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Highest definition DVD format?

majordude

majordude

macrumors 68020
Original poster
A friend has a new 50"+ HDTV and he has a normal DVD player attached to it. It looks like crap.

Which format (Blu-Ray or HD-DVD) looks better?
 
Oh boy. You just got a thread rolling 😛

The quality between both is supposed to be indiscernable. i.e. the same.

HD-DVD allows the playback of existing DVD formats as well as HD-DVD disks, whereas a Blu-ray player will only play Blu-ray disks.
Image quality is dependant upon the encoding as well.
 
DO NOT ASK THIS. Going to start a mega flame war.

From a purely technical standpoint - I do believe BluRay offers higher def. But only by a slim margin.

I would not put any huge weight on either format just yet.

Also consider a standard DVD player with an up-scaling feature. It might help a bit.

Blu-ray Disc

Media type: High-density optical disc
Encoding: MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), and VC-1
Capacity: 25 GB (single layer), 50 GB (dual layer)
Read mechanism: 1x@36 Mbit/s & 2x@72 Mbit/s
Developed by: Blu-ray Disc Association
Usage: Data storage, High-definition video and PlayStation 3 Games


HD DVD
Media type: High-density optical disc
Encoding: VC-1, H.264, and MPEG-2
Capacity: 15 GB (single layer)
30 GB (dual layer)
51 GB (triple layer) [1]
Read mechanism: 1x@36 Mbit/s & 2x@72 Mbit/s
Developed by: DVD Forum
Usage: Data storage, including high-definition video
 
The quality of BluRay and HD-DVD is identical. They both use the exact same codecs for video and audio. HD-DVD and BluRay are physical media, which is completely independent of the quality of the encoding of the source material, which is where quality differences may exist. It's sort of like asking which looks better -- video burned to a DVD-R or video burned to a DVD+R. 🙂
 
Nugget said:
The quality of BluRay and HD-DVD is identical. They both use the exact same codecs for video and audio. HD-DVD and BluRay are physical media, which is completely independent of the quality of the encoding of the source material, which is where quality differences may exist.
Click to expand...

Thats correct, and both are spec'd to output 1080p, so the real question is what features does one offer over the other. e.g. Blu-ray holds an additional 5GB of storage vs HD-DVD players have backward compatibility with DVD's.

For me, I dont want a DVD player AND a Blu-ray player stacked up in my entertainment center. I'd prefer to replace my existing DVD player with one that does both, which is HD-DVD.
 
My PS3 plays Blu-Ray, DVD, CDs no problem.

My friends stand-alone Blu-Ray player plays regular dvds, too.

Best advice - Sit on your hands until early next year. Supposedly Total HD players will be on market that support BOTH formats in early 08.

I have a BRD only because I wanted a PS3 - no consideration to movie watching.

My bud, just has a ton of money, and seems to enjoy spending it.
 
Are either formats equal to HDTV in terms of resolution?

And both formats will make existing DVDs look better? That's cool.
 
It depends on if you have an up-mixing dvd player or not.

Most HDTV is 720p, some satellite HDTV is 1080i. I don't know off hand of anyone offering 1080p broadcast currently. (but haven't looked into it as of late)

Both BluRay and HD DVD go all the way to 1080p. Of course, the TV has to match the source for you to appreciate any of it.

720p is orders of magnitude better than "standard" tv and DVD. 1080p - is the Cats Ass - but most of what you'll get in 1080p is through local sources at the moment. (Games / Hi Def Dvd Player / Computer)
 
WildPalms said:
.... Blu-ray holds an additional 5GB of storage vs HD-DVD players have backward compatibility with DVD's.

.... I'd prefer to replace my existing DVD player with one that does both, which is HD-DVD.
Click to expand...
You made two mistakes:
  1. HD-DVD has a single-layer capacity of 15 GB. Blu-ray's single-layer capacity is 25 GB, 10 GB more than HD-DVD.
  2. Both HD-DVD and Blu-ray are backward-compatible with DVD. They are, however, not compatible with each other.
 
majordude said:
A friend has a new 50"+ HDTV and he has a normal DVD player attached to it. It looks like crap.

Which format (Blu-Ray or HD-DVD) looks better?
Click to expand...

Some DVD players can upscale the standard DVD to 1080p. I have one of these and the result is not bad. Of course the upscalers can not invent detail that is not one the disc but it can do a nice job of combining fields and such. The best ones can fool some people into thinking the source is HD.

But you ARE best off getting a real HD source. Which is best? If it is digital it is either very good, nearly perfect or you have no signal. Which DVD format is best? I think it depends more on the studio and who mastered the disc and if his taste matches yours. The technical quality of both of them is so good that the post production matters more.

I was watching a 1080i over the air news broadcast. The in-studio cameras had a great signal but when they'd cut away to a location, even if the crew had a "pro" HD camera, gosh it looked bad compared to what they had in the studio. News is fun to watch if you are into video cameras.

Same with CDs. I have some old jazz recordings remeasured to CD and I can definity hear the limitations of those old 50's and 60's vintage tape machines. HD is doing to same now with video
 
mcarnes said:
Blu-Ray is the better format. HD-DVD is for *******.
Click to expand...

I'm with this guy.

HD-DVDs are only popular because it says "HD" in front of it. Regular consumers automatically think its better. Put HD in front of root canal and it must be awesome. HD-root canals!! get em' while their hot!

Woopdy-do, they have BOUNUS features. Like i need to know a actor puked his guts out before the scene to look sick.

HD-DVDs hold less information. Blu-Ray can do all that and still have space left over to see the hi-res pictures of the toilet with said puke.

thats my story and im sticking to it.
 
Well THAT didn't take long...

majordude, from what I have read online (not from my own personal experience) HD-DVD and Blu-ray quality is nearly the same. The only major differences are HD-DVD players and discs cost less than Blu-ray and, Blu-ray currently offers more storage, but essentially the same quality as HD-DVD. However, the whole "more storage" issue that Blu-ray supporters always tout as an advantage doesn't mean anything to the casual viewer as of yet, and once this comes to fruition then the fight will really get nasty.

So, IMO if I was your friend I would just get a DVD player with HD upconversion.
 
WildPalms said:
Oh boy. You just got a thread rolling 😛

The quality between both is supposed to be indiscernable. i.e. the same.

HD-DVD allows the playback of existing DVD formats as well as HD-DVD disks, whereas a Blu-ray player will only play Blu-ray disks.
Image quality is dependant upon the encoding as well.
Click to expand...

Hey now, my Blu-ray player plays Blu-ray, DVD, and CD. Check your facts before posting.

Typically AVC Blu-ray encodings reach noticeably higher bitrates than VC1 HD-DVD encodes. Many Blu-ray use the same VC-1 encodes as HD-DVD because neutral movie studios only want to do one encoding and Blu-ray supports both.

Keep in mind Blu-ray has outsold HD-DVD in movies every week this year. In the end studios want to sell movies and this factor will likely end the war, reguardless of how much money Microsoft/Toshiba shell out to force support.
 
statikcat said:
Typically AVC Blu-ray encodings reach noticeably higher bitrates than VC1 HD-DVD encodes. Many Blu-ray use the same VC-1 encodes as HD-DVD because neutral movie studios only want to do one encoding and Blu-ray supports both.
Click to expand...

It's meaningless to compare bitrates between two different codecs. Witness 128bit AAC vs 128bit MP3 in the audio world for a more familiar example of why.

Additionally, both BluRay and HD-DVD support AVC and VC-1. Your post makes it sound as if AVC is unique to BluRay.

You are correct that for titles which are available on both formats, it's usually the same encoding for exactly the reason you said (sometimes the same VC-1 encode and sometimes the same AVC encode). This is why there's almost never a quality difference (the subject of this thread) between the two.
 
MisterMe said:
You contradict yourself. You also say that Blu-ray and HD-DVD use the same codecs. Doesn't that make the higher bitrate of Blu-ray meaningful?
Click to expand...

In a word, no. Not if you read the comment I was responding to that was comparing the relative bitrates of two different codecs. I was responding to:

statikcat said:
Typically AVC Blu-ray encodings reach noticeably higher bitrates than VC1 HD-DVD encodes.
Click to expand...

This is a meaningless statement.
 
Since I've an xbox 360 I decided to get the HD DVD attachment and I love it. My friend has a ps3 and the quality seemed the same so its really a matter of what works for you.

HD DVD imo!
 
Here's what it really boils down to, for any pathetic idiots who actually spend their time posting stuff like "Blu-Ray is the better format. HD-DVD is for *******.":

WHO THE HELL CARES. IT DOESN'T MATTER. Both formats are going to survive. This stupid fanboyism is pointless.

Why? Because in 12 months, combo players will be available for $300. You can already grab the BD/HDDVD combo player from LG for under $1000, and it just came out. Seeing how fast prices on HD-DVD and BD standalones both dropped like rocks in 2007, I expect the same to happen to combos, which I expect we'll see in droves by late this year.

Both formats will survive because, unlike the VHS/Beta issue, these two formats are on media that is physically the same size, requiring only different lasers and a few different chips in the box to handle both, whereas the Beta/VHS systems required significantly different mechanicals. So anyone who keeps waiting (and rooting) for BD or HD to win is an idiot. There's big companies dug in on both sides, and soon combo players will be cheap and easy to make.

OP: If you're wanting to buy a hi-def player right now, I think the key would be to figure out which format currently has more movies that you would be interested in watching, because visually the quality is identical. Personally, I'm probably just going to hold off for my $300 combo player because I prefer to have as few components under my TV as possible.
 
mrogers said:
WHO THE HELL CARES. IT DOESN'T MATTER. Both formats are going to survive. This stupid fanboyism is pointless.
Click to expand...

Please do not interfere with the ongoing flamewar with pertinent facts and sound reasoning. They have no place here.
 
Blu-Ray...thats just my opinion. and i am sure that Blu-Ray is going to win the format war anyway
 
Just people lets just end the fighting please lol and end the war its the most pointless thing ive ever seen it just pisses the consumer even more if something release the hd-dvd player for mac and blu-ray while your at it please lol i just want to watch HD movies on my nice plasma without deciding which effin format its in.
 
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