ray discs. HD DVDs are an upgradation of the standard DVD created through traditional DVD stamping machines with minor modification unlike blu-ray discs, which require new equipments to make them.

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