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It's no secret HD DVD and Blu-ray deliver excellent quality for those seeking more high-definition viewing. But which way should you go? It's an important decision for the mainstream consumer. No one wants to select a format, and then see it and their money gone in 6 months. The folks over at the HD DVD Promotion Group and Blu-ray Disc Association each provided ten reasons why you should go with their format. Let's start with HD-DVD.
1. HD DVD offers the high-definition experience at the most affordable price—this holiday season HD DVD players start under $200 with seven free movies.
2. HD DVD boasts six times the resolution and pristine audio quality (up to 7.1 surround sound) compared with standard DVD.
3. A superior audio experience is guaranteed on every HD DVD player because of the format's mandatory support for next-generation audio technology including Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD. Even if your current home theater sound system doesn't support the new audio technologies, you'll still get the best quality audio experience on it because any HD DVD player can decode these codecs.
4. All HD DVD movies are encoded at 1080p so you can enjoy them on any 1080p HDTV or projector, even if you own a 1080i HD DVD player. How? Because the de-interlacing process that produces the “full HD” 1080p picture quality of the source content is handled by the HDTV, rather than inside the player.
5. For gamers, Xbox 360 offers an affordable HD DVD player addition that can be found for as low $169, with at least six free HD DVD movies—one in the box and a mail-in offer for five free flicks.
As for the Blu-ray argument....
1. Today's best movies - With support from the 6 of the 8 major Hollywood studios, the biggest hits are on Blu-ray. Through October 2007, 19 of the year's 20 best selling high definition movie titles are available on Blu-ray Disc - the majority of them available in high definition only on Blu-ray Disc. Titles such as 300, the Harry Potter Series, the Matrix Trilogy are just some of the titles currently available or coming soon to Blu-ray Disc. And, titles such as the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the Spiderman Trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean, Cars and Ratatouille are available in high definition only on Blu-ray Disc.
2. The broadest range in player options - The biggest names in consumer electronics, particularly in DVD and HDTV - Hitachi, LG, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp and Sony - all support Blu-ray Disc, giving consumers a range of hardware choices from their favorite brands. HP, Acer, Sony VAIO, Panasonic, Philips and Pioneer offer consumers an array of desktop, notebook and computer drive choices.
3. Every Blu-ray Disc player delivers full 1080p picture quality, the benchmark for high definition.
4. Blu-ray delivers the best possible picture quality of any high definition source. Because of its superior storage capacity (50GB - 6 times more than dual-layer DVD), Blu-ray Disc can use higher bit rates, which allows pristine video, uncompromised audio quality, and compelling interactive features.
1. HD DVD offers the high-definition experience at the most affordable price—this holiday season HD DVD players start under $200 with seven free movies.
2. HD DVD boasts six times the resolution and pristine audio quality (up to 7.1 surround sound) compared with standard DVD.
3. A superior audio experience is guaranteed on every HD DVD player because of the format's mandatory support for next-generation audio technology including Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD. Even if your current home theater sound system doesn't support the new audio technologies, you'll still get the best quality audio experience on it because any HD DVD player can decode these codecs.
4. All HD DVD movies are encoded at 1080p so you can enjoy them on any 1080p HDTV or projector, even if you own a 1080i HD DVD player. How? Because the de-interlacing process that produces the “full HD” 1080p picture quality of the source content is handled by the HDTV, rather than inside the player.
5. For gamers, Xbox 360 offers an affordable HD DVD player addition that can be found for as low $169, with at least six free HD DVD movies—one in the box and a mail-in offer for five free flicks.
As for the Blu-ray argument....
1. Today's best movies - With support from the 6 of the 8 major Hollywood studios, the biggest hits are on Blu-ray. Through October 2007, 19 of the year's 20 best selling high definition movie titles are available on Blu-ray Disc - the majority of them available in high definition only on Blu-ray Disc. Titles such as 300, the Harry Potter Series, the Matrix Trilogy are just some of the titles currently available or coming soon to Blu-ray Disc. And, titles such as the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the Spiderman Trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean, Cars and Ratatouille are available in high definition only on Blu-ray Disc.
2. The broadest range in player options - The biggest names in consumer electronics, particularly in DVD and HDTV - Hitachi, LG, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp and Sony - all support Blu-ray Disc, giving consumers a range of hardware choices from their favorite brands. HP, Acer, Sony VAIO, Panasonic, Philips and Pioneer offer consumers an array of desktop, notebook and computer drive choices.
3. Every Blu-ray Disc player delivers full 1080p picture quality, the benchmark for high definition.
4. Blu-ray delivers the best possible picture quality of any high definition source. Because of its superior storage capacity (50GB - 6 times more than dual-layer DVD), Blu-ray Disc can use higher bit rates, which allows pristine video, uncompromised audio quality, and compelling interactive features.