Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater HD-DVD video resolution?

As excited as I am by HD-DVD (I use this term for both technologies) I can't seem to find any info anywhere in regards to what the video resolution on these discs will be. I've been assuming 1920x1080 progressive, but can't seem to find any info to confirm this. Any ideas?

That seems to me to be what I've seen around the internet, but I can't pull up any confirmation at the moment, and relying on my memory is a crap shoot. I know that's the resolution of the 1080p HDTV sets that are just hitting the market, but I can't say if that's the intended resolution of the DVDs themselves.

July 5 Article

Thanks for the link. Does anyone else have a link that's more definative than a Seattle Times Article? (Good article btw...)

Cool artical.

I hope it gets sorted out real soon!!!

I want the prices to stabilize quickly!!

Our DVD jukebox is almost full and we'll be needing a new one toooo soooon!!(The Wife has some kind of DVD addiction!!)

Yes great article Bug. Damn I never realized the Blu-ray discs only have 1mm of plastic coating. I scratch DVDs and they have 6mm of plastic on em.

Guess we will have to treat those babies like....well errrr a baby.

I'm pretty sure the 1920x1080 will be the MAX resolution....but that doesn't mean studios can still give you something less (ie. 720p).

Damn this format war. I will be hesitant to buy a player knowing that one of the two technologies might go the way of Betamax or laser disc, and worst case scenario, be nothing more than a niche market.

My money would be on blu-ray. It has a higher disc capacity and appears to be the better technology. However, Betamax had better resolution than VHS but consumers backed VHS because of the cheaper prices. HD-DVD could help itself immensely if it is willing to sell their discs for cheaper than Blu-ray due to their cheaper production costs. That could swing the market in their favor. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

In reply to:

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Damn I never realized the Blu-ray discs only have 1mm of plastic coating. I scratch DVDs and they have 6mm of plastic on em.

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I was scratching my head on this one, until I read the article....that would be 0.1mm and 0.6mm.

That is the recorded layer, and not the outer coating that gets scratched.

edit: now I am confused.....the article calls that 0.1mm and 0.6mm coatings the later above on top of the recorded surface, but the chart calls it the recorded surface.

Craig, all the info on these formats is that the max resolution would be 1920x1080. Of course, the producers of an individual disc could choose to provide lower resolution. While higher resolution may be of some interest to the studios, particularly if it enhances sales, the enhanced copyproofing of these discs(cf. DVD-A/SACD) is likely a far more important consideration to them.

Curtis, that part of the article is inaccurate. The depth of the protective layer over the recorded layer is 0.6 mm for HD-DVDs and 0.1 mm for Blu-Rays(it's been said that a cross look will cause a layer that thin to fail and render the disc unplayable). Seriously, since the 0.6 mm HD-DVD layer is the same as regular DVDs, current facilities can be used, while the Blu-Ray requires altered equipment and procedures, making it less attractive in that respect. Both use a "blue" 405nm wavelength laser, compared to 780nm for CD and 650nm for DVD-A/SACD.

My best is on HD-DVD to win out, from what I have read.

I agree. When I first started reading about these two formats (gah, like 2 years ago+ ?) I thought Blue-ray would be the way to go, more high tech, bigger capacity, etc. But weight'n all the advantages of HD-DVD, I just see Blue-ray as the next Beta.

I think the Blue Ray discs may come with a hard outer shell, that would protect that thin layer. Ever seen a dvd-ram disc?

So who wants to "volunteer" to buy me a couple of HD/Blu-ray players so I can do an audition for the board to determine a winner?

I think the disc "caddy" for that DVD-RAM disc is optional, depending on the player. I have seen DVD_RAM players that do not need the caddy.

I think they all need the caddy to write them, but once written, they can come out. Anyway, the blu-ray discs don't use the caddys any more.

I remember when computer CD-ROM drives used to require caddies, back in the days of 1x and 2x speeds.

I'm sorta hoping (and actually expecting) both formats to fail. My reason being that I read about these Holographic discs, that apparently cost around the same to manufacture, yet hold way more than HDDVD or BluRay. Another reason being that the general population doesn't take to format changes unless there is some very significant evolution going on. Think of the transition from cassette>CD and VHS>DVD. They're absolutely huge. Now think of the transition from CD to SACD or DVDA, not going so well. Niche for sure. I have no idea what's going to happen of course, but I just have a feeling a new format isn't going to fly right now. And who knows if there ever will be another physical format like we're used to now that becomes a standard, what with broadband taking over and all, all the piracy, everything you can do with a PC and your media. I don't think it's too far off until there literally is no standard physical format. So I can't see BluRay or HDDVD getting too much penetration and I think the major corps. are putting way too much faith in them. It's going to be interesting atleast.

One thing I'm wondering is if these new formats will translate into a new audio format that blows away SACD/DVDA?

In response to:

Poster: INANE
Subject: Re: HD-DVD video resolution?

I agree. When I first started reading about these two formats (gah, like 2 years ago+ ?) I thought Blue-ray would be the way to go, more high tech, bigger capacity, etc. But weight'n all the advantages of HD-DVD, I just see Blue-ray as the next Beta.
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Keep in mind that the Playstation 3 will have Blu-Ray drives built in. I like HD-DVD too, but if the Playstion 3 has Blu-Ray, then that format won't die too quickly.

Both options seem good, but HD-DVD should allow manufacturers an easier entry point since it is based off of current DVD technologies, and should be able to convert a DVD factory to an HD-DVD factory much easier than a whole new setup for making Blu-Ray.

That's if the PS 3 makes it to market before the format dies... Arstechnica is speculating that we won't see the thing until 2007.

Nope - My Panasonic will write to DVD-RAMs withoutthe caddy. It will accept the caddy, too, but it is not necessary.

I think that such caddies are a fine idea for protecting the discs. Especially since you can replace the outer caddy pretty easily and (most impotrantly) for mere peanuts.

Good to know. I'll have to try it with one of the old DVD RAM drives one of my clients has... and then see if it's readable in one of the new DVD+/- RW drives they've got!

Man, I'm reading that last post over again. And let me just apologize in general for my terrible typing skills. Mind so fast, fingers so slow.