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Jul 04, 2008
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Charles Chambers
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| 12/04/2007 5:24 PM |
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| I was surprised by the alarmist tone in the "Ask Joe" article on high-definition DVD formats, characterizing it as an "old-fashioned format war." Thanks to technology, there is no war here, and hardly even an arm wrestling contest.
The old Beta-VHS was a true war - to be won or lost. The cassettes and tape were of totally different dimensions and storage formats. The mechanics of loading and moving the tape were so different that there was no choice but to have different machines. You had to buy one of each if you wanted to view both.
With DVDs we have exactly the same media format, a 120 mm diameter polystyrene disk, with the same single spiral track. Loading and spinning the disk is the same for HD DVD and for Blu-ray. The voice coil servo mechanism that centers the reading laser on the track is so adaptable, that recent DVD burners for PCs have added dual layer capability at no noticeable added cost.
When DVD burners first came out, they were several times more expensive than DVD players, yet there was hardly two bucks worth of difference in the burner's circuitry -- a slightly higher powered laser diode and a little tighter tracking control. Now you can't even find a bargain basement PC that doesn't have a DVD burner, at virtually no premium.
The current cost differences on a dual HD DVD/Blu-ray player are due entirely to marketing not technical complexity. Chips able to decode both storage formats, including encryption and error correction, on the fly are no more expensive, with only licensing of proprietary coding being a factor. Putting a dual laser on the voice coil, and enabling the electronics to switch between HD DVD and Blu-ray scanning is a no-brainer, with barely five bucks in added cost.
Encryption is another whole matter that can be more problematic than the HD DVD/Blu-ray "war." Current blank DVDs for burning come with a serial code pre written at the start of the track, and signal processing chips are required by law to have algorithms that control what can go on to or come off of these DVDs.
As for me, if I see a title I want, either HD DVD or Blu-ray, I buy it. I'm going to be able to watch both on my plasma HDTV, no worries.
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lbilladeau9@peoplepc.com (guest)
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| 04/15/2008 7:11 PM |
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| A ew years ago, I had cable TV installed. The roof antenna was removed. Am I all set for HD date of February, 2009? |
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jgold (guest)
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| 04/17/2008 12:55 PM |
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| You may need a converter box that will plug in from the cable that goes into the wall on one end and the other end plugs right into a TV. I beleive the Ask Joe column in the Erickson Tribune March edition talks more about this converter box, but you have time before you have to get it. |
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Gmtx42@aol.com (guest)
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| 05/20/2008 8:15 PM |
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How do I find out if my TV has a digital tuner
that is compatible w/HD TV
Gil |
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