AfterDawn: News

Microsoft, Intel support HD DVD

U.S. software giant Microsoft and chip-maker Intel have pledged support for the HD-DVD format; a competing format to become the next generation standard to replace DVDs. The format, developed by Toshiba is going head to head with Blu-Ray which was developed by Sony Corp. and is promoted by the Blu-Ray Disc Association. Both formats, which depend on blue lasers can store much more data than ordinary DVDs which makes them perfect to store high definition movies and next generation videogames.

Possibly billions of dollars is being fought for by both sides, whom also both have major backing. Blu-Ray has scored a lot of support especially from Hollywood, being backed by such studios as Walt Disney Co., Sony Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox. Many experts have long being saying that it seemed Blu-Ray has advantage in the format war, but the added support from Intel and Microsoft for HD-DVD was a blow to Blu-Ray.



This might give HD-DVD the edge over Blu-Ray at least in North America, Intel and Microsoft's strongest market. "We wanted to choose the format that has the highest probability of this market taking off," said Stephen Balogh, director of optical media standards and technologies at Intel. HD-DVD also has support from Hollywood studios including Universal and Paramount.

However, in a format war, consumers have the last word as we all have to decide which format we want to go with eventually. Blu-Ray so far has had a lot of support from consumers, mainly due to its higher storage capacity than HD-DVDs.

Source:
Reuters

Written by: James Delahunty @ 27 Sep 2005 11:52

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• 38 comments

• Deadrum33

  What are the odds of Apple and AMD joining Blu-Ray? This whole story and the war for the "next generation" disc reads like a bad story line from WWE Wrestling. I'm waiting for a steel cage match to end this...

  27.9.2005 12:42 #1

• borhan9

  What can I say that i have not already.... Suport for one format over the other is not the way to go....
  
  The Companies that are going to make these players, should just make there players a multi format player and maybe charge a bit extra in the start... They are both off blue laser technology... Hello...
  
  Competition has never been a team player :)

  27.9.2005 12:56 #2

• diabolos

  Apple does support Blue-Ray.
  
  http://www.bitburners.com/High_Definition_DVD_FAQ/#faq303

  27.9.2005 13:43 #3

• arcanix

  I'm waiting for that steel cage match too :D Well this deal balance's the fight nicely. I thought that blu-ray was going to win this but now I'm not too sure about it. This probably ends with the same way as dvd-burner issue with +/- disc. Since both use blue laser, then it's easy to make multiformat players/drives. But since both sides think that their format is better than the other, then they're only pushing drives which support only their format to the market. And if they make multiformat drive, they have to pay royalties for their rivals. So at first we will see only one format drives/players, just like with dvd-burners.

  27.9.2005 14:09 #4

• xentrix

  I don't care who wins, I will hold my ground.
  The easiest format to circumvent will get my vote.
  But..Wouldn't be nice if some billions was put where it was needed right now like poverty?

  27.9.2005 15:04 #5

• limelight

  It doesnt matter which format wins. All thats going to happen is that movie studios will put the video in "hi-def" therefore taking up a ton more space. My point is, i still wont be able to watch an entire season of a show on one disc.

  27.9.2005 15:26 #6

• nonoitall

  Too bad they can't just have a huge poll for all digital consumers to vote on which format they want (that is, if big corporations even cared about the consumer).

  27.9.2005 15:29 #7

• diabolos

  So I will assume that the xbox 360 will have a HD-DVD up-grade coming soon.
  
  @ limelight
  
  You could get an entire season on one disc in standard-def. I don't think the entertainment industry is going to be putting TV shows on either of these discs. I would use HD as a luxery, I wouldn't sell it.
  
  You could probably fit an entire season of a show on one disc using DivX-HD or some other MPEG-4 based codec like AVC (a.k.a. H.264).
  
  Ced

  27.9.2005 16:14 #8

• mkaseatgb

  I personally think its stupid to have two different types of media. We already have to buy enought crap to make out home theaters compatable with everything, now we are going to have to have two DVD players? There should just be one type of blue laser media, and I personally dont care who makes it.

  27.9.2005 16:25 #9

• unolord

  It's Beta vs VHS all over again. Personally I hope HD-dvd wins. From what I read those players will be able to play both HD and current gen dvds. The fact that Sony is backing Blu-ray should be enough warning to the world. Sony always backs the losing formats. Landfill full of mini-disc players and Atrac3 encoding guides...

  27.9.2005 17:29 #10

• wheatking

  Ha Ha Ha!! I remember how bad I wanted a MiniDisc player when they first came out. I'm sooooooo glad I bought a CD burner instead, back in the day.
  
  I thought that both BluRay and HD DVD were both backwards compatible with current media?
  
  Sony is just banking on the PS3 to get BluRay players into consumers homes before people have a chance to get their hands on a HD DVD player.

  27.9.2005 18:06 #11

• diabolos

  Both formats are backwards compatible with current DVDs.

  27.9.2005 19:36 #12

• cyber86

  You left the following out:
  
  WINDOWS VISTA WILL ONLY SUPPORT HD-DVD
  ---------------------------------------
  Microsoft plans to only have built-in support for HD-DVD for their next generation OS "Windows Vista". What this means is that it will be necessary to install additional software to use a Blu-ray drives.

  27.9.2005 20:49 #13

• A_Klingon

  Quote:The easiest format to circumvent will get my vote.That may or may not be helpful to you, xentrix.
  
  If, say, there is an early successful crack for HD-DVD, but the market later decides to go with Blu-Ray, you'll wind up with a crackable-but-obsolete system that nobody supports any more.
  
  (And vice-versa should you choose blu-ray, but HD-DVD wins).
  
  Wait for the winner to finally emerge, and then folks can work diligently on a decent, workable "fix" for whatever cockamamie DRM(s) the industry comes up with.
  

  28.9.2005 04:46 #14

• Jauzzi

  Didn't Sony invent the CDs??? and the walkman, MiniDisc, etc...??? I don't see why are you so glad you bought a CD burner instead... besides, we all did.

  28.9.2005 04:52 #15

• Ghostdog

  Here´s a pretty interesting read: http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050927_190208.html
  
  HD-DVD is looking better and better if the things said in there hold up.
  
  And I won´t underestimate Microsoft´s and Intel´s judgement in this matter. These companies probably take the technology side of things in to consideration more than the movie studios.

  28.9.2005 06:04 #16

• wheatking

  @ Januzzi
  
  I'm glad I bought a CD burner as opposed to buying a MD player/recorder for copying/listening to music. I had originally considered purchasing a MD player since I had used them at work, and the interface for using a broadcast quality MD player was very user friendly and provided you with a lot of options. I simply realized that buying a CD burner was far more practical.

  28.9.2005 10:22 #17

• j0j081

  Don't believe anything you read at THG!!!

  28.9.2005 16:57 #18

• nonoitall

  Why not?

  28.9.2005 18:19 #19

• plutonash

  Wow big blow. The Big wigs are trying to play this off lightly but they may need to wake up and smell the cofee. Besides the "Playstation" Sony products are alway rated poorly. Hell tey reported a lose on all products beside the Playstation. Combine that will the release of new system, players, recorders/players and they have ALOT to lose. The funny thing is how they played this off. Some exec said this, "Sony maintained that Blu-ray would eventually find wider acceptance among content developers because it offered better copyright protection". I have news for you buddy this is the exact reason people like me will not be buying a Blu-Ray player. I dont give a shit about DRM when It comes to backing up my movies. I would think many would agree with that on this site and other digital/P2P/etc sites.

  28.9.2005 21:19 #20

• Ghostdog

  Yeah... why not? It´s mainly an interview, what´s the big deal?

  29.9.2005 07:47 #21

• neurokasm

  Quote:The fact that Sony is backing Blu-ray should be enough warning to the world.Indeed. I hate sony.

  29.9.2005 08:11 #22

• webwise

  It doesn't matter who you vote for. The Government always wins.
  
  It doesn't matter what you want to buy. The strongest cartel always wins.

  29.9.2005 08:35 #23

• cappyx

  Congratulations to Sony for succesfully creating the next generation of Betamax! If maicrosoft and intel back it this is what i will buy. afterall panasonic, pioneer and toshiba make superior dvd hardware over sony.

  29.9.2005 10:27 #24

• rufus29

  If Sony is backing it, buy the other one. As they say,"history repeats itself".

  29.9.2005 10:30 #25

• nonoitall

  Sony may not have a good history of success in this area, but I'm not too fond of Micro$oft or Intel either *cough*DRM*cough*. I know the article at THG says that Microsoft is supporting HD-DVD so that consumers can make personal copies and all that, but will we be able to transcode these gargantaun movies into something a little smaller? Will we be able to edit parts we don't want to watch every time we view the movie? It's a war between the greedy fat-cats if you ask me; the only thing we lowly consumers can do is watch and hope the slightly less greedy one wins (whichever one that may be).

  29.9.2005 10:52 #26

• Gossimerg

  Interesting how people will back MS over Sony, remember MS and Sony are the leading competitors in the next generation of home entertainment, so of course MS will back a format that isn't supported by Sony. Intel will alway be kissing MS's butt too so them hanging on is no surprise. Blu ray has a higher Data density which in my opinion makes it a hands down winner.
  
  Frankly backing either MS or Sony is a choice between the lesser of two (of the worst)evils.
  
  This may not be a complete list of companies involved in Blu Ray, but here it is:
  Apple Computer, Inc., Dell Inc., Hewlett Packard Company, Hitachi, Ltd., LG Electronics Inc., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
  Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Pioneer Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics Co.,Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation, TDK Corporation, Thomson Multimedia, Twentieth Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures.

  29.9.2005 11:59 #27

• rrego

  Well, after read all posts theres just one conclusion to take:
  Japan vs USA who wins?
  My bet go to the japs...
  The only advantage in HD is the M$ support!
  And everybody knows who M$ is...
  

  29.9.2005 12:37 #28

• jamesneed

  For those people who say that they don't like Sony, one thing to remember is that the PS3 will have a Blu-ray player right out of the box. The Xbox 360 is suppost to have a standard DVD player at the release date(haven't heard if this is confirmed or if it will change). Having a Bluray player in the PS3 means that the PS3 games will use less disks(some of the RPG games in development for the 360 may take more than 2 disks until the HDDVD is in the 360) and you would have a Bluray player right out of the box, which might be cheaper than a stand alone Bluray player.
  
  I only wonder if we may have to have both players depending on the movies that are released(Star wars from 20th century fox on Bluray and Indiana Jones from Paramount on HDDVD). This would put a stalemate in the format war unless certain companies would release both formats for videos but that could suck even more(as if video stores are not too full all ready or I have to buy 2 versions of a video because Bluray version has bonus features that are not on the HDDVD version and vice versa).
  
  This war between formats may not have a definite winner. I just hope that the companies could actually work together to help the consumer out.(probably not).

  30.9.2005 05:29 #29

• bee2005

  I think that It's time for all of us to save money to keep enjoying our hobbi entertainment...Maybe they're so expensive??.

  30.9.2005 06:16 #30

• dkknght2

  Heres an idea.Lets wait till the spin dies and the products debut. Then after the hype is over enjoy the $$ or M$ spent for our entertainment. Then continue to go on with business as usual and buy whichever product performs the best with the fewest problems . And oh yes you"ll here all about those, probably right here im guessing.And dont forget to check out the customer service the companys provide...It was fun reading this thread

  30.9.2005 21:34 #31

• Cman

  they're planning some truly nasty DRM for the new formats and personally, I'm gonna wait it out until all the bugs are fixed. I really would advise you folks do your DRM homework before buying either player OR a burner for the new formats. Chances are until a crack is found, you're throwing your money away..

  1.10.2005 07:44 #32

• fibrewire

  MPAA vs Microsoft. At least Sony supports open source. Blu-Ray has more storage space and is supported by CyberLink, DTS, Hitachi, JVC, LG, Nero, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp, Sonic, Sony, TDK, Yamaha, Verbatim, Dell, and Hewlett Packard. And honestly, the Beta vs VHS war wasn't about who had "the better product." Later after the format war, VHS incorporated a bootleg version of beta and called it "SuperVHS". and now look at what we have -- a bunch of krappy VHS tapes that suck ass. You know that beta tapes look as good now as digital TV and VHS just plain sucks! But thats OK because everyone who wants to back a monopoly knows that eventually the price will NOT go down on the technology. Prices are driven lower by having competition, a basic principle of free enterprise. But who will pay the price? If we go with Microsoft on this one the we will be forcing Windows onto everyone's desktop just to support the new format and lock them into play as the main operating system for the next 10 years. At least if we choose Sony, Microsoft will have to find a different excuse to charge $200 to the end consumer. And for those of you who don't know what "Open-Source Software" is, look it up in Google. You might just find out that open-source is the way to go. President Carter was saying in 1984 that we should bite the bullet and invest and switch to alternative energy so that we wouldn't get sucked in to the world oil market. But people didn't want to pay $2 a gallon for alternative energy as opposed to $1.50 gallon for gas. Oh well, looks like we would still be paing that $2 a gallon for alternative fuel today. As an American, looks like we keep making the same mistake and investing in the monopolies of the world. And every time we do it we get stuck with $3 a gallon of gas, or $200 a copy of MS Windows. I hate paying for an upgrade because the software program I bought was broken when I got it. People wonder why windows programs are so expensive. Its because "Brand X Corporation" has to pay for an outrageously priced development kit to make software that is "Windows Certified." Games and Applications would only cost half as much if they didn't have to run on Windows. Sony might be a giant corporation but Sony is definately the lesser of the two evils.

  1.10.2005 12:26 #33

• A_Klingon

  Pink Ray, dudes. I'm waitin' for the Pink Ray discs to come out.
  
  I ain't gonna buy nothin' till the Pink-Ray-Consortium introduce their single-layer, 100-gig 3" mini pink-ray discs.
  
  Unlike the blu-ray vs. HD-DVD kerfuffle, "Pink Don't Stink".
  
  No DRM. No copy-protection. No Region coding. No Macrovision. No cracking needed. No nothing 'cept a pretty pink sheen when you hold them up to the light.
  
  I think they have a 100-disc changer in the works.
  
  I'll keep you posted.
  
  :=)

  1.10.2005 17:07 #34

• Pappyo

  I have over the years read a lot of bad mouthing Microsoft. I just wonder what we would be doing if it hadn't been for Microsoft comming out with windows?

  3.10.2005 17:41 #35

• nonoitall

  Two things:
  
  1. Bad mouthing Micro$oft for doing some other stupid thing
  2. Bad mouthing the ones who did end up coming out with Windows
  
  It's a good thing MS came out with Windows - kinda kills two birds with one stone. :)

  3.10.2005 19:31 #36

• dkknght2

  Heres a thought. Sony uses all Intel processors on their Vaio product line. if Intel is in the other camp this might cause a little strain with Sony. I wonder if AMD will make a move on this one way or the other

  4.10.2005 11:22 #37

• f00dl3

  HD DVD - isn't that the one where you can't record TV shows if it has a copyright bit set? I know that they are trying to push for DVRs & TiVO to have this feature (all those commercials about getting a free DVR with dish network are soon to be false advertisement as you won't be able to "re-play" live TV w/o paying extra each time you use the DVR features).

  6.10.2005 17:44 #38