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Blu-ray vs. HD DVD

6701 Votes
  • Start Date:
    11-20-2006
  • Last Vote:
    9-5-2008

Issue:

Microsoft, Sony and dozens of other large corporations have spent years NOT agreeing on a standard format for the next generation DVD. The result: two separate and incompatible formats are being offered to consumers. Eventually, like Betamax and VHS before them, one will win and one will lose. As of now, which one will win and which one will lose is uncertain. What is certain is that consumers will lose. Why? Some consumers will buy the losing format and end up with obsolete equipment. Many more consumers will buy nothing until after there is a clear winner - and prices will remain high until a mass market is developed.

Belief:

It is our belief that we the consumers can determine the winner in this format war. How will we do this? By having YOU vote for the format you prefer to win (Click here or on "Comparison between Blu-ray and HD DVD" link in the "Learn More" section to the left to see a comparison between the two formats). Then we all agree to buy the format that wins the vote. OK, it's as much a social experiment as a consumer stand. But our goal is clear - push the losing format to drop out. Let's take control! WHY DID YOU VOTE AS YOU DID? Share your thoughts in the forum below.
58%
Blu-ray
41%
HD DVD
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Forum Discussion for Blu-ray vs. HD DVD
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Submitted by Juan A. on Thu, 09/04/2008 - 01:28

i've seen both, and Blu-ray is the one that is sitting in my living room.

Submitted by Heisenberg d. on Fri, 07/25/2008 - 15:11

HD is the biggest comercial lie ever told, a DVD upscale to 720p or another resolution looks almost the same as a Blueray or HD DVD, the look really really good, and pretty much everyghing plays them (on the cars, computers, and all video game console) Blueray will be a considerable good format in 4-5 years, for now DVD is good, and DVDDL can storage movies in 720p format which is HD too, DVD will rule for the next 4 year, HD is too expensive for the public, first is the TV, then the Player, than the HD audio system, that alone is almost 2000 dollars if you really want to get total HD (1080P) again is a comercial lie to sell all those devices.

Submitted by Mark G. on Fri, 07/18/2008 - 20:36

I for one am glad that Blu-ray won. All the HDDVD supporters kept saying that the higher bit rates and more capacity was useless. Here is part of a review of the Blu-ray release of Top Gun from Hi-def Digest. It reads:
Paramount offers a wealth of audio options on the Blu-ray of 'Top Gun': Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround (48kHz/24-bit, identical to the previous HD DVD), French and Spanish dubs in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (640kbps), and best of all, a DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround (48kHz/24-bit) that's exclusive to this Blu-ray. With bitrates noticeably higher than the TrueHD, the DTS-MA is the clear winner -- it's a pretty sizable leap in quality.Loudness is noticeably stronger on the DTS-MA right out of the gate, but even after volume level matching, clarity and depth of sound are superior over the TrueHD (which is no slouch on its own). The subwoofer delivers excellent bursts of low bass, that hold quite tight with only the deepest rumblings flattening out a bit. Surrounds are lively and engaged during the aerial dogfight sequences. Rears have noticeable heft, with smoother imaging on the DTS-MA. although imaging may be a tad smoother on the latter.

Even non-action scenes have some pronounced atmosphere, which isn't always the case on older catalog titles. Dynamics have great punch, with the DTS-MA really impressing me with how much more pronounced peaks and valleys sound. I still wish the pop/rock tunes were bled a bit more to the surrounds (the score is superior here in terms of bleed), but that's indicative of the original sound design. Despite the increased loudness of the DTS-MA track, I had little problem with dialogue, which is clear and generally well-positioned in the mix. 'Top Gun' sounded quite good before on HD DVD, but I found this Blu-ray and the DTS-MA track to be a surprising improvement.

Submitted by Sanjivaka N. on Tue, 06/10/2008 - 08:51

Hi
There is another HD format called HD-VMD(HD Versatile Multilayer Disk) getting ready to burst upon the scene. It is a low-cost red laser technology, as already available in DVD players that achives HD by providing multilayered diskspace to reach resolution upto 1920x1080 pixels, conventionally known as 1080p. Currently it provides diskspace of 30 GB and promises to increase the layers to provide a storage space of upto 200 GB. It provides upto 7.1 sorround sound channels that includes Dolby Digital Plus and is fully backward compatible with existing DVDs, CDs etc upscaling DVDs to the near resolution of the magical 1080p. The product's USP is its incredible low price considering that one of the two players currently retail at $150 apiece. The top bosses in the company have claimed that even if they retail the player at $90 apiece they would still make a profit which Blu-ray can never achieve. Ofcourse, the Blue-ray people have countered it. The only difficulty expressed by the company is pursuading major Hollywood studios to agree to bring out software in the format. They are even trying to convince the Mumbai Film Industry to adopt the technology while embrassing HD. The company wants to survive alongside the existing HD format as a lowcost alternative and not to be seen as a competitor to its more tech-savvy rival. So friends ! if they are able to cach the Indian entertainment market and for that matter the whole of the developing world, they have a winner in their hands.

Submitted by Thomas L. on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 16:56

I'm sticking with dvds

Submitted by Chris L. on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 01:41

First of all, I have happily been watching BD movies since the purchase of my PS3 (which is whole other bag of good stuff altogether).

I have an HDTV and would like to squeeze the most out of that purchase. It makes sense to have as many options as possible to make that HDTV purchase worthwhile. Secondly, the BD discs are more durable. If you have children (even if you don't) you know how easily the discs become scratched and even unplayable. All of my BDs look pristine because of the protective layer.
These are only practical reasons I've mentioned. There's also the fact that movies DO look far superior to their regular DVD counterparts even when upscaled.

Now, there's nothing wrong with DVD if you don't plan on getting a high-definition monitor or audio equipment. But for those of us who do, and the numbers will only grow with time, BR is the future and will be for some time.

Submitted by Dave B. on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 23:38

If it ain't broken don't try to fix it. Whats wrong with DVD. Both BR and HD require HDTV which until they sort out the price of these then BR and HD will have trouble selling. Another format will probably come out in the next few years that ticks all the boxes and blows these 2 out of the water. If you put DVD up on the voting buttons I would guess that most of the people would be happy sticking with what they have at reasonable costs. DVD is not dead by a long shot yet.

Submitted by Chris L. on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 01:55

HDTVs are selling. Maybe you don't have one but more households are picking them up every single day. New formats are inevitable. Happened to VHS, LaserDisc, DVD and it'll happen to BD someday, too. Just like game consoles upgrade every few years.

Submitted by silvia s. on Wed, 05/14/2008 - 01:57

it seems that BR win HD its several advantages:
1,the monolayer capability of BR is 25GB,while HD is 15GB,and the Double-decked capacity of BR is 50GB,bigger than HD 'S 30GB
2,ps3 are made by BR which is so popular and HD has lost a good chance.and SONY pay more to movie company and BD win another good chance
3,HD can be produced by the same way like DVD,so it is easy to be pirated,but BD is no so easy to be pirated
ok,no matter you buy CD,VCD,DVD,Blu-ray or HD-DVD,there is a good tool to repair the scratches on them--discrepair machine.this is a new and large industry, more and more cds and dvds are used, however most people do not know they can be repaired when scratched, so have to throw away, that is one huge loss, they just need to pay less money to buy one disc repair machine,then many discs are saved,it is very worthy.especially for dvd rental stores...
our company has been on developing the discrepair machines for more than 7 years,developed several models--Disc Buddy,SY7,SY4,SY5 and so on.our purpose is to improve the machine quality and reduce its price--lowest price of these machines is just 80 USD,the highest price is no more than 700 USD,up to now,we have many distributors in ASIA,EURO,UK,AMERICA,AUSTRALIA.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED,PLS FEEL FREELY TO CONTACT me,send emails to honghongsun@hotmail.com or overview our website:www.discrepair.com.cn or you can call my mobile phone :(00)86 (0)371 15903666354

Submitted by Jazmyne F. on Sun, 05/11/2008 - 20:02

A Big waste of money!! I've seen both of them Nothing is different they're both the same! I'm sticking with the DVD's I have now. There's no point in switching! It's not like an "8 track"!!

Submitted by Ernest V. on Fri, 04/25/2008 - 13:39

I will just wait!

Submitted by saeid m. on Sat, 04/12/2008 - 21:54

بر درگه آن شهان نهادندی روی
دیدم که بر کنگرهاش فاخته ای
بنشسته همی گفت که کوکو کوکو
خیام

عرب ها جغد هایی هستند که ناله کوکو کوکو می کنند

Submitted by Ernest V. on Fri, 04/25/2008 - 13:44

Yea Buddy!

Submitted by PATRICIA S. on Fri, 04/11/2008 - 23:16

why should we have to send more money t0 change our movie collections so some one else can make more money. Get over it. ps

Submitted by Chris L. on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 01:45

patricia-
you don't have to do that. it's the most ludicrous argument ever. When a studio reissues a movie as some Ultimate Collector's Edition Super-Duper Whatever are you compelled to purchase it (it's called "Double Dipping," by the way).

It seems for most people who own BR, they plan to purchase titles that they don't have and the ones that are yet to be made yet. Some will upgrade their old ones and that's their coin.

Submitted by robert h. on Sun, 04/06/2008 - 14:19

I'v seen HD DVD and I'v seen Blu-ray and Blu-ray has won me over.

Submitted by Daniel M. on Sat, 04/05/2008 - 19:56

Blu-ray already won, but maybe HD can come back from the dead!!!

Submitted by S M. on Sat, 04/05/2008 - 16:19

Sorry Joe C but slysoft have made all bluray BD+ all ready out there crack even hitman. And for copie is piracy this is the disclaimer of ERAGON french version. I just look at the disclaimer from ERAGON bluray, in the french version of disclaimer say" interdit Tout reproduction sauf pour l'usage strictement privé du copiste " That meen that you can do a copie off it if it's for your self. So it make it perfectly legal to do so in CANADA at lease.

Submitted by frank m. on Sat, 04/05/2008 - 04:55

come on man lets go with HD

Submitted by richard m. on Thu, 04/03/2008 - 21:36

Hannah Montana Goes 3-D with 'Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour'Tech specs reveal Disney's plans to present a first-ever 3-D Viewing Mode on the disc, along with a 2-D version as well, both in 1080p video. Audio boasts uncompressed PCM 7.1 Surround audio. I really want to know if you need a tv that is 3d capable or they going to put out those 3d blu ray players

Submitted by Joe C. on Thu, 04/03/2008 - 14:42

Here is an interesting read from Reuters. The concern doesn't appear to be with how fast blu-ray adoption is (10%) now, but on how many TVs are high def capable. Bluray has crossed the 10 million mark, which is around 10% of the 113.9 million households in the US.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technolog...

Submitted by Julie B. at Facebook on Wed, 04/02/2008 - 00:49

I thought Blu-ray already won. Thats what it said in the Fort Worth Texas Star Telegram anyways. Please up date this survey.

Submitted by Rom buster . on Mon, 03/31/2008 - 07:47

??? i tought that blu-ray already destroyed hd dvd!!

Submitted by Joe C. on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 14:55

Page 3.already bluray alone is 6% against DVD
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/questex/...

Submitted by steve p. on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 12:01

x-box360 PS3 Nintendo Wii All three thrive in our market. HD DVD BLU-RAY one has to die! I don't understand that at all. people are buying blu-ray even though they would rather have HD-DVD.

Submitted by Chris F. on Mon, 03/31/2008 - 03:48

@ Joe C.
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I offered side by side reviews of dual format releases back one page from a format neutral website. Enjoy!

Submitted by Joe C. on Mon, 03/31/2008 - 12:58

You only showed a limited view. Please check out this debate between Dobyblue and others on picture & sound quality. These are some stats from not just Highdef digest, but 4 other independent review sites of over 2000 reviews in total and he gives the stats not just by review sites but by studio as well. These stats were as of the mid 4th quarter 2007, and since then have climbed in blu-rays favor even more because of advances in compression engineering.
http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/sho...
It shows both audio and video review ratings of both bluray and hddvd. It is an interesting but educational debate. Follow it for several pages or at least until this page where you start to see why blu-ray video is better overall because of using more AVC encodes which use higher bit rate spiking and less compression overall. Although VC-1 is doing much better lately since they started lowering the compression and increasing the overal throughput to get better picture quality. lower compression means more disc space used & higher throughput needed of course, which bluray can do this because of their initial specs on dics space and bit rate throughput.
http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/sho...
You really would find it interesting to converse with a compression engineer or even someone like Dobyblue over at www.blu-ray.com sometime. These guys are very knowledgeable and people can learn much more from them than our little debates on here. They are the real pros, that dispelled the FUD from AMIR and RDJAM over at AVS forums. But if nothing else just go to the insiders forum and talk to some of these compression engineers who have worked on both hddvd and bluray encodes, but also if you want to learn stats on this stuff, talk with Dobyblue or countless others. They have more links and stats than you can imagine, and if you check out their sources and stats for yourself you will see that they are true to form.

Submitted by Chris F. on Wed, 04/02/2008 - 01:09

You appear to miss the point of being a videophile. It's not and never has been about bit rates, encodes, ethernet ports, special features, onboard video memory or any other spec. It's about the full experience of watching the movie, from what you see onscreen, to what you hear, to your ability to interact with the movie itself. Do you seriously tv shop with a bunch of spec sheets in hand or do you actually go and view the sets in person? That being said, up until Toshiba pulled the plug. HD DVD offered the full experience. I'm not knocking Blu Ray's video or audio capabilities, however it's shortcomings did take away from the overall experience. Interactivity is very much a part of the next gen experience. Blu Ray understands this, thus profile 2.0. Until that day arrives, Blu Ray has historically only offered 2/3rds of the next gen experience.
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Warner used identical encodes on their dual format releases, Paramount did not. Still, the video quality was identical on both formats from both studios. That being said, Paramount optimized their encodes for maximm bit rates on Blu Ray specifically using AVC encodes. Did it offer a significant improvement over their VC-1 HD DVD counterparts? No. Did it offer a marginal improvement? Again, no. It offered no improvement. The 6 additional mbps of video bitrate Blu Ray (40 vs 34) is capable of has shown again and again zero improvement in video quality of dual format releases. Yes, I'm well aware of the theory that the higher the bitrate that better the theoretical video quality. Well, that sounds great on paper, but has yet to proven in side by side comparisions. Therefore I did not feel it necessary to post every Dual Format release. A small sampling from a neutral site is fair enough to illustrate my point - when rated side by side the HD DVD versions of dual format releases were consistently rated higher in the overall experience.
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To be fair, I have not yet checked out shootfortheedit.com yet. I do plan too when I have some real free time. It sounds very interesting. On the flip side however, I'm dubious of any information that comes from the Blu Ray forums. Not to discredit the people specifically that frequent that site, they are probably a few there that are quite knowledgable, however if you could illustrate your points from websites/forums that aren't obviously biased it would certaintly add to the discussion.

Submitted by Joe C. on Wed, 04/02/2008 - 13:26

I can understand your argument, but since I and so many other bluray adopters have not really experienced/gotten used to the other 1/3 of the experience, it doesn't mean a whole lot to us. and with new adopters to come, they wont have had that full experience to care as much either, so 'for now' it is just mainly limited to the hddvd supporters that will care this much, and that I can understand. and not to take away from the extra experience, as many of us dont know what we're missing to some extent, and I can see how it would for non-videophiles (mass consumers), be a very appealing part of the whole high def experience to have the extras as you mentioned above. if you check out surveys on bluray sites the vast majority dont care for the interactivity part or PiP. they actually (myself included) would rather not have it at all or put it on a separate disc, because it cuts into the potential bandwidth of the video and audio streams (especially on movies that have "multiple lossless audio streams" like LOTR, etc., then throw in PiP on top of that, and internet connectivity bandwidth, It all adds up and chews into the potential bandwidth of the movie itself). If all we had was video and audio, then they can lower compression more on video which spikes bit rates, but with no extras, there is more room for this, and thus a better picture quality overall, especially with darker scenes which can chew up the most disc space/bit rate throughput, because for dark scenes to look awesome with great shadow detail and clarity, it takes a ton of bandwidth and space. If you look at two movies of equal length/time, and one is a darker movie (ie. Sweeney Tood), the darker one will take way more disc space, or else it won't look so good.
Having said all that, I do think as time goes on and more bluray early adopters start making use of the 2.0 stuff, they will come to enjoy the full experience as you and others do, but just not if its at the expense of the video quality encode.
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I disagree on the Paramount/video encodes. If the compression engineer doesn't know how to get the best out of AVC or even VC-1, the way the engineers who do the Disney encodes do, then they are not going to turn out as good. Paramount were far more used to VC-1 and had better engineers for those type encodes at the time. If done properly, whether VC-1 or AVC, the 'Best' engineers can make video look better if they have more bandwidth to work with.
But Bluray has shown improvement in video, and is proving itself when you look at the stats. Paramount comes in 2nd, but Disney beats them by more than a marginal amount on average with their lower compressed/higher bit rate AVC encodes. When it comes to Paramount or Warner that have both formats released, most bluray supporters ask the question "now that Warner/Para have gone back to blue, When can we see better video encodes". thats one of the most common questions, because when bluray videophiles watch the best AVC encodes from one studio and then see another studio such as Paramount or the VC-1 from Warner, not look nearly as good, they expect those studios to pull up their socks, get better compression engineers, and make use of the higher bit rates and disc space to give the better video experience, that the top AVC compression engineers have already set the bar quite high on. The talk with Warner is that they are going to continue using VC-1, but are working with better compression engineers for future releases to make the video encodes much better. Also it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that Spielberg and Lucas and Jackson are going to demand THE best compression engineers work on their releases, like Star Wars, LOTR, etc., and make use of the added bandwidth to do so. And you can bet that even Bay's/Spielberg's Transformers will look better when re-encoded for bluray. at least thats what bluray videophiles are 'expecting', which means they want better than what Paramounts prior 'best' was, becaue they experienced better and know you can get better with the proper encoding. Thats what a true videophile is most concerned with. If we watch POTC2 and then put on Transformers, we notice its not quite as good, and want better for all new releases. The capability is there with bluray from the better initial specs, now its just a matter of studios making use of it and getting better and better encoded movies.
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Actually Dobyblue, though a big bluray supporter, he does illustrate the points from websites that aren't biased, highdefdigest being one of them. He spent a lot of time compiling data directly from these sites.
I found it to be one of the more interesting debates I've seen. but don't take it from his word, check out his stats from those sites for yourself. or even better, talk with a compression engineer that has worked with both hddvd and bluray titles. the compression engineer insiders on blu-ray.com aren't as biased toward bluray as might think. they just talk about the technical aspects of this stuff. thats why I keep saying "when encoded properly by the best engineers that make use of the extra bandwidth and therefore more disc space, the video can look noticeably better, and thats the limitation that bluray fans didnt like about hddvd" These unbiased compression engineers that work on both hddvd and bluray say this stuff, that they are limited when doing an hddvd encode and can make it look better on bluray from experience. That's a big reason why Michael Bay says bluray looks better on his movies. He saw what the higher bit rate/lower compression AVC encodes looked like on bluray, then saw his Transformers not look quite as good as they could (done by the best hddvd compression engineers), which he is in close contact with and they are telling him the difference in limitations between hddvd and bluray video ability. He sees the full quality version daily directly from the highdef cameras, and bluray comes closest to that to him. That 'additional 6' you are talking about can make all the difference in the world according to top engineers that work with it daily.
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Definitely check out the shootfortheedit debate asper post below just to see the stats if nothing else, and go to the insiders section of Blu-ray.com (you can rest assure to bypass the BS if you just converse with the compression engineers there, that I can guarantee), but none-the-less, Dobyblue's stats are legit when you check them out.
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Go straight to 'Insiders Forums' - Cut through the bluray fanboy BS and get to the real truth (thats what I do, as I do admit some of the fanboyism on the main forums gets old quickly)
http://forum.blu-ray.com/forumdisplay.ph...
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They are insiders for both AVC forums and Blu-ray.com, so are not biased, and you wont get the fanboy like comments from them. they are straight up with the truth and dont always give the answer that a bluray fan likes to hear.

(2themax)
(drmpeg)
(RBFilms) within a few posts starts talking about new 32-36mbps encodes
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They have audio experts, BD-J experts that also know HDi, and other very knowledgable insiders like Paidgeek, Penton-Man and Maxpower1987.
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Bypass the bluray fanboy BS and get to the truth quickly. dont even both with the other forums on the site. the insider forum I've found to be more neutral than even most non-bluray/neutral forums out there. Don't let the fact that this forum is on the blu-ray.com site discourage you.

Submitted by S M. on Fri, 03/28/2008 - 22:43

Just a comment on BD+ Maybe it's the movie studio that want that but i know SONY is a movie studio and this will only be a problem for normal people who just want a copie of what they paid for. Pirate will be able to copie it anyway so what is the reason for that? They are all ready able to do it.

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