HD DVD

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HD DVD
HD DVD logo
Media type: High-density optical disc
Encoding: VC-1, H.264, and MPEG-2
Capacity: 15 GB (single layer)
30 GB (dual layer)
51 GB (triple layer) [1]
Read mechanism: 1x@36 Mbit/s & 2x@72 Mbit/s
Developed by: DVD Forum
Usage: Data storage, including high-definition video


HD DVD or High-Definition DVD is a high-density optical disc format designed for the storage of data and high-definition video.

Contents

Optical disc authoring
Optical media types
Standards

It is designed to be the successor to the standard DVD format and is derived from the same underlying technologies. Since all variants except the 3x DVD employ a blue laser with a shorter wavelength, it can store about 3 1/2 times as much data per layer as its predecessor (maximum capacity: 17 GB instead of 4.7 GB per layer). A 51 GB triple-layer spec has been approved, however no movies are currently scheduled for this disc type.[2]

HD DVD is currently in a "format war" with rival format Blu-ray Disc, to determine which of the two formats will become the leading carrier for high-definition content to consumers.

As of November 27, 2007, 344 HD DVD titles have been released in the USA.[3] As of September 15, 2007, 133 HD DVD titles have been released in Japan, while 21 titles pending to be released.[4]

In the mid 1990s, commercial HDTV sets were finally starting to enter a larger market. However, there was no good, cheap way to record or play back HD content. There was no cheap storage medium that could store that amount of data, except JVC's Digital VHS and Sony's HD Betacam.[5] However, it was well known that using lasers with shorter wavelengths would yield optical storage with higher density. When Shuji Nakamura invented practical blue laser diodes, it was a sensation, although a lengthy patent lawsuit delayed commercial introduction.[6]

Sony started two projects applying the new diodes: UDO (Ultra Density Optical) and DVR Blue (together with Pioneer), a format of rewritable discs which would eventually become Blu-ray (more specifically, BD-RE).[7] The core technologies of the formats are essentially similar. The first DVR Blue prototypes were unveiled at the CEATEC exhibition in October 2000 [8]. In February 2002, the project was officially announced as Blu-ray,[9] and the Blu-ray Disc Association was founded by the nine initial members.

The DVD Forum (which was chaired by Toshiba) was deeply split over whether to go with the more expensive blue lasers or not. In addition, the proposed Blu-ray disc with its protective caddy was both expensive and physically different from DVD, posing several problems.[10] In March 2002, the forum voted to approve a proposal endorsed by Warner Bros. and other motion picture studios that involved compressing HD content onto dual-layer DVD-9 discs.[11][12] However, in spite of this decision, the DVD Forum's Steering Committee announced in April that it was pursuing its own blue-laser high-definition solution.[13] In August, Toshiba and NEC announced their competing standard Advanced Optical Disc.[14] It was finally adopted by the DVD forum and renamed to HD DVD the next year,[15] after being voted down twice by Blu-ray Disc Association members, prompting the U.S. Department of Justice to make preliminary investigations into the situation[16][17]. Three new members had to be invited and the voting rules changed before the vote finally passed.[18][19]

In an attempt to avoid a costly format war, the Blu-ray Disc Association and DVD Forum started to negotiate a compromise in early 2005. One of the issues was that the Blu-ray camp wanted to use a Java-based platform for interactivity (BD-J), while the DVD Forum was promoting Microsoft's "iHD" (which became HDi).[20]. A much larger issue, though, was the physical formats of the discs themselves; the Blu-ray Disc Association's member companies did not want to risk losing billions of dollars in royalties as they had done with standard DVD[21]. An agreement seemed close, but negotiations proceeded slowly.[22]

At the end of June 2005, Sun announced that the Blu-ray Association had chosen the Java-based BD-J interactivity layer instead of Microsoft's HDi. This was based on a BDA board vote favouring BD-J 10 to 4, despite a technical committee previously favouring HDi by a vote of 7 to 5[23]. At the same time, Microsoft and Toshiba jointly announced that they would cooperate in developing high-definition DVD players.[24] In a top-level meeting in July, Microsoft's Bill Gates argued that the Blu-ray standard had to change to "work more smoothly with personal computers". The Blu-ray Disc's representatives defended the technology.[25]

On August 22, 2005, the Blu-ray Disc Association and DVD Forum announced that the negotiations to unify their standards had failed.[26] Rumours surfaced that an "unnamed partner" had pressured Toshiba to stick with HD DVD -- in spite of Blu-ray's strong support among Hollywood studios and some analysts saying that HD DVD's days were numbered -- but these rumours were denied by the parties involved; instead, the same reasons of physical format incompatibility were cited[21][25] In the end of September, Microsoft and Intel jointly announced their support for HD DVD.[27]

HP made a last attempt to broker a peace between the Blu-ray Disc Association and Microsoft. HP demanded that the Blu-ray association adopted Microsoft's HDi instead of its own Java solution, and that Blu-ray would adopt a mandatory managed copy feature. If the demands weren't met, HP threatened to support HD DVD instead.[28] In a research report, Gartner analysts Van Baker, Laura Behrens and Mike McGuire wrote that if HP's proposal was accepted, Blu-ray would become the winner of the format war.[29] However, the Blu-ray disc group did not accept HP's offer.[30]

On March 31, 2006, Toshiba released their first HD DVD player in Japan at ¥110,000 (US$934).[31]. That was the first HD player available to consumers, beating Blu-ray to the market.[32] HD DVD was released in United States on April 18, 2006,[33] with players priced at $499 and $799.

The first HD DVD titles were released on April 18, 2006. They were The Last Samurai, Million Dollar Baby, The Phantom of the Opera by Warner Home Video and Serenity by Universal Studios.[34] The first independent HD film released on HD DVD was One Six Right.[35][36]

In December 2006, Toshiba reported that roughly 120,000 Toshiba branded HD DVD players have been sold in the United States along with 150,000 units coming in the form of HD DVD upgrade kits for the Xbox 360.[37]

As of April 18, 2007, (on the first “birthday” of HD DVD),[38] the HD DVD camp reported that they had sold 100,000 dedicated HD DVD units in the U.S. alone, (not including any computers with HD DVD drives or Xbox 360 add-ons drives—the latter of which was reported to have sold 92,000 units during the Christmas holiday season).[39]

On January 29, 2007, Microsoft released Windows Vista which supports the HD DVD format, including DRM requirements for playing back commercial content.

The first HD DVD Recorders were released mid 2007 in Japan.[40]

In November 2007, the Toshiba HD-A2 was the first high definition player, either HD DVD or Blu-ray, to be sold at a sale price of less than $100. This was done through several major retailers to make room for the new HD-A3 models. These closeout sales lasted less than a day each due to both limited quantities and high demand at that price point.

The current specification version for HD DVD-ROM and HD DVD-Rewritable is version 1.0. The specification for HD DVD-R is currently at 0.9; the HD DVD-RAM specification is not yet finalized.

HD DVD-ROM has a single-layer capacity of 15 GB, a dual-layer capacity of 30 GB, and a 51 GB triple-layer disc (which uses slightly bigger 17 GB layers), approved in November 2007 by the DVD Forum[2]. Toshiba has declined to say whether the 51GB, triple-layer disc is compatible with existing drives and players. Specification 2.0 Part 1 (Physical Specification) for triple layer HD DVD has been approved in November 2007.[41]

HD DVD-R and HD DVD-RW has a single-layer capacity of 15 GB, a dual-layer capacity of 30 GB. The HD DVD-RAM has a single-layer capacity of 20 GB.[42] Like the original DVD format, the data layer of an HD DVD disc is 0.6 mm below the surface physically protecting the data layer from damage. The numerical aperture of the optical pick-up head is 0.65, compared with 0.6 for DVD. All HD DVD players are backward compatible with DVD and CD.

Physical size Single layer capacity Dual layer capacity Triple layer capacity
12 cm, single sided 15 GB 30 GB 51 GB (17 GB per layer instead of 15 GB)
12 cm, double sided 30 GB 60 GB
 8 cm, single sided 4.7 GB 9.4 GB
 8 cm, double sided 9.4 GB 18.8 GB

Like previous optical disc formats, HD DVD supports several file systems, like ISO 9660 and Universal Disk Format (UDF). Currently, all HD DVD titles use UDF version 2.5 as the file system.

HD DVD discs support encoding in up to 24-bit/192 kHz for two channels, or up to eight channels of up to 24-bit/96 kHz encoding.[43] For reference, even new big-budget Hollywood films are mastered in only 24-bit/48 kHz, with 16-bit/48 kHz being common for ordinary films.[citation needed]

All HD DVD players are required to decode linear (uncompressed) PCM, Dolby Digital AC-3, Dolby Digital EX, DTS, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD.[44] A secondary soundtrack, if present, can be stored in any of the aforementioned formats, or in one of the HD DVD optional codecs: DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio.

For the highest-fidelity audio experience, HD DVD offers content-producers the choice of linear PCM, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Due to the high-bandwidth requirements of linear-PCM, lossless audio on HD DVD movies has thus far been delivered in the lossless format Dolby TrueHD.

The HD DVD format supports a wide variety of resolutions, from low-resolution CIF and SDTV, all video resolutions supported by the DVD-Video standard, and up to HDTV formats such as 720p, 1080i and 1080p.[43] HD DVD supports video encoded in MPEG2 which is what is used in DVDs as well as the new formats VC-1 and AVC which are more efficient. All movie titles released so far have had the feature encoded in 1080p, with most supplements in 480i or 480p. Almost all titles are encoded with VC-1, and most of the remaining titles encoded with AVC.

Main article: Advanced Access Content System

If a publisher wishes to protect their HD DVD content, they may use the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) although this is not required for normal disc playback. AACS is a standard for content distribution and digital rights management. It is developed by AACS Licensing Administrator, LLC (AACS LA), a consortium that includes Disney, Intel, Microsoft, Matsushita (Panasonic), Warner Bros., IBM, Toshiba and Sony. One of the advantages over CSS, the content restriction system for DVDs, is that AACS allows content providers to revoke an individual player device if its cryptographic keys have been compromised (meaning that it will not be able to decrypt subsequently released content). There is no Region Coding in the existing HD DVD specification, which means that titles from any country can be played in players in any other country. This is likely to give the format some advantage in Europe and other places where consumers are now used to using multi-region players to play DVDs purchased in the US or through the extensive grey market.

Since appearing in devices in 2006, several successful attacks have been made on the format. The first known attack relied on the trusted client problem. In addition, decryption keys have been extracted from a weakly protected player (WinDVD). Notably, a Processing Key was found that could be used to decrypt all HD content that had been released at the time.[45] The processing key was widely published on the Internet after it was found and the AACS LA sent multiple DMCA takedown notices in the aim of censoring it.[46] This caused trouble on some sites that rely on user-submitted content, like Digg and Wikipedia, when administrators tried to remove any mentions of the key.[47][48]

For more details on this topic, see AACS encryption key controversy.

AACS has also been circumvented by SlySoft with their program AnyDVD HD, which allows users to watch HD DVD movies on non-HDCP-compliant PC hardware. Slysoft has stated that AnyDVD HD uses several different mechanisms to disable the encryption, and is not dependent on the use of a single compromised encryption key.[49] Other AACS circumvention programs have become available, like DVDFab HD Decrypter.[50]

HD DVDs use the HDi Interactive Format to allow interactive content to be authored for discs. HDi is based on web technologies such as HTML, XML, CSS, SMIL, and ECMAScript (JavaScript), so authoring in HDi should be a fairly easy transition for web developers. No existing DVD authoring experience is required. In contrast, Blu-ray Disc content is authored using either a scripting environment for basic content, or a Java-based platform (BD-J) for advanced content. DVD video discs utilize pre-rendered MPEG segments, selectable subtitle pictures, and simple programmatic navigation which is considerably more primitive.

Backward compatibility will be available with all HD DVD players, allowing users to have a single player in their homes to play all types of HD DVD, DVD and CD discs. There is also a hybrid HD DVD format which contains both DVD and HD DVD versions of the same movie on a single disc, providing smoother transition for the studios in terms of publishing movies, and letting consumers with only DVD drives still use the discs. DVD disc replication companies can continue using their current production equipment with only minor alterations when changing over to the format of HD DVD replication. Due to the structure of the single-lens optical head, both red and blue laser diodes can be used in smaller, more compact HD DVD players.

Device name Manufacturer Type of device Release date RRP
HD-E1 Toshiba standalone player 15th October, 2006 €249 £169.99
HD-EP10 Toshiba standalone player 8th June, 2007 €699 £478
HD-EP30 Toshiba standalone player 5th November, 2007 €400 £249.99
HD-EP35 Toshiba standalone player 19th November, 2007 €499 £349.99
HD-XE1 Toshiba standalone player 15th October, 2006 £999.99
HD-A1 Toshiba standalone player April 18, 2006
HD-XA1 Toshiba standalone player April 18, 2006
HDV5000 RCA standalone player June 2006 $499
HD-A2 (also known as HD-E1) Toshiba standalone player 2006 Q4 US$99.99-129.99
HD-XA2 Toshiba standalone player 2006 Q4 US$999.99[51]
HD-A20 Toshiba standalone player January 7, 2007 $499[52]
HD-D2 Toshiba standalone player
HD-A3 Toshiba standalone player November 2007 US$169.99-299.99[53]
HD-A30 Toshiba standalone player September 2007 US$399.99[53]
HD-A35 Toshiba standalone player October 2007 US$499.99[53]
HD-D3 Toshiba standalone player November 2007 US$299.99
DV-HD805 Onkyo standalone player fall 2007 US$899[citation needed]
DHS-8.8 Integra standalone player winter 2007 US$1,099
SHD7000 Venturer standalone player end of 2007[54] US$199[55]
VidaBox MAX and VidaBox LUX VidaBox home theater PC (supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD)[56]
BH-100 LG standalone player (supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD) January 7, 2007 US$1,199[57]
BH-200 LG standalone player (supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD) October 2007 US$999[58]
BD-UP5000[59] Samsung standalone player (supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD) scheduled for December 2007
Qosmio G35 Toshiba Laptop computer May 16, 2006
hd100 HP External HD DVD-ROM drive
HR-0205T Asus HD DVD ROM drive
SD-H903A Toshiba HD DVD Writer PC drive
SD-H802A Toshiba HD DVD ROM drive
SD-L912A Toshiba Slim HD DVD Writer PC drive
SD-L902A Toshiba Slim HD DVD Writer + DVD Writer Combo PC drive (OEM usage only)
SDL802B Toshiba Slim HD DVD Reader + DVD Writer Combo PC drive
HR-1100A NEC PC drive (OEM usage only)
SD-L912A Toshiba Slim HD DVD-ReWritable Drive
HDV-ROM2.4FB Buffalo Technology PC drive October 10, 2006 US$320
GGW-H10N LG PC drive (supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD) US$1200[60]
Xbox 360 add-on external HD DVD drive Microsoft Video game console accessory (can be connected to PCs as well) US$179
Qosmio G45 Toshiba Laptop computer with DVD-R drive
Satellite X200 Toshiba Laptop computer with DVD-R drive
HP Pavilion dv9000 series HP Laptop computer (optional HD DVD-ROM drive)
HP Pavilion dv9500/9600t series HP Laptop computer (optional HD DVD-R drive)
HP Pavilion dv6500/6600t series HP Laptop computer (optional HD DVD drive)
HP Pavilion HDX series HP Laptop computer (optional HD DVD-ROM drive) July 26, 2007 ranging from $2,999
HP Pavilion PC series HP Desktop Computer (can be customised to include combo HD DVD-ROM/BD-RE)
G2S ASUSTeK Laptop computer (supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD)
Lamborghini VX2S ASUSTeK Laptop computer (optional HD DVD-ROM drive)
W2W ASUSTeK Laptop computer (optional HD DVD-ROM drive)
Aspire 5920 Acer Laptop computer (standard HD DVD-ROM drive)
Ferrari 5000 Acer Laptop computer (optional HD DVD-ROM drive)
Pegasus series Rock Laptop computer (standard HD DVD-ROM drive for all laptops)
Xtreme series Rock Laptop computer (standard HD DVD-ROM drive for all laptops)
Medion Akoya MD8828 Medion Desktop Computer November 16, 2007 approx. $1,299

To date (November 27, 2007), all Toshiba-branded HD DVD players have been based on a Linux x86 platform, with the GPL appearing in all manuals..[61][62]

Toshiba is expected to reveal the first portable HD DVD player at the 2008 CES show.[citation needed]

 This section contains information of unclear or questionable importance or relevance to the article's subject matter.
Please help improve this article by clarifying or removing superfluous information. (help, talk)

Released at the end of November 2006, the Microsoft HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360 game-console gives the Xbox 360 the ability to play HD DVD movies. The drive was announced with an MSRP of US$199, and included Peter Jackson's King Kong on HD DVD along with a USB 2.0 cable for connection to the console. Many view the HD DVD add-on drive for the Xbox 360 as Microsoft's response to Sony's PlayStation 3 game-console, which plays competing Blu-ray Disc movies out of the box.

Xbox 360 HD DVD
Xbox 360 HD DVD

The original Xbox 360 Core and Premium bundles did not offer HDMI/DVI-D outputs. In April 2007, Microsoft introduced the Xbox 360 Elite, which includes an HDMI 1.2 output port (and larger hard-drive). HD DVD Video output at the highest supported resolution (1080p) requires a display with HDMI , component, or VGA input. Despite the fact that the Xbox 360 supports 1080p output across component and VGA cabling, all first and many second generation 1080p TVs do not support that resolution on those types of inputs, which limits the TV and older Xbox 360 units to 720p or 1080i. Beyond resolution capabilities of the TV/Display, if/when the ITC resolution limiting technology for HD DVD is enforced, currently mandatory in 2013 and expected to be more common in 2010-2011 HD DVD releases, units using component and VGA cabling will no longer be allowed to display 1080p resolution for HD DVDs. Only those units and TVs that support HDMI with full HDCP specification will produce a viewable 1080p picture. For audio output, the Xbox 360 is limited compared to standalone players—the analog stereo-audio jack outputs a Pro-logic compatible downmix of the movie's audiotrack. The TOSLINK (S/PDIF) jack offers more choice: 2-channel LPCM 48 kHz/16-bit stereo (Pro-logic compatible), Dolby Digital (AC-3) @ 640 kbit/s, DTS @ 1500 kbit/s, or WMA Pro @ 1500 kbit/s. The console handles transcoding, if necessary, so a movie soundtrack of any type (Dolby TrueHD, Dolby DD+/AC-3, DTS, LPCM) will be output in the selected format. The HDMI-output on Xbox 360 Elite does not support multichannel LPCM—the Elite is limited to the same output choices as the non-HDMI 360 models.

The Xbox 360's add-on HD DVD drive can also be used with a desktop/laptop PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista. Although PC use is not officially supported, third-party player software can successfully play HD DVD movies using the add-on drive. A number of users buy the HD DVD add-on drive to use exclusively with their PCs because of the cheap price when compared to HD DVD drives made for PCs. For best experience, HD DVD player software requires a modern PC, with a DirectX 9 graphics adapter and dual-core or fast CPU. If the video is output to a DVI/HDMI port, then both the display and graphics processing unit must be HDCP-compliant.

The Xbox 360's add-on HD DVD is recognized on Macintosh computers. Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard" includes Apple's UDF 2.5 driver and HD DVD disks will mount, but Apple's DVD Player software does not support them. Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger" lacks UDF 2.5 drivers and thus can only read DVDs and CDs from the drive. There are no effective third-party UDF 2.5 driver solutions (ReadDVD! from Software Associates, Inc. does not function as advertised).

The Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on drive is sold at retailers in the white color of the Xbox 360 Core/Premium. No announcements have been made by Microsoft to release this product in other colors to the general public.

In the fall of 2007, circulating rumors were spread of Toshiba working in partnership with Microsoft to develop a new Xbox 360 model that would include a built in HD DVD player as well as other entertainment features[63], which was then later denied by both Toshiba and Microsoft[64].

As of September 2007 the add on has sold over 210,000 units world wide.[65]

Transformers HD DVD retail packaging
Transformers HD DVD retail packaging

HD DVD Promotion Group Member List contains the main promoters of HD DVD, namely Toshiba, NEC, Sanyo, Microsoft, RCA, Kenwood, Intel, Venturer Electronics and Memory-Tech Corporation. The HD DVD format is also non-exclusively supported by Acer, Asus, HP, Hitachi Maxell, LG, Lite On, Onkyo, Meridian, Samsung,[66] and Alpine.

In terms of major studios in North America, HD DVD is currently exclusively backed by Universal Studios (including subsidiaries Focus Features and Rogue Pictures), Paramount Pictures (including Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies, MTV Films, DreamWorks Pictures and DreamWorks Animation), The Weinstein Company (including Dimension Films), and First Look Studios.

The format is non-exclusively backed by Warner Bros. Pictures (it should be noted that a number of Warner's titles—Batman Begins, Constantine, Troy (excluding Troy: Director's Cut), V for Vendetta, The Perfect Storm, Poseidon, The Matrix Trilogy—are HD DVD exclusive at the present), New Line Cinema (it should be noted that some of New Line Cinema titles, the first being Hairspray, are announced as Blu-ray exclusive for limited time due to lack of region coding in HD DVD[67][68] [69]. All catalog titles will be released simultaneously in both formats), HBO, and Image Entertainment (including the Discovery Channel),[70] Magnolia Pictures,[71] Brentwood Home Video, Ryko, Koch/Goldhil Entertainment.[72]

In Europe HD DVD is currently supported either exclusively or non-exclusively by Medusa Home Entertainment, Studio Canal, Universum Films, Kinowelt Home Entertainment, DVD International, Opus Arte, MK2, Momentum Pictures, Twister Home Video, and many others [73]. Many titles that are Blu-ray exclusive in the United States are released on HD DVD in Europe, and can be played on any US player due to the absence of region coding on HD DVD[74]. Likewise, movies that are HD DVD exclusive in the United States are released in either exclusive to a format or released to both formats in other region, to be made easier because some of region-coded discs are actually region-free[75]. For example, Universal's Bruce Almighty, a European exclusive to Blu-ray, is compatible to region A player.

In the Music Industry, HD DVD is currently exclusively supported by EMI and non exclusively supported by Warner Music Group[76] and Universal Music Group[77]

In the adult-movie market, HD DVD is currently exclusively backed by Wicked Pictures, Pink Visual, Bang Bros, Digital Playground and ClubJenna (which on June 22, 2006 was acquired by Playboy Enterprises)[citation needed]. Contrary to many internet blogs, it has been reported by ABC News believed that the porn industry will not be a factor in the current format war[78]. The main reason is that many pornographic websites have movie downloads as an option, thus making the disc format less important.

Beginning July 2007, Blockbuster Video[79] will be carrying Blu-ray Disc in 1,450 stores, in addition to the original 250 that carried both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Online they will still be offering both formats.[80] Blockbuster will continue to offer both formats at its initial 250 stores that currently carry both high-definition formats.[81]

Netflix currently offers DVD rentals in both HD DVD and Blu-ray formats. The high definition DVDs are available free to Netflix members. Netflix currently has hundreds of titles available in both formats.[82]

On August 20, 2007, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, and DreamWorks Animation announced their exclusive support for the HD DVD format citing its cost benefits and superior features. However, in contrast to this the New York Times reported, citing two Viacom executives that a payoff had occurred for a sum of $150 million for a period of 18 months exclusivity. Paramount has neither denied or confirmed this, however Paramount's CTO Alan Bell said it was an indefinite commitment. Both Microsoft and Toshiba have denied that such a payoff occurred. Films directed by Steven Spielberg are excluded from this announcement as he controls the rights to his own works.[83] In response to these reports of a $150 million deal, DreamWorks Animation CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg stated that it was disingenuous for other companies to suggest that they were not compensated for endorsing Blu-ray.[84]

On October 29, 2007, Toshiba announced that Kmart would exclusively carry HD DVD standalone players in their stores (due to their lower price), however Kmart later denied that it was exclusively selling either format[85][86]. A follow-up by CNBC further clarified that in fact Kmart had no plans to offer Blu-ray standalone players because its looking for value for its customers, and currently only HD DVD offers that value. [87] However, Kmart will still sell the Playstation 3, capable of playing Blu-ray movies.

Main article: Comparison of high definition optical disc formats

The primary rival to HD DVD is Blu-ray Disc. In November 2007 the DVD Forum approved the addition of a triple-layer 51 GB specification, but no titles have yet been announced or released on the triple-layer format. It is not yet known whether current players will be able to utilize the 51 GB discs, but since all current players use the NEC drive and these have been reported to work fine with the TL 51GB, it is expected that there will be no problems for the current HD players.

For commercially available discs, as of September 2007 40% of Blu-ray titles use the 50 GB disc and 60% use the 25 GB disc[88] while most HD DVD movies are in the 30 GB dual layer format.[89]

HD DVD discs employ much the same manufacturing process and protection coating as conventional DVDs, while Blu-ray Discs require mandatory hard coating to prevent damaging scratches, since the disc information is closer to the surface and more vulnerable to wear and tear. TDK has a patented material and process known as Durabis, while Sony, Panasonic, and other companies use their own similar mechanisms in manufacturing both recorded and blank Blu-ray Discs.

In terms of audio/video compression, HD DVD and Blu-ray are similar on the surface: both support MPEG-2, VC-1, and H.264 for video compression. Virtually every HD DVD released uses an advanced codec (VC-1 or H.264) for video compression, reducing the required space for equivalent quality video. The first generation of Blu-ray Disc movies however used the older and less efficient video codec MPEG-2, and many new titles still do. In terms of audio, there are many differences. With HD DVD support for the new Dolby Digital Plus audio codec is mandatory at 3.0 Mbit/s, but for Blu-ray players it is optional at 1.7 Mbit/s.[44] Furthermore HD DVD players must be able to decode the new lossless audio codec Dolby True HD, but this is optional for Blu-ray players.

Both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc support the 24p (traditional movie) frame rate, but technical implementations of this mode are different among the two formats. Blu-ray Disc supports 24p with its native timing, while HD DVD uses 60i timing for 24p (encoded progressively, replacing missing fields with "repeat field flags"). Decoders can ignore the “flags” to output 24p.[90] There is no impact on picture resolution or storage space as a result of this, as the HD DVD format uses the exact same video information—it simply adds notational overhead.

The formats differ in their support for interactivity, with HD DVD using Advanced Content and Blu-ray using BD-J. Every HD DVD player has the ability to play back two simultaneous video streams ("PIP") and connect to the internet, whilst early Blu-ray players have neither feature.

Since both formats launched in the spring of 2006, an estimated 4.98 million high-definition discs have been sold, including 3.01 million in Blu-ray and 1.97 million in HD DVD through the end of September.[91] However, those figures are dwarfed by the sales of regular DVDs. Combined, the two high-def disc formats accounted for only 2.5 % of overall disc sales during the first half of 2007.[92] And although Blu-ray has sold more discs, the HD DVD group claims that the attach rate (the number of movies bought per player) is higher for HD DVD than for Blu-ray.[93]

Although the HD DVD standard is final, engineers continue developing the technology. At the CES 2007, Ritek revealed their high definition optical disc process extended both competing high definition formats to ten layers, increasing capacity to 150 GB for HD DVD, however, the major obstacle is that current reader-writer technology may not support the additional data layers.[94]

NEC,[95] Broadcom,[96] Horizon Semiconductors, and STMicroelectronics[96] have separately developed a single chip/laser that can read both the HD DVD and the Blu-ray disc standard. Broadcom and STMicroelectronics will be selling their dual-format single chip/laser solution to any OEM willing to develop a product based on the chip.

There are two types of hybrid formats which contain standard DVD-Video format video for playback in regular DVD players, and HD DVD video for playback in high definition on HD DVD players. The Combo disc is a dual sided disc with one side DVD and the other HD DVD, each of which can have up to two layers. The Twin disc is a single sided disc that can have up to three layers, with up to two layers dedicated to either DVD or HD DVD.[97] These hybrid discs make retail marketing and shelf space management easier. Another advantage is hardware cross-compatibility. The average consumer doesn't have to worry about whether or not they can play a hybrid DVD disc: any standard home DVD player can access the DVD encoded content and any HD DVD player can access both the DVD and the HD DVD encoded content.

Warner Bros. officially announced Total Hi Def (THD) at CES 2007. Total Hi Def (Total HD) hybrid discs supports both HD DVD and Blu-ray, HD DVD on one side (up to two layers) and Blu-ray on the other side (up to two layers). Despite initially announcing that Total HD would be ready by the second half of 2007, on June 27, 2007, Warner Bros. issued a press release stating that they would be delaying the launch of Total HD discs until early 2008. On November 14 2007, Warner officially put plans for Total HD on hold, citing the fact that they were the only format-neutral company as the main reason for doing so[98].

The HD DVD format also applies to current red laser DVDs, which offers a low-cost option for distributors; this type of disc is called "3x DVD", as it is capable of three times the bandwidth of regular DVD-Video.

3x DVDs are physically identical to normal DVDs, thus the cost is lower for the physical medium. Although 3x DVDs provide the same high definition content, their playback time is less. For instance, on an 8.5 GB DVD you could fit about 85 minutes of 1080p video encoded with VC-1 or AVC at an average bitrate of 13 Mbit/s, suitable for short subjects (training films, home movies), but unsuitable for feature film-length content.

It is technically possible for consumers to create HD DVD compatible discs using low cost DVD-R or DVD+R media. At least one such guide exists.[99] It is comparable to Blu-ray's BD9.

HD Rec is an extension of the HD DVD format for storing HD content on regular red laser DVDs using H.264/MPEG-4 AVC compression.[100] It was approved by the DVD Forum on September 12, 2007[101] It is comparable to Blu-ray's AVCREC.

  1. ^ "HD DVD Forum approves 51 GB triple layer", RegHardware. 
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