HD vs. Blu-ray:

Formats battle for movie and mass storage dominance By Rick Castellini, MCP Nationally Syndicated Computer columnist special to PRIME It seems like the 1980's all over again. Remember Beta vs. VHS when video tapes first came out? You may or may not be aware that another format standard war has been brewing the last couple of years. This time it is between Blu-ray DVDs and HD-DVDs. What makes this battle more unique than the 80's battle is that the winner not only wins the movie format battle, but the lucrative battle for desktop computer data storage as well. Way more than movies Many computer users overlook the convenience of backing up to DVD (digital video disk) disks. Many equate DVDs strictly to movies, which they are capable of), and thus never take advantage of the DVD burner on their systems. DVDs are simply a larger capacity CD (compact disk) capable of storing up to 4.7 gigabytes of storage versus a CDs anemic 700 megabytes of storage. For example, a computer user might use seven CDs to back up his or her digital photos. He or she could back up all the photos on a single DVD. Why there's a new format war In the past few years, two advanced versions of DVD storage has emerged capable of holding up to 50 gigabytes of storage or more than ten times that of today's common DVDs. For movies, this means even higher resolution sound and graphics on our TVs . providing you have a high-definition TV and DVD player. For data, this means storing massive amounts of data on a single disk. Either pick is pricy Did you catch the big "if" regarding movies? Blu-ray and HD-DVD disks cannot be played in the DVD player you own today. In order to experience the richness of the sound and video quality, you need a new DVD player. HD-DVD players (which can't play Blu-ray disks) cost between $350-700. Blu-ray players (which can't play HD-DVD disks) cost $800-1200. And if you pony up this kind of cash for a non-standard DVD player, you still won't experience any of the enhancements without purchasing a HD capable TV and surround sound system . another $800 or more minimum. Who's winning the war? Much has been written comparing the two formats, and although Blu-ray has many large companies in their pocket including Apple and Sony (two companies who rarely win standards wars) they seem to be losing to the HD-DVD folks backed by the likes of Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and Intel. They are losing primarily because the HD-DVD folks are rolling out hardware faster and at a lower cost than Blu-ray. However, the finish line isn't in sight and who knows which format will actually take over. To buy or not to buy At this moment, consumers are the ultimate losers in this war . Buying at the leading edge of a standards war like this increases costs dramatically and if yo choose wrong, your money was wasted. Do you remember beta tapes and laser disks? My advice is to hold off until HD TVs come down in price further (over the next two years) and this new way of storing data and watching movies becomes a standard (possibly two years as well). I am pretty happy with my DVD player and surround system now . these high-definition movies look great on the right equipment, but too few households have that equipment right now. For more about the DVD war If you want to learn more about these two high-definition formats, read the information provided by the two format consortiums. You will find HD-DVDs web site at www.TheLookAndSoundofPerfect.com. Blue-Ray's web site is www.blu-raydisc.com. Rick Castellini is an author, computer consultant, and hosts a nationally syndicated computer radio show from Colorado. Visit his web site at HelpMeRick.com for new tips and technology information every day and sign up for his free weekly email newsletter.