Thursday was when each class member brought in a rough draft of their analysis paper on the comparison between Blu-Ray and HD DVD, where their peers would review and edit one persons’ paper.  First each group formed and exchanged papers.  I traded papers with Taylor.  His paper followed the format of the paper very well, each topic was completely identifiable with a title that was bold and underlined.  Each topic was touched upon enough to get his point across.  The recommendations I had for Taylor was his grammar in the analysis portion and the number of sources he used.  He had a couple run on sentences and had repeated a few sentences.  The minimum number of sources for the assignments was six and he only had used three.  After he makes those corrections he should have a solid paper to turn in.  The only recommendations that Taylor had for my paper was mostly grammar corrections; spelling, run on sentences and punctuation.

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Why do we need a new DVD format?  Suave Kajko answers this question in an article written in the Toronto Star.  Since the physical size of TV’s begins to grow, there is a need for DVD’s to meet the resolution quality of a larger TV.  Kajko says “The 480p resolution (720 by 480 pixels) of standard DVDs can only be blown up to a certain size before the picture starts to lose its sharpness. Both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats offer a 1080p resolution (1920 by 1080 pixels), which contains nearly six times the number of pixels to define the picture”.  The picture quality is so good in Blu-Ray and HD DVD that one can make out the wrinkles in an actors face and even the texture of fabric.  I wonder how long it will take consumers to make the switch from standard DVD format to HD? 

Analysis 

Old DVD format has a resolution of 480p, while HD has a resolution of 1080p, resulting in a much better picture quality.  The HD era began in April of 2006 when HD released two players and two months after that Blu- Ray released its first player manufactured by Samsung.   (217)

Analysis

Porn makes up 10% of the DVD market.  The physical production of Blu-ray discs will come to about 35% of those movies’ budgets, compared with 15% for HD DVDs and 10% for a standard DVD. (181)

 It has finally come to my attention that the reason Blu-Ray discs cost significantly more than HD DVD is because the features are better.  In an article by Andrew Keith, he notes that ”HD DVD can store about 15 gigabytes of data while Blu-ray can store up to 25GB on a single-layer disc”, that comes out to about thirty percent more.  But that is about it.  Both Blu-Ray and HD DVD players support high-definition TV with 1,920 by 1,080 50/60 progressive scan as well as the same quality of audio playback.  So does that mean that I can get the same quality of video from an HD DVD? Yes it does.  But, Keith also says that “With Sony’s acquisition of Columbia Pictures and MGM, Blu-ray might be able to have a larger movie library as compared to HD DVD, which only has exclusive support from Universal Studios”.  This almost forces consumers to choose Blu-Ray to get a more diverse selection of movies. 

Analysis

Blu-Ray can store 25GB of data, while HD DVD can only hold 15GB.  Both players support high-definition TV with 1,920 by 1,080 50/60 progressive scan.  Blu-Ray and HD DVD drives are already available for computers. These drives can be used to store data, watch movies and play games. But many computers do not support such high-definition displays. 

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Stephen William, a writer for Newsday, discusses the similarities and differences between the HD DVD and Blu-Ray discs. William discusses how both formats offer a high-resolution video, incomparable to the current generation of DVD’s, the Blu-Ray disc offers more data capacity per layer, which results in more than four hours of video with audio. The way Blu-Ray operates is also different from that of HD DVD and traditional DVD that it uses a blue laser to read the disc rather than the standard red laser. I think that the trend is leaning more towards Blu-Ray discs since there have been more players sold in the last year that HD, over one million. LG does make an outstanding universal player that would be more consumer friendly if the price were to drop below one thousand dollars, but would that really put an end to the battle? It might since consumers aren’t forced to choose between one or the other.

Analysis
Blu-ray supports more data capacity per layer as compared to HD DVDs: It translates into more than four hours of high-definition video with audio. But HD DVD isn’t far behind. Playstation 3 includes a Blu-Ray player and has sold over one million units, which also affects the gaming industry. The porn industry is leaning towards HD because of the cost. LG offers a universal box that plays both formats.

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 Gary Gentile, and AP Business writer wrote how consumers will soon have to decide between two different formats of DVD’s in order to watch their favorite movies.  While any movie made by Sony Pictures will only be sold on Blue-Ray discs while Universal movies will be sold exclusively on HD DVD.  “People are still frustrated there is a format war to begin with,” he said. “The studios are making people choose. What consumers want is something that will play everything so they don’t have to choose.”  In the US market, HD DVD’s hold a higher percentage of units sold with 61%, while Blu-Rays hold 36%.  I think that the undustry needs to pick one format and run with it, make the units and discs a reasonable cost so there isnt a battle over which to buy, the better one stays.    

Analysis

But Blu-ray, backed by Sony and a majority of Hollywood studios, got a big boost when Sony introduced its PlayStation 3 game console, which comes standard with a Blu-ray drive. Counting those machines, there are more Blu-ray players out there.Although Microsoft’s Xbox 360 can play HD DVD movies, the drive has to be bought separately. Only 160,000 drives have been sold so far, compared with 1.5 million PS3 consoles, according to NPD.

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The war has begun between blu-ray and HD DVD.  Randy Waynick, senior vice president of marketing in Sony’s Home Products Division said that the company has sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 100,000 blue ray players and 100,000+ Playstation 3 consoles.  One advantage to the rival, HD DVD is the cost.  Where the HD DVD costs $250, the blu-ray comes in at a price of $500.  With the cost of HD DVD so low, blu-ray does offer a more vast selection to choose from, but would not help sales if HD DVD players drop to $199 during the holiday season.  As a consumer, I would be more reluctant to purchase a HD DVD.  The main factor in my decision would be cost, because I am in a low income bracket.   Analysis HD DVD players cost half as much as blu-ray, 250/500.  HD also has more high ranked sales for dvd’s.  Sony believes that who ever will have a cheaper player by the time it hits the mainstream consumer first, will win the battle.  Right now it’s a close race.   (195)