HD DVD now shipping
Yesterday saw the shipment of the first Toshiba HD DVD players to north America and, although there are a limited number of movies available at this stage (The Last Samurai, Million Dollar Baby, The Phantom of the Opera and Serenity), this means that the HD DVD format has a decent head start ahead over its Blu-ray rival.
We all know the story of the tortoise and hare, but will the tortoise prevail in this race? Or will the hare move so far ahead that the tortoise will forever be lagging behind?
First, we know that the HD DVD players will be retailing at approximately $500 - and Toshiba's HD-A1 HD DVD player costs only $399. In contrast, Samsung, Pioneer, and Sony Blu-ray players will initially sell for around $1000. The Blu-ray Disc Association has stated, however, that prices will fall quickly once 'mass production of components for Blu-ray products begins'.
For anyone looking to invest in either a HD DVD or Blu-ray player, the most important aspect won't necessarily be the price - the performance and the available content will be massive factors.
Both formats are similar in many ways, but Blu-ray can hold 25GB per layer, 50GB on a dual-layer disc, whereas HD DVD can only hold 15GB per layer, 30GB on a dual-layer disc. This extra capacity on the Blu-ray format means that studios will be able to offer a higher-quality audio and visual experience to consumers, than HD DVD.
HD DVD currently only has support from three of the major movie studios - Universal, Warner and Paramount - whereas seven major studios have committed to providing titles in Blu-ray format. If you're looking for your favourite movies, it may mean that Blu-ray is your only option.
On top of this, Blu-ray has hardware support from many of the biggest names in the business, including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer and Sony. On paper, there's likely to be a much wider choice of hardware for those opting for Blu-ray.
Launching HD DVD in north America before Europe might be annoying to us Brits but it's a logical move. According to ABI Research, that area will account for more than 60% of all HDTV sets expected to ship during 2006. So HD DVD should get off to a decent start - but it does need to secure more major studios in order to maintain and grow its edge once Blu-ray is released.
On the game console front, each format has one big supporter. Microsoft has an optional external HD DVD player planned for its Xbox 360, while Sony's PS3 - due in November - will arrive complete with a Blu-ray drive.
There's been a war of words between Microsoft and Sony for some time, with Microsoft constantly pointing out the huge difference in pricing and Sony banging on about Blu-ray's larger storage capacity.
But although Blu-ray currently has wider support and more disc space, the question remains - is HD-DVD's head start likely to result in it gaining additional supporters before Blu-ray is unleashed?
That's a big question but the only thing we know for sure is that the battle between the two formats doesn't look like it's going to slow down or result in a truce any time soon, so there may only be one winner. And that's not good news for the poor old consumer who could end up losing out by backing the wrong horse.
