A Buyers Guide To Blu-ray And Hd Dvd

[momaw]

A Buyers Guide to HD DVD and Blu-Ray

This is a First Draft. I hope to get a more comprehensive guide up in the future. Comments and corrections encouraged.

Disclaimer: Up front let me say, I own a HD DVD player and while I plan to purchase a Blu-ray player, have yet to do so. Also, information in this guide is correct as at today’s date. I cannot Guarantee it will be correct at the time you read it, so please, take the time to explore the topic before you part with your money.

Notes: All prices quoted reflect RRP. Street prices will vary depending on your area, competition and your ability to negotiate. This is likewise a basic beginner’s guide and does not go into technical aspects such as HDMI versions.

The Guide is broken up into the following subsections

1. History

2. Current players available

3. Things to consider before buying

4. Display Options

5. Audio Options

6. Game Option

7. Content Availability

1. History.

I have no intention of going into the long sordid history of both formats in detail – that’s not the purpose of this guide. That said, a few details are important and those include the situation since the launch of both formats. HD DVD was launched in April 2006 (US, March in Japan), beating Blu-ray to market by a matter of weeks (7 in fact). By comparison the HD DVD launch went off without a hitch, while the Blu-ray launch was plagued with “problems”. Some of these problems included very average movie transfers that some reviewers went so far as to say were in places, worse than their DVD counterparts. Further problems involving playback issues on the first available Blu-ray player, the Samsung BD-P1000, made for some very unhappy customers. Some of these problems included the inability of certain discs to even play (e.g. Speed from Fox Studios). These problems have since been rectified with firmware updates HD DVD on the other hand came to market with a solid machine in the Toshiba HD-A1 and HD-XA1. While they also suffered some minor complaints, such as the occasional freeze or skipping, firmware updates likewise fixed these problems.

It is difficult to write this section without sounding bias, but the simple fact is Blu-ray brought their product to market in a hurry to compete and have been chasing their tail since. HD DVD came to market fully featured with set specifications. Without getting complex, these include:

- Region Free

- Mandatory Ethernet connection (will become mandatory on Blu-ray players after June 1 2007)

- Mandatory support for HDi - the system which makes the advanced features found on discs work – such as “on the fly” menu’s, “U-Turn” and “In Movie Experience” work (Blu-ray use a Java based system that to date is still not fully functioning. New standards mandatory for all Blu-ray players after June 1 2007 will remedy this, but existing players will not support this new standard)

- On board memory to store user settings and downloaded content (again the new standard for Blu-ray will include this feature with 4 times the memory of the HD DVD version on new players released after 1 June 2007 - again this is not backwards compatible on existing players)

Blu-ray on the other hand did not have these (they did have basic Java support but this was woefully inadequate). The Blu-ray association have announced a timetable to implement these same specifications (except region free) to the same basic standard (and in some case more i.e. on board memory), but mandatory inclusion does not begin until June 1st 2007 (as mentioned above). It is not known yet how machines prior to these dates will handle disc content designed to these new specifications.

Other complaints regarding Blu-ray included the high price of players and Titles in comparison to HD DVD. Things looked bad for Blu-ray.

With glowing disc and hardware reviews and a stable platform that Blu-ray is still yet to fully implement, HD DVD took the lead and held it until December 2006. It was then that Blu-ray disc sales eclipsed HD DVD disc sales for the first time and still sit ahead of them.

What happened? The PS3 with in-built Blu-ray device came at just the right time to give Blu-ray a much needed boost. The timing was perfect. Aside from the new features still to be implemented, Blu-ray hardware was now performing well with little complaint and Movie titles were getting glowing reviews. At this stage of the game, both HD DVD and Blu-ray titles are considered to be as good as each other.

The PS3 has been such a boost to Blu-ray that despite having only 25,000 dedicated players on the market compared to HD DVD’s 275,000 (as at January 2007), that disc sales for Blu-ray outnumber disc sales for HD DVD.

So which format should you buy?

2. Current Players Available

HD DVD

Models and Features:

Universal Features:

- Region Free HD DVD playback (on all current models - region coding *could* be introduced but at present this is unlikely)

- Ethernet connection

- Full HDi Interactivity

1. Toshiba HD-A1 – retired (also sold as the RCA HDV5000)

- Features 1080i playback

- Dolby Digital Plus / Dolby TrueHD / DTS HD Core 5.1 / Uncompressed PCM audio via HDMI and/or 5.1 Analogue Out

- DVD Upscaled to 1080i playback (region locked to region 1)

2. Toshiba HD-XA1 – retired

- Features 1080i playback

- Dolby Digital Plus / Dolby TrueHD / DTS HD Core 5.1 / Uncompressed PCM audio via HDMI and/or 5.1 Analogue Out

- DVD Upscaled to 1080i playback (region locked to region 1)

- Essentially the same as the HD-A1 but with a double chassis, motorised front drop down door and a much improved backlit remote control.

3. Toshiba HD-A2 (HD-E1 in Australia and Europe) – Current $499US/$1099AUD

- Features 1080i playback

- Dolby Digital Plus / Dolby TrueHD / DTS HD Core 5.1 / Uncompressed PCM audio via HDMI

- DVD Upscaled to 1080i playback (region locked to region of purchase)

4. Toshiba HD-A20 (HD-E10? in Australia and Europe) – Current $599US/$?AUD (not yet released)

- Features 1080p 50/60hz playback

- Dolby Digital Plus / Dolby TrueHD / DTS HD Core 5.1 / Uncompressed PCM audio via HDMI

- DVD Upscaled to 1080p playback (region locked to region of purchase)

5. Toshiba HD-XA2 (HD-XE1 in Australia and Europe) – Current $999US/$1599AUD

- Features 1080P 50/60hz playback (24hz coming via FW update)

- Dolby Digital Plus / Dolby TrueHD / DTS HD Core 5.1 / Uncompressed PCM audio via HDMI and/or 5.1 Analogue Out

- High End DVD Upscaler (HQV ReonVX) – up to 1080P playback (region locked to region of purchase)

6. Xbox 360 Add-on drive (requires X-Box 360 – can be made to work on a PC) – Current $199US/$249AUD

- Features 1080P playback – through VGA out (HDMI Equipped Xbox 360 soon to be released

- Dolby Digital Plus / Dolby TrueHD / DTS HD Core 5.1 / Uncompressed PCM audio via HDMI only on HDMI Equipped Xbox 360. Otherwise downmixed through standard optical cable.

- Comes with King Kong on HD DVD (an exclusive title) and a remote so no more controller

Blu-ray

Models and Features:

Universal Features:

- Region Locked Blu-ray playback

1. Samsung BD-P1000 – Current $799US/$1599AUD

- Features 1080P playback

- DTS HD Core 5.1 / Uncompressed PCM audio via HDMI and/or 5.1 Analogue Out

- DVD Upscaled to 1080P playback (region locked to region of purchase – Australian model can be made region free)

2. Panasonic BMP-BD10 – Current $1299US/$2499AUD

- Features 1080P 1080P 50/60/24hz playback

- DTS HD Core 5.1 / Uncompressed PCM audio via HDMI and/or 7.1 Analogue Out

- DVD Upscaled to 1080P playback (region locked to region of purchase – Australian model can be made region free)

3. Sony BDP-S1 – Current $999US/not available in Australia

- Features 1080P playback

- DTS HD Core 5.1 / Uncompressed PCM audio via HDMI and/or 5.1 Analogue Out

- DVD Upscaled to 1080P playback (region locked)

4. Pioneer BDP-HD1 – Current $1499US/ Not Available in Australia (not exactly the same as the Sony – both models made by pioneer)

- Features 1080P playback

- DTS HD Core 5.1 / Uncompressed PCM audio via HDMI and/or 5.1 Analogue Out

- DVD Upscaled to 1080P playback (region locked)

5. Sony Playstation 3 – Current $599US/$999 AUD

- Features 1080P playback

- DTS HD Core 5.1 / Uncompressed PCM audio via HDMI

- Ethernet Connection

- Plays PS3 games

- Initially rumoured to come with Casino Royale for the Australian release but this wil only be on the first batch sold.

Some notes.

• The first gen HD DVD players and HD-E1 are only 1080i

• The Xbox 360 Add-on can only use new audio codecs if you have the (as yet unreleased) HDMI version of the Xbox 360

• The HD-E1 (HD DVD) can only use the new audio codecs if you have a HDMI receiver (AVR)

• Current Blu-ray players do not support Dolby Digtal Plus or lossless Dolby TrueHD, but instead support uncompressed PCM tracks.

• The PS3 can only use new audio codecs if you have a HDMI receiver (AVR).

3. Things to Consider Before Buying

1. Which Format do I want?

Well I would assume that’s why you are reading so lets gloss over this for now.

2. Set a budget

Sounds obvious, but with prices being radically different this is important

3. Are you prepared to import a player and or titles?

This could be one of the most important questions. If you are not prepared to import then your options are cut dramatically but likewise the decision may be a lot easier.

Now keep the answers to those questions in mind.

4. Display Options

What sort of tele do you currently have? Will you be upgrading it any time soon.

There are some on either side of the debate who say you will only see an increase in picture quality if you have a display greater than 60inches. I have 42 inch and boy can I see the difference. I have heard those with displays as small as 86cm noticing the difference. But the difference you will notice will increase as screen size increases.

Now, do you have a 1080P display? If so you will be wanting the higher end HD DVD player or a Blu-ray player. Do you have a 1080i or lower display, you can save some money on a lower end HD DVD player.

To me it doesn’t matter which you have. Just keep in mind, with a smaller screen you will see less improvement and this may influence how much you want to spend on a player. (Viewing distance chart)

Does your 1080P display support 24hz? If so match it to a player that ouputs 1080P@24hz, this will provide much smoother motion which will be noticed most on sweeping horizontal pans.

5. Audio Options

Do you want to take advantage of new Audio Codecs such as Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD Master and Uncompressed PCM? If so you have some choices to make. All players (except the Xbox 360 add-on) will give you these via HDMI. The catch is you will need a HDMI enabled Receiver (AVR). If you do not have one of these, you will need to select a player model with 5.1 analogue out and connect it to you current Receiver (ACR) via, it’s 5.1 analogue input. If you have neither of these options, you will not be able to use the new codecs until you get an AVR with either of these options.

I have both, which should I use?

This is not black and white. Some players sound better through one and others through the other. If you have a choice, try both.

6. Game Options

If you are a gamer, the decision can be a whole lot easier. Pick the console you like best. If are a Playstation man (or woman), you get the player as part of the system. If you prefer XBox, then you can get an Add-on really cheap (compared to full price players). Either way, if a format dies you have a great games machine and should have no regrets.

7. Content Availability

Nothing beats content, that is movies, right?

This is a complicated issue when choosing a player. In an ideal world, pick the player with the most titles. Not so. Why? I’ll tell you (and keep in mind your answers from earlier).

Region Coding.

With HD DVD you can buy a title from anywhere in the world and it will work on your player.

Blu-ray is region coded, so buying discs is not so simple.

What this means is that if you have an Australian Blu-ray player, imported discs may or may not work on your player. Unfortunately the only way to know if another regions disc will work is to try it. But by then you have lost your money if it doesn’t work. Some sites such as this one help by keeping a list, but it is very small and the best option is to just continue buying discs from where you bought your player. Unfortunately this means some discs available in other countries may not be available to you.

As mentioned above, there is always the possablity region coding could be added to HD DVD. Most of the big companies behind HD DVD are against this, however if it means bringing aboard all studios it is a possability. Toshiba has stated no current region free players will ever have region coding added to them (nor do the players support it, so players bought now shoud be safe).

If you can get a look at the back of a blu-ray discs packaging it will usually have the region coding on it. This is a little octagon with a letter in it. A is North America, Central America, South America, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South East Asia. B is Europe, Greenland, French territories, Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand and C is India, Nepal, Mainland China, Russia, Central and South Asia. Now if your Octagon has a code other than the region you bought your player from, chances are the disc won't work. If it is there, you are guaranteed for it to work on your player. Region free discs have 3 octagons in a triangular shape each with a Region letter in it. Of course, just because your region code isn't on the back doesn't mean it won't work as some discs have been known to be marked one region, but actually work in other regions. Buyer beware if you code is not on the disc.

So if you are happy importing Discs, check out the selections here:

HD DVD

Blu-ray

Keep in mind if you go HD DVD you can also source discs from other countries which may have ones you can’t get here or in the US. Eg Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire, can only be gotten from the UK.

If you do not want to import discs, then check out the prices of players first. Then have a look at the list of titles available for each format here:

HD DVD

Blu-ray

Another thing to keep in mind is that both formats have exclusive Studios

HD DVD

Universal

Weinstein

Studio Canal (may start releasing Blu-ray - is releasing many titles in Europe that in the US are Blu-ray exclusive)

Blu-ray

Sony

Fox

Disney – Buena Vista, Mirimax

Lionsgate

Studios releasing on both formats

Warner Bros – New Line

Paramount

BBC

Studios not yet releasing

Dreamworks

But the bottom line is, look at the players and look at the titles. Pick whichever format caters to your budget and taste in movies and start enjoying HD. Both formats are likely to be around for a few years yet.

I’m sure you still have some questions so here are some more resources

HD DVD disc reviews

Blu-ray disc reviews

HD DVD Coming Soon List

Blu-ray Coming Soon List

Studio Allegiences

List of Select Blu-ray discs and region coding i.e. free or not

As I said at the start, this is a work in progress so all comment and corrections are encouraged and will be worked into later revisions.

Coming soon:

More info on audio formats, dual format players, THD Discs and the battle over extra feature HDi vs BDJ and what it means to current and future players/discs.

[mello yello]

Excellent work mo

Mods please make this a sticky

<No trolls allowed>

<Any troll post should be reported immediately and quickly deleted>

[momaw]

Excellent work mo

Mods please make this a sticky

<No trolls allowed>

<Any troll post should be reported immediately and quickly deleted>

What I would like would be for it to be left editable so I can update it.

Another sticky.....that's gonna get you in trouble

[Skid_MacMarx]

1. Samsung BD-P1000 – Current $799US/$1599AUD

- Features 1080P playback

- DTS HD Core 5.1 / Uncompressed PCM audio via HDMI and/or 5.1 Analogue Out

- DVD Upscaled to 1080P playback (region locked to region of purchase – Australian model can be made region free)

cheapest I could find online is 1,299.00 although someone mention they picked up one for $750

Also regarding studio support, from the article below, it appears Studio Canal in France has commenced releasing Blu-ray titles. The article states that the comedy film "Prête-moi ta main" will be released both on HD-DVD and Blu-ray formats.

http://www.resetmag.com/HTML/news.asp?InfoID=11441

great work momaw

i second the sticky motion

[AndrewW]

Excellent work momaw.

Completely factual, unbiased and unemotional.

To stop the BD camp getting up in arms, you might want to put a disclaimer in that 'there is a possibility that region coding may be introduced to the HD DVD standard in the future', but also mention that 'the current players will remain region free even if this occurs'.

Andrew.

[Hydrology]

Great work Momaw, but I wonder how many on here will truly appreciate the effort youve done?

[djOS]

1st up - Excellent work mate!

2nd - I've made a few revisions which may be worth using.

[jokiin]

The HD DVD format looks like a one horse race from Toshiba, there is also the RCA player, don't know of anyone importing one yet though http://www.rcaaudiovideo.com/en-US/modelde...oductID=HDV5000

[Skid_MacMarx]

The HD DVD format looks like a one horse race from Toshiba, there is also the RCA player, don't know of anyone importing one yet though http://www.rcaaudiovideo.com/en-US/modelde...oductID=HDV5000

Onyko and Meridian are suppose to be releasing HD-DVD units as well

[djOS]

The HD DVD format looks like a one horse race from Toshiba, there is also the RCA player, don't know of anyone importing one yet though http://www.rcaaudiovideo.com/en-US/modelde...oductID=HDV5000

It's a re-badged Toshiba HD-A1.

Onyko and Meridan are suppose to be releasing HD-DVD units as well

No models have actually been announced to date.

[jokiin]

It's a re-badged Toshiba HD-A1.

I know it's a rebadge, still a different brand name from a consumers point of view, without this there doesn't look to be hardware support other than from Toshiba, many consumers get concerned when something doesn't have wide support from different manufacturers.

Although not complying with the HD DVD spec it would probably also be worth mentioning the LG combo player, like LG or not a combo player is good progress in an uncertain market.

[momaw]

Edits Made. The RCA is a A1 rebadged (maybe add that to the title list).

Only using RRP as street is far to variable and doesn't provide any baseline level.

Only current confirmed info at present. If new players and specs with price are announced I will include.

This is for the simple man to help decide what to buy now. I don't want it to become bogged down with techno jargon and rumours - but if that is what everyone wants then I will put that in too. If people want to add specific technical definitions (for more advanced users such as why 1080p24 is good) go for it. I will incorporate it and give all due credit.

Isn't it nice to be back on topic

[jokiin]

Onyko and Meridian are suppose to be releasing HD-DVD units as well

Probably rebadged units also

[djOS]

I think it is worthwhile to distinguish between "Real" 1080p@24hz and "it dont make no difference to 1080i" 1080P@50/60hz. :ph34r:

I would add a section explaining that as the 1080i players create this picture from a Progressive source, most displays will re-combine the interlaced fields perfectly as long as they dont use "bob de-interlacing".

[betty boop]

good on you for posting mow. this is what this subforum is for !

[Raja]

Top notch momaw!

Is it worth mentioning that the xbox360 add on HD-DVD drive is packaged with a Universal Remote and copy of King Kong HD-DVD?Both of these must add $60-$80 to price. I know you are focusing on the features and capabilities of each system/unit, but this add on can be viewed as a low cost entry point for HD Movies and pointing out that these extras are thrown in emphasises what good value this little add on is (IMO).

[ausnew]

This is what this forum is really about...fantastic work momaw

Might want to add the differences between the A1 and XA1 ie the XA1 was the new slimline version and had backlit remote

[momaw]

Top notch momaw!

Is it worth mentioning that the xbox360 add on HD-DVD drive is packaged with a Universal Remote and copy of King Kong HD-DVD?Both of these must add $60-$80 to price. I know you are focusing on the features and capabilities of each system/unit, but this add on can be viewed as a low cost entry point for HD Movies and pointing out that these extras are thrown in emphasises what good value this little add on is (IMO).

Done. Good point. Also mentioned the rumoured Casino Royale with PS3 (I know am trying to avoid rumours but it seemed fair)

[mil098]

Mo,

Fantastic work. yes it has helped me.

You might want to check out and add this site to the FAQ (if you haven't already)

http://bluray.lindsite.dk/

it listes a range of blu-ray movies that are region free

Again, top work.

Mil.

[momaw]

This is what this forum is really about...fantastic work momaw

Might want to add the differences between the A1 and XA1 ie the XA1 was the new slimline version and had backlit remote

Differences added Thanks

Mo,

Fantastic work. yes it has helped me.

You might want to check out and add this site to the FAQ (if you haven't already)

http://bluray.lindsite.dk/

it listes a range of blu-ray movies that are region free

Again, top work.

Mil.

Damn, thanks Mil I actually meant to include that site.

[migrane]

You might want to add Sony as an exclusive studio.

[momaw]

You might want to add Sony as an exclusive studio.

[LordG]

4. Display Options[/b]

What sort of tele do you currently have? Will you be upgrading it any time soon.

There are some on either side of the debate who say you will only see an increase in picture quality if you have a display greater than 60inches. I have 42 inch and boy can I see the difference. I have heard those with displays as small as 86cm noticing the difference. But the difference you will notice will increase as screen size increases.

Now, do you have a 1080P display? If so you will be wanting the higher end HD DVD player or a Blu-ray player.

I have 81cm display and can certainly notice the difference between 1920x1080i and 720x576!!!

Also the highend players are not just for 1080p they also have the 5.1 analog so if u dont have 1080p capable display you might still need a high end player if you have a nice sound setup

[momaw]

I have 81cm display and can certainly notice the difference between 1920x1080i and 720x576!!!

Also the highend players are not just for 1080p they also have the 5.1 analog so if u dont have 1080p capable display you might still need a high end player if you have a nice sound setup

Thanks for the input. I am glad you have posted with your experience on a "small" screen. HD isn't just for those with the biggest best toys

I think I covered the need for 5.1 in the audio section but I did want to flesh that out some more anyway.

There is still a bit to do but wanted to get it up and start getting feedback.

[kamma]

http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/22/toshiba...-with-1tb-disk/

you forgot this one for japan market