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HD DVD

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File:Hddvddisc.jpg
HD-DVD disc

HD DVD (High Definition DVD) is a digital optical media format which is being developed as one standard for high-definition DVD. HD DVD is similar to the competing Blu-ray Disc, which also uses the same CD sized (120 mm diameter) optical data storage media and 405 nm wavelength blue laser. HD DVD is promoted by Toshiba, NEC, Sanyo, and, most recently, Microsoft, HP[1], and Intel, and may be non-exclusively backed by three major studios: Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Toshiba announced the first sales of HD DVD players set for this March with models priced at $499 and $799. Also at CES 2006, Microsoft announced that there will be an external add-on HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360 game console, due out in 2006.

At the Las Vegas CES 2006, "companies backing HD DVD said that nearly 200 titles would be available for the format by the end of the year." [2]

Overview

HD DVD has a single layer capacity of 15 GB and a dual-layer capacity of 30 GB. Toshiba has announced that a triple-layer disc is in development, which would offer 45GB of storage. This is smaller than its primary competitor Blu-ray Disc, which supports 25GB for one layer, 50GB for two and 100GB for four, but HD DVD proponents point out that multi-layer Blu-ray discs are still in development. The surface layer of an HD DVD disc is 0.6 mm thick, the same as DVD but thicker than the Blu-ray Disc's 0.1 mm layer. The numerical aperture of the optical pick-up head is 0.65, compared with 0.6 for DVD. Both formats will be backwards compatible with DVDs and both employ the same video compression techniques: MPEG-2, Video Codec 1 (VC1, based on the Windows Media 9 format) and H.264/MPEG-4 AVC.

History

On November 19, 2003, the DVD Forum decided with eight to six votes that the HD DVD will be the HDTV successor of the DVD. At this meeting they renamed it to HD DVD, while it had been previously called the "Advanced Optical Disc". Blu-ray Disc was developed outside of the DVD Forum, and was never submitted to the forum for consideration.

The current specification version for HD DVD-ROM and HD DVD-Rewritable is version 1.0. The specification for HD DVD-R is currently at 0.9. The first HD DVD-ROM drives were expected to be unveiled by Q4 2004, with mass production to start in Q1 2005.

Common Disc Structure

There are many advantages to the fact that HD DVD discs will be the same size as current DVD discs. Backwards compatibility will be available with all HD DVD players allowing consumers to only require a single player in their homes to play both HD DVD and DVD discs. DVD disc replication companies can continue using their current production equipment with only minor alterations when changing over to the format of HD DVD replication. Due to the structure of the single-lens optical head, both red and blue laser diodes can be used in smaller, more compact HD DVD players. Additionally there is hybrid HD DVD which contains both DVD and HD DVD versions of the same movie on a single disc, providing smoother transition for the studios in terms of publishing the movies.

The Blue Laser

HD DVD uses a blue-violet laser to write information to the disc. The wavelength of the laser light is 405nm compared to the 650nm wavelength of the red lasers used in DVDs. The wavelength being shorter reduces diffraction and maintains a smaller spot size of the laser. This means that data can be written at a higher density on the disc surface. While DVDs and HD DVDs are the same size physically, the ability to store data at a higher density results in a larger total data capacity in HD DVDs

Protection Technology

Commercialized HD DVD's will integrate protection technology that is expected to be developed by AACS LA (Advanced Access Content System License Administrator). Audio Watermark Protection is also being created for use on HD DVD. All HD-DVD players will have a sensor that listens for inaudible watermarks in the soundtrack of movies, and will be included in the soundtracks of all major movies. If a DVD player detects the code, the disc must be an illegal copy made by copying a film to video, or using a camcorder and microphone on a cinema screen and will cause the player to refuse to play the disc. The mark is made by varying the waveform of speech and music in a regular pattern to convey a digital code. These variations, while being too subtle to be heard by the human ear, can easily be neutralized by the HD DVD players as well as hackers' audio editing software. Another variation of this system can be used to prevent the playback of discs created by using a camcorder and microphone on a home entertainment center playing a legitimate disc purchased by a consumer. This variation for home entertainment utilizes a watermark that differs from the cinema mark that the player will be able to use to check whether the disc is legal or not.

Manufacturers have also discussed plans to make players accessible for online monitoring like a digital cable box; any attempt to 'hack' a machine, play a 'hacked' disc, or another region's disc would disable the machine.

Partial list of announced HD DVD launch releases

During the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show, Universal Pictures, Warner Home Video, and Paramount Home Entertainment announced their respective lists of launch releases. At the time of CES, a total of 86 titles had been announced. [3] Partial lists of the announced titles for the respective movie companies follows.

Universal Pictures:

Complete List of 24 Launch Titles by Warner Home Video

March 28, 2005

April 11, 2005

April 25, 2005

May 09, 2005

May 16, 2005

Complete List of 20 Launch Titles by Paramount Home Entertainment

Dates are still pending

Recent releases
Catalog

Complete lists of HD DVD launch titles are announced in PDF documents at the press section of the HD DVD Promotion Group; Universal Pictures titles and Paramount Home Entertainment titles.

See also

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