Forrester Research on Wednesday declared Blu-ray, a new DVD format backed by a group led by Sony, as the winner in the increasingly heated battle over next-generation DVD technology.”Two groups are competing for control of high-definition DVD formats to be launched in the spring of 2006. After a long and tedious run up to launch, it is now clear to Forrester that the Sony-led Blu-ray format will win,” Forrester Research analyst Ted Schadler said in a report.
More Details at ZDNet.
This might tip things in Blu-ray’s direction for the consumer as well. What most consumers (including me!) do not want is to end up buying the Betamax version of these two competing DVD formats.
To clear things up, these new formats will use blue lasers instead of the red currently used … since blue has a shorter wavelength, more data can be packed onto the disc.
Each next-generation DVD format comes in single-layer and dual-layer formats. For HD DVD, that means capacities of 15GB and 30GB; for Blu-ray, it’s 25GB and 50GB.
Despite Forrester’s “announcement”, both Intel and Microsoft have joined the HD-DVD camp. Those are two powerful forces, but on the other hand more studios seem to be in the Blu-ray camp, or else both, as opposed to JUST the HD-DVD camp. And Dell and HP are in the Blu-ray camp.
It’s also possible that the two sides might come together. Although DVD+R and DVD-R never did, and those two formats are BOTH alive and well.
My choice? Wait to see what happens. This story is not yet over.
Edit: less than a week after this post, HP made a few requests of the Blu-ray camp, which would bring Blu-ray closer to HD-DVD. A unification in the making? Read the full story at Ars Technica.
