Blu-ray or HD DVD? Untechnical Advice for the Consumer

Blu-ray or HD DVD? Consumer advice on Blu-ray and HD DVD technology

The war between Blu-ray and HD DVD has been going on for years, and although speculation was that Blu-ray would die a Beta death, it looks like it’s critics where just the HD DVD marketing people.

Technology in both areas are advancing at such a rate that it won’t be long before we see the emergence of players with the capacity for both.

I am not going to rehash the arguments.

I’m going to help you decide whether or not you need to purchase something in Blu-ray or HD DVD. This is a practical reality most of the information out there doesn’t help you with because they are just trying to market their products and most consumers don’t have a clue what the technical garbage means.

The question that I wish to address is whether or not you are wasting your money.

The difficulty is when researching the issue is that most people don’t understand all the scientific differences between blue or red laser beams, they just want to know about quality, value for money, and whether or not they risk ending up with obsolete technology in the next 6 months!

If you haven't already heard I will also put your mind at rest concerning your much loved DVD collection. They will play on all the new devices.

 

The Latest Technology for Blu-ray and HD DVD

 

The latest thing being developed by the respective companies is internet interactive technology. Remember Back to the Future II when Marty Fly gets fired, and he has a huge screen in front of him, functioning as a phone and a TV? Let’s just say it’s heading in that direction.

 

You may not really care for having a message pop up on screen in the middle of your movie, but if you are keen for this type of thing look out for BD live for Blu ray, and Hdi interactive programs for HD formats.

 

HD DVD, Blu-ray and your PC

 

For those who download their movies from the internet, the HD technology won’t die, and the computer companies appear to be split between HD DVD and Blu-ray. You will need to decide whether or not you want a HD DVD drive or Blu-ray drive. Blu-ray already has a recording capacity, but check the HD drives. They may have caught up by the time you read this article.

 

What do you buy for your media room?

 

The first thing you have to look at is your TV.  There is no point buying the latest technology if your box is still living in the 80's!

The question of Blu-ray or HD DVD is more complicated than the argument over which technology is better.  There are more personal issues to discuss. These are the other matters to consider;

 

· Are you an x-box or PS person? X-Box technology will have HD DVD attachments, and the PS3 supports Blu-ray. There is nothing technical about this. Some people are one or the other.

 

· If you are a fan of a particular computer manufacturer, enquire as to which technology they are supporting. You don’t want to get into Blu-ray and find out your preferred computer does not and never will support all the disc’s you’ve bought

 

· Can you wait? Has your old DVD has finally crackled and spat for the last time or has it got a few years left? DVD’s will be coming out for a while yet and if you wait 6 months you may be able to purchase a machine which will play both.

 

· Don’t worry about availability of HD DVD’s or Blu-ray’s as they have worked out a way to put one on each side of a disc. People manufacturing these things are very smart.

 

· Look at the quality and see which one you think is better. A simple task if you can watch it while the sales person goes blah blah blah in your ear as no doubt they will have their own view.

 

Conclusion

 

I must say that when I see most of our Movie making studio’s opting to produce their movies in Blu-ray format is a good indication that Blu-ray is not going anywhere. Their marketing teams have a huge advantage over us as consumers as they are the ones doing the research and potential earning projections.

 

It won’t be like the Beta war, you won’t get left with funny little video’s you let the baby use as blocks.