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Aspect Ratio: Full Screen Vs. Wide Screen
Movies on DVD and VHS are often available in two screen formats: full screen and wide screen. The full screen is where a movie is modified to fit a television screen. If you have watched a video release, you have probably seen the message: “This...
Same old, and brand new, DVD talk!
The war is everywhere. Not the Iraq war, but the heated battle
between the HD-DVD and the Blu-Ray formats. The rising interest
in that war, though needed to steer the industry in the right
direction in the near future, is causing the market to...
Sony PSP - Not Just For Games
The Sony PSP is the most powerful handheld gaming platform currently on the market. But it is not only capable of running games. Its wide screen is very well suited for movie playback and it has the capabilities of playing audio with outstanding...
The future of music on the internet
With the state of the music business becoming more and more
stale, consumers are looking to the internet to satisfy their
craving for new and innovative music. A record label located in
Wichita Falls has started a revolution on the internet...
What's so special about free satellite TV deals?
Nowadays, I am sure that you are seeing ads for free satellite TV everywhere. It is even more significant now as Dish Network and DirecTV, the two satellite TV big-boys, are fighting hard to lead in the market. Most of these satellite TV deals are...
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HD-DVD vs Blu-ray: A Primer
High Definition DVD (HD-DVD) vs Blu-ray is shaping up to be a battle to rival the VHS vs Betamax format war of the early eighties. Looking like they've learned nothing from the DVD +/- RW debacle, the companies involved, whether they are in the technology or content distribution industry (or in Sony's case, both), are set to slug it out over the next few years.
The prize is the licence fees that will be payable to the format owners when the next generation of high definition DVD players and recorders start shipping in volume. As high definition television becomes increasingly popular, consumers will want a recordable format that has the capacity to hold at least a couple of hours worth of HDTV content. Both Blu-ray and HD-DVD were developed in response to the anticipated need for an HDTV recording medium and provide content whose quality would match the expectations of HDTV-owning customers. Additionally, the film distribution companies will cash-in as they release all the titles currently available on DVD in one or both of the new formats and convince consumers that they really should chuck out the DVD collection they've spent time and money building and start afresh with the new high definition
versions.
Rather than get together and agree a format for high definition DVD, the industry has split in two and is producing two different versions. In the red corner is Toshiba, which has developed HD-DVD and has signed up numerous film companies as supporters, including Warner Brothers, New Line, Paramount, and Universal Pictures.
In the blue corner, is, if you'll forgive the pun, Sony's Blu-ray. Sony intends to use Blu-ray as the format for the next generation of the PlayStation and has signed up Disney, and MGM, and is expected to add 20th Century Fox to the list.
Currently the major Hollywood studios are split down the middle with almost exactly half of them in each camp.
HD-DVD has been developed by Toshiba and NEC and has the support of the influential DVD Forum, whereas Blu-ray is supported by Phillips, HP, Sharp, Pioneer, Panasonic, and Sonic Solutions.
Microsoft stands to benefit whichever format succeeds as its Windows Media 9 video codec has been approved for use in HD-DVD and Blu-ray content. Apple's H.264 codec has also been approved for both Blu-ray and HD-DVD.
About the Author
Kenny Hemphill is the editor and publisher of The HDTV Tuner
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