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MillimeterNAB 06
Mar 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Trevor Boyer, Barry Braverman, Dan Ochiva, Jan Ozer, Jem Schofield, and Jeff Sauer
Tire kicking time
Primera has incorporated Pioneer’s BDR-101A Blu-ray disc recorder into its Bravo XR-Blu Disc Publisher. The automated recorder loads up to 50 Blu-ray discs at a time.
HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs
Even though it's still mostly a war of words between the HD-DVD and Blu-ray formats, the rhetoric has really heated up since last NAB. Now, the next stage—delivering playback hardware—comes just this month, as consumers can now buy disc-based high-definition video playback technology.
For those who know their video technology history, another VHS vs. Betamax-style war is brewing, with Sony again offering what it says is a better technology while butting up against powerful entrenched interests.
Relative picture quality available from the two formats is open to debate, but it won't be the deciding factor in consumer adoption, if history is a guide. Do consumers care about capacity? Blu-ray DVD has a clear edge here, at 25GB per disc vs. HD-DVD's 15GB. But price plays a big part: The first consumer HD-DVD players from Toshiba are expected to start at $499, while the cheapest Blu-ray machine—from Samsung—prices at $1,000.
The third major factor in the war—content—will likely become the most important once prices come down across the board and consumer adoption spikes in response. So far three studios (Sony, 20
There is, of course, a wild card at play here: personal computers and gaming consoles. Microsoft's Xbox 360 will get an add-on HD-DVD player soon, and Sony's PlayStation 3 could become the Blu-ray player for the masses. (It certainly looks to be the least expensive at this point, especially if it's priced at around $300 to compete with Xbox 360.)
Last year at NAB, Sonic demoed the interactive capabilities of HD-DVD. The demonstration shown here is based on the movie Elf, and was created using Sonic’s Advanced Content Multiplexer. Top navigation and menu overlays can be animated and designed transparently, allowing access to special features without interrupting the movie.
Many professional producers have been following this story since CES in January, when most first-generation products were introduced. Of course, it will be a long time before a client asks for an HD-DVD or Blu-ray disc as a deliverable. But savvy clients will undoubtedly get high-def disc playback capabilities before long—and pros will want to be able show them an HD reel. On the display side, the demand for high-def content and playback is more pressing, as HD-resolution plasmas and LCDs proliferate in public areas.
The manufacturers who serve content producers are certainly stepping up to the plate. On the authoring end, Sonic Solutions was doing demos of HD-DVD and Blu-ray interactive capabilities at last year's NAB. This year, expect to see a new version of Sonic's Scenarist that allows the creation of these interactive features—such as the ability to access menus while video plays in the background—at the show.
“Just higher picture quality isn't enough for consumers,” says Rolf Hartley, Sonic's general manager for the professional products group. “Hollywood has identified the benefit of additional capabilities such as advanced interactivity that complement the higher quality picture and will further inspire consumers to buy a new high definition player and HD-enabled movies.”
After all, uprezzed SD video looks pretty good on HD screens, and therefore interactive functions are going to be the key to consumer adoption, he says.
Web connectivity becomes more important as home theaters become web portals—and Sonic has experience helping content creators build web interactivity into standard-def DVDs via its eDVD product (now in version 4). Sonic's InterActual will allow studios and authors to let viewers connect to Internet-based content that's created after the release of a DVD title.
What about recordable media? Companies like Imation and Maxell are coming through with both recordable Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs. As for recorders, look for Pioneer's BDR-101A Blu-ray Disc/DVD recorder at the show. Need lots of copies? Disc publishing leader Primera has incorporated this drive into the Bravo XR-Blu Disc Publisher, an automated system that loads up to 50 Blu-ray discs at a time.
— TREVOR BOYER
A Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD Scorecard
(As of press time)
HD-DVD
Toshiba
NEC
Sanyo
Intel
Microsoft
Universal
Blu-ray
Sony
Panasonic
Samsung
Pioneer
LG
Dell
Sharp
JVC
TDK
20th Century Fox
Disney
Serving both
HP
Thomson
Hitachi Maxell
Imation
Time Warner
Paramount
