Movies & TV - HD-DVDs

The name Blu-ray Disc (abbreviated BD or less commonly BRD) is derived from the blue laser light it uses. The altered spelling from the English original blue aims to facilitate the registration of the term as a trademark. The HD-DVD (High Density Digital Versatile Disc) also uses a blue laser. Blu-ray Discs are particularly well-suited for full HD videos, while HD-DVD is ideal for storing high-definition television (HDTV).

What is the difference between Blu-ray and HD-DVD?

The differences in picture quality are not very significant, as both formats are compatible with the same codecs and can display the same resolutions. The players can be connected to all HD-ready displays with any HDMI version and play movies in HD. There is also little difference in sound quality between Blu-ray and HD-DVD; however, they offer significant advantages compared to standard DVDs. The biggest difference is likely in storage capacity and data rate. A single-layer HD-DVD has a capacity of up to 20 gigabytes, while a single-layer Blu-ray Disc has a capacity of up to 27 gigabytes. With a dual-layer HD-DVD, it is up to 30 GB, and for the BD, it is up to 54 GB per side. Approximately 13 hours of standard video and about two hours of HDTV can be recorded with the storage capacity of a Blu-ray Disc. Furthermore, the Blu-ray Disc is faster with a maximum data rate of 52 Mbit/sec compared to the HD DVD, which transmits at 36 Mbit/sec.

What should you pay attention to when buying?

In general, players must have a network connection and storage capability for additional content, as the advantage of the formats is that they offer interactive usage options (downloading current bonus material, unlocking additional features, etc.), which can only be implemented if a network connection and storage capability are available. Furthermore, players and receivers should have an HDMI 1.3 connection so that the audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD can be transmitted undecoded to the receiver. All Blu-ray and HD-DVD players must be able to transmit Dolby Digital, DTS, and LPCM 5.1 and contain at least one audio track in one of these formats.