HOME : ARTICLES: BLU-RAY VS HD-DVD

So what will the new discs mean for the consumer? The first obvious application is extra capacity of storage. With sizes of 15GB and more, you could store hard drives worth of data onto one disc. Also, they will affect the types of movies that we buy. More capacity means more creative authoring and more features. The new high def players will have networking capabilities allowing you to access information on the web connected to the film you've purchased. Also, increased interactivity is possible such as split screens with director's commentary and cast interviews and menu overlays will allow you to access your extras without interrupting the movie.

But do we really need it? Will the increased capacity be worth the extra price? New products always decrease in price over time. At the moment, Blu-ray discs have entered the market at a hefty £15 per disc and it will be some time before that drops. Manfacturers are concerned about the lack of demand of the new equipment. It was just a few years ago that we all ran out and bought DVD players and now we have to purchase something completely new and more expensive in order to play the new discs. Also compatibility is an issue. There is no drive that will play Blu-ray, HD-DVD, DVD and CD on the market yet and forcing consumers to choose at this earlier stage might cause them to reject the product altogether. Finally, what about broadband? With speeds seemingly tripling every year and prices going way down, a household may be more willing to adopt set top boxes with online video and audio instead of physical media. By the time the high capacity discs drop in price, we might not want them at all.

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