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High defini
which form
Standard definition DVDs and DVD players have saturated the market –
and now we’re waiting for the next big development: high definition DVDs.
These will finally give us an unlimited source of high definition program
material but there are two competing formats. Which one will win? Or
will they co-exist, uncomfortably, for a long time – like VHS and Betamax?
by Barrie Smith
First announced in 2002 Sony’s Blu-ray format
takes a very different approach to storing high
definition material: a single-layer disc can store
between 23 and 27GB of data, enough for four
hours of high definition video. A dual-layer
disc can hold between 46 and 54GB, more than
enough for eight full hours.
8 Silicon Chip
siliconchip.com.au
tion DVDs –
at will win?
I
have to admit that, having agreed
with our esteemed editor’s request
to put together a story on what’s
happening with high definition video
formats, I faced the challenge with
trepidation. I saw it as a bit like describing the movement of a glacier on
steroids. This is really a monster!
I suppose you could see it coming
if you looked really hard. But few of
us probably had the patience to do so,
infatuated as we are by the elegance
and ease of use of DVD, which has
taken the market by storm. The players
are relatively easy to use, the movies
are beguiling and the quality (when
compared to VHS) is stunning.
Currently, some DVD players are
priced at less than a decent meal at
the local Chinese; my nearest Harvey
Norman’s has them on the run for less
than $50. The software, however, is
still ticketed as high as the market will
bear. But those bewitching platters of
plastic in their stylish boxes pull us
in every time.
Many of us have a collection of
titles on the shelves that will very
soon rival the number of VHS tapes
we have either recorded or purchased
over the years.
In my own case (and making no comment on copyright) I have 300+ tapes
Partnering Toshiba in the drive towards
making HD-DVD the standard, this is one of
the NEC hardware mock-ups. Expect to see
actual product in the near future.
siliconchip.com.au
April 2006 9
In a nutshell . . .
1. Just what is high definition widescreen?
In the PAL world, high definition video is defined thus:
720p: the picture is 1280 x 720 pixels, transmitted at 50 complete frames
per second.
1080i: the picture is 1920 x 1080 pixels, sent at 50 interlaced fps or 50
complete fps.
1080p: a 1920 x 1080 pixels picture, sent at 50 complete fps.
The first figure (eg, 1920) is the horizontal definition in pixels; the latter
figure (eg, 1080), is the vertical line structure.
HDTV is a digital signal in the 720p, 1080i or 1080p format.
2. Component versus HDMI connection
A component video connection carries the three primary colour signals;
in consumer terms, the three component signals have been translated
into luminance (Y) and two colour difference signals (PP, PR), each on a
separate wire.
HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) is the optimum method of
carrying uncompressed video and multi-channel audio data to the display
device through one single cable, so eliminating multiple analog connections
for hi-res audio and video. Without an HDMI connection you would need
three video connections for high definition video and six audio connections
for surround audio.
HDMI is a digital carrier, as opposed to other connection standards,
such as composite and component video, as well as S-video, which are
all analog.
3. What sound channels will be available?
For audio, Blu-ray supports linear (uncompressed) PCM, Dolby Digital,
Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD and Dolby Lossless (also known as MLP).
HD-DVD audio, as supported in Toshiba’s first HD-DVD player the HD-A1,
includes Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD lossless (two
channel), DTS and DTS-HD lossless.
For what it’s worth, Dolby Digital Plus is an enhanced coding system based
on the AC-3 codec. It offers support for more audio channels (up to 13.1),
improved coding techniques to reduce artefacts and backward compatibility
with existing AC-3 hardware. Naturally, surround channel information will
depend on how each movie title Blu-ray HD-DVD disc is prepared.
4. Do both Blu-ray and HD-DVD have the same video standards?
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.
5. Which is best?
Either approach – Blu-ray or HD-DVD – will offer significant advantages
for the creation of a high-quality screen image, compared to current DVDs.
That is, ‘significant’ if you have a true high definition display of sizeable
dimensions.
In my opinion, the benefits of the two systems will only be fully realised
if your screen image diagonal measures more than 1.5 metres. The big
plus is that even at close viewing distances, the line structure completely
disappears.
6. Encoding.
Let’s hope the MPEG encoding on important movie titles is performed
sympathetically. A “million dollar” screen display is worthless if screen
artefacts from poor encoding are noticeable.
10 Silicon Chip
shelved, with DVDs approaching the
100 mark.
And in a few short months, they
will all be obsolete. Digital High Definition widescreen DVDs are about to
be released!
Home Cinema
When you go to the movies, it’s a
matter of course that all the big features
are exhibited in some sort of widescreen aspect ratio and of a quality
seldom seen in the home environment.
But it’s now possible to install a monster plasma or LCD TV screen, or set up
a high definition video projector, that
will create a home cinema experience
pretty close to the real thing … screen
size aside.
And that’s not even to delve into the
situation where you can watch widescreen digital broadcast television of
sports, dramas and documentaries with
a resolution that matches it.
Next item on the menu: a medium
to replay and, if the Almighty permits,
record high definition video and multichannel sound.
High Definition Video
So now we find ourselves slap bang
in the middle of a format fight. In the
red corner is HD-DVD, a format created
by Toshiba and NEC, while over in
the opposing (blue!) corner is Blu-ray,
the progeny of Sony, Matsushita and
Philips.
Both have serious supporters. The
players and the discs from both are due
soon. Realistically, the struggle will
begin earlier than you think.
With the technology bloodlines of
both sides beyond question, it’s not a
matter of which format is superior but
more a situation of which will curry
most support from backers. . . and
which will convince the public that
the content (movies, games, etc) will
be desirable.
Toshiba/NEC’s HD-DVD
Toshiba/NEC’s HD-DVD format appeared in November 2003 and was
introduced to the DVD Forum (see
panel) and approved by the latter as
“the next-generation DVD format.”
Blu-ray was never submitted for consideration, so was neither approved nor
rejected by the forum. Actual product
from Toshiba itself had not appeared
on the market as of late 2005.
HD-DVD discs have a single-layer
capacity of 15GB – that’s more than
siliconchip.com.au
The replay pickup inside a Toshiba
HD-DVD player; the format uses
a blue-violet laser with a 405
nanometre wavelength.
A Philips Blu-ray recording head. It too uses a 405nm laser but there the
similarities end! Blu-ray disc capacities are potentially up to 200GB
three times that of a single layer DVD
(4.7GB). HD-DVD uses a blue-violet
laser with a shorter wavelength (405
nanometres) than the red laser (650nm)
used in current DVD drives; for the
record, CDs are written with a laser
wavelength of 780nm.
The HD-DVD’s shorter wavelength
laser enables tighter data packing on
the disc, so more data can be stored.
This HD-DVD disc is visibly identical
to a DVD.
HD-DVD, Blu-ray and DVD all use
a 120mm disc. The surface layer of an
HD-DVD disc is 0.6mm thick, the same
as DVD but thicker than the Blu-ray
disc’s 0.1mm layer.
When first launched, the HD-DVD
disk will come in three sizes: 15, 30 and
45GB. The 45GB version could hold
a total of 12 hours of high definition.
A fourth type will have a standard
definition DVD version on the reverse
side of the disk.
Sharing a low manufacturing cost,
HD-DVD has very similar characteristics to DVD: same layer thicknesses and
similar materials. Current DVD disc
Toshiba HD-DVD player and disc
siliconchip.com.au
plants can, with slight modifications,
manufacture HD-DVDs.
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray format was first announced in early 2002 and actual
product — in the form of a Sony Bluray recorder – was actually on sale in
Japan in April 2003 for the asking price
of US$3815.
Disc blanks holding 23GB could be
bought for US$30 and could store two
hours of MPEG2 encoded high definition video. DVD players are likely to
appear early this year.
Sidestepping the DVD Forum, Sony
created its own industry body in the
Blu-ray Disc Association, with at least
seven of the DVD Forum’s original
10 founders now supporting Blu-ray.
Currently the association has 140
members.
The format’s capacity potential is
staggering: a single-layer disc can
store between 23GB and 27GB of data,
enough for four hours of high definition video. A dual-layer disc can hold
between 46GB and 54GB, more than
enough for eight full hours of high
definition.
Another plus is the extreme thinness
of Blu-ray’s data layers; up to eight
layers could be potentially placed on
one disc: then you’re looking at 200GB
of storage. TDK has already created a
four-layer 100GB prototype disc.
Blu-ray also relies on a blue-violet
April 2006 11
laser with a 405nm wavelength.
Blu-ray’s attractions include high
capacity and future expansion. The
early discs were housed in protective
caddies because the data layer is very
close to the disc’s surface. TDK then
developed a very tough coating so the
Blu-ray can now claim durability: it’s
said that not even a screwdriver can
damage it and it’s likely to be even more
damage-resistant then current DVDs.
A Blu-ray disc is costly to manufacture and current DVD plants would
need considerable re-tooling. But
technology is never stationary.
The Winner
HD-DVD was built to handle only
one application – video playback
– at minimal cost and maximum efficiency.
Blu-ray has a different approach:
the format can handle video and audio
playback, computer software and gaming applications equally well. Blu-ray
has three technological advantages:
(a) it allows movie studios a higher
level of copy protection;
(b) Blu-ray has more present and potential capacity than HD-DVD; and
(c) the format’s Java programming technology is a proven standard and offers
greater operator interactivity than HDDVD’s iHD (devised by Microsoft).
HD-DVD and Blu-ray will be backwards compatible with DVDs and both
employ the same video compression:
MPEG2, Video Codec 1 (based on Windows Media 9) and MPEG4.
The amount of high definition content that can be stored on a disc is entirely dependent upon the codec used
to encode that content. Using standard
Blu-ray’s secret weapon may be the PlayStation 3 console (top, with a PS3
action game below), due for release this year, with a Blu-ray drive able to play
games and high definition movies.
12 Silicon Chip
MPEG2 DVD compression, a singlelayer Blu-ray disc could hold two hours
of high definition programming, but
with MPEG4 or VC-1 compression this
figure roughly doubles.
HD-DVD has one other advantage
over Blu-ray: it can accommodate hybrid DVD/HD-DVD content on the same
disc; each on opposing sides.
The two rivals have fought a bitter PR
war over the last year or so. Talks held
in early 2005 with the aim of effecting
a possible compromise to combine the
two formats got nowhere.
The general feeling is that most
major movie studios will support the
Blu-ray format in 2006. But industry
figures have concerns over disc production costs, as it is recognised as a
major departure from past DVD and
CD manufacturing processes. Higher
production costs will lead to higher
retail prices. One executive even stated
that in trials “a manufacturing line for
HD DVD discs produced nearly twice
as many useable discs as a similar line
pumping out the Blu-ray format, over
the same period of time.”
The duel will most likely be won by
the format with the lowest hardware
and software prices. It seems likely at
this point in time that the competing
products will hit the market at roughly
the same time.
While apparently more costly, the
Sony format appears to be the most
technically advanced and the one with
the most development potential so that
it could carry more content.
Blu-ray has a possible 200GB capacity in view (using eight layers), compared to a likely maximum of 60GB
for HD-DVD (two sides/two layers).
But new codecs such as MPEG4 AVC
could make it possible to produce high
quality content at lower bit rates (less
data) without a visible loss of quality.
Using such advanced codec technology, HD-DVD could possibly store
eight hours on two layers that would
normally have held only 30GB with
“straight MPEG4” encoding – enough
for a complete high definition movie
with all the extras.
HD-DVD supporters promised the
release of 85 movie titles before the
end of 2005, while Blu-ray planned a
release in the first quarter of 2006. This
situation has changed due to smallerthan-expected shipments of hardware
and software.
Paramount promised a release of 20
HD-DVD titles in 2005 but will not resiliconchip.com.au
The Colt: Tapestry
As this story was being written
and the powerful forces behind
Sony and Toshiba were slugging
it out, suddenly a dark colt was
seen to streak up on the outside
rails, that could, if it was let run,
trample on all their plans.
The tape people, Maxell and
a Colorado enterprise InPhase
(a spinoff from Lucent Technologies’ Bell Labs) has announced
that it has developed a “new
storage medium optical disc
technology” called Tapestry that will store 63 times the capacity of current DVDs on a 130mm disc — about 300GB.
And it could be a viable product by September 2006.
The holographic media is claimed to have ultimate storage
capacities of 1.6 Terabytes per disc and offer data rates as
high as 160Mbps (20MB/second).
In October 2005, Turner Broadcasting System broadcast
a promotional TV ad from a holographic disc and drive developed by Maxell and InPhase respectively. Turner VP of
Broadcast technology, Ron Tarasoff, described the medium
as “an ideal way to store high-quality, high-definition movies
[and] TV programming as files,” adding that “the data rate
allows us to migrate files on and off the disks quickly.”
Early information indicates that InPhase is using both
green and blue lasers to write the holographic data with
wavelengths of 510-532nm and 400-410nm. The discs are
both ROM and recordable. The specs for Tapestry allow for
disc media as well as ‘slides’ and ‘coupons’, measuring 50
x 75mm and 75 x 75mm respectively.
The InPhase developers devised several overlapping
multiplexing techniques that resulted in a relatively simple
architecture for holographic storage. A reference laser beam
is used to “write” that data in a number of 3D hologram
images. Coupled with this was the creation of a new, higher
density storage medium; this used a new “two chemistry”
polymer that yielded a high response, high photosensitivity
media in a millimetre-thick, optically flat format.
This twin chemistry promises storage densities of up
to 100 Gigabits/square inch, along with very fast transfer
rates. InPhase claims that Tapestry drives do not require
very fast rotation rates to get the promised transfer rates.
Relatively small form factors can therefore have very high
capacity and performance. Accelerated testing indicates
a 50 year archival life for the media.
Venture capital partners include Hitachi Maxell, Bayer
Material Science and ALPS Electric (makers of Alpine
hifi).
Not to be forgotten is the breakaway Chinese format,
EVD (Enhanced Versatile Disk), created in 2003 to avoid
the high DVD licensing cost but, by using codecs VP5
and VP6 instead of MPEG2, able to store high definition
resolution programming.
It fell by the wayside after a dispute between developing
consortium members. Gone? Probably!
During recording (left), light from a single laser beam is split into two beams – a signal beam (which carries the data)
and a reference beam. The hologram is formed where these two beams intersect in the recording medium. In order
to read the data (right), only the reference beam is needed. It deflects off the hologram, thus reconstructing the stored
information. The hologram is then projected onto a detector that reads one million bits of data in parallel. This
parallel read out provides holography with its fast transfer rates.
siliconchip.com.au
April 2006 13
LATE NEWS . . .
HP has decided to support both
formats, after opposing HD-DVD
for the last two years. The decision
makes sense in the short term, leaving the market to decide which will
be the winner.
The Las Vegas CES show in January saw early Blu-ray/HD-DVD hardware, titles and strategy revealed.
Player costs for Australia would likely
be high at first, with some companies
holding back on early models.
Toshiba will market its first two HDDVD players – HD-XA1 and HD-A1
– in March. The new HD-DVD players will output content through the
HDMI interface in the native format
of the HD-DVD disc at either 720p or
1080i. Through the HDMI interface,
standard definition DVDs can be
upconverted to output resolutions
of 720p or 1080i to complement the
performance of an HDTV. Prices are
set at $US499 and $US699.
Toshiba also showed off a new
high-end Qosmio laptop with an HDDVD drive.
Microsoft announced it will make
an external HD-DVD drive that will
eventually be available for its newly
launched Xbox 360 video game console. This drive will not be available
for the Australian launch of the Xbox
360. Also announced: Microsoft will
build in support for HD-DVD in the
forthcoming Windows Vista operating system.
Movie releases in HD-DVD will
‘ramp up’ in May this year, growing
to nearly 200 titles by mid year. Early
releases will primarily be legacy titles,
lease any until this year. NBC Universal
released 12 titles instead of 16, while
Time Warner says that its plans are
flexible while it waits to see whether a
compromise can be achieved between
the two formats.
Going back a while, it’s interesting to
note that Toshiba and Warner Brothers
helped settle the behind-the-scenes
format disagreements that existed before the adoption of the present DVD
standard.
And don’t forget the games market:
with its multi-layer capability, Blu-ray
appears to offer the most real estate
for graphics-rich games, a sector rap14 Silicon Chip
adding some new releases later. Titles
will feature a mixture of stand-alone
HD-DVD discs and hybrid HD-DVD/
standard-definition DVD discs. Hybrid
discs will sell for several dollars more
than HD-DVD-only titles.
Still being decided are the final
specs for the AACS digital rights management system that is to be used in
both the HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc
formats. Failure to sign off on these
could still further delay both the HDDVD and Blu-ray Disc formats.
Pioneer’s first Blu-ray Disc computer drive should be around in Q1/2006.
The company’s first Blu-ray player –
BDP-HD1 – should appear in June at
a suggested price of $US1800.
Samsung promised to ship a Bluray Disc player – BD-P1000 – to
consumers in April 2006 for around
$US1000. It will have a memory
card reader and outputs include
composite, S-video, component,
HDMI and both digital and analog
audio outputs.
Broadcom announced the first high
definition decoder chip that is fully
compliant with both Blu-ray, HD-DVD
and DVD. “Broadcom is providing the
back end,” said Jonathan Goldberg,
senior product manager. “Features
like video, graphics, navigation, display.You can use Broadcom solutions
to build a player that will play both
[formats].” The company noted that
DVD player manufacturers must still
deal with the incompatibility of the
optical pickup at the front end of the
technology. You still need a drive but
that’s likely this year!
idly overtaking movie production as
a prime and lucrative revenue source.
The killer punch in the match may
well be the arrival of Sony’s Playstation 3 game console this year. PS3
will feature a Blu-ray drive and be the
first video game console on the market featuring a next-generation drive.
Likely price: US$300-600 for a games
machine that will also handle high
definition video.
The PS3 factor is important in the
struggle: if Sony gets a high volume
of players in the market, it will gain it
market recognition and market share,
which will obviously help to bring
down manufacturing costs for domestic players and discs.
However, at the end of the day, the
buying public has to fork out for the
new technology – and in decent numbers – to make HD-DVD or Blu-ray a
financial success.
The real fact is that enthusiasts have
invested in large screens and projectors
to enjoy true digital 1920 x 1080 high
definition video, along with surround
sound systems and most are, by-andlarge, very happy with the experience
from current broadcast TV and DVD
delivery.
Now that prices are tumbling, other
consumers will now follow the early
adopters. Then we’ll see whether we’ll
take on a high definition disc format or
will Video on Demand, Internet video
or iPod-like delivery schemes outwit
the disc. It’s your call!
Format fight
Many people have compared techno
fights like this Toshiba/Sony scrap as
similar to the tussle between Sony’s
Betamax and JVC’s VHS tape formats
in the mid 70s.
No comparison! The contest then
was to launch a video recording format
for the home, to sell the hardware to
punters eager to tape and archive their
“Number 96” and “The Sullivans”
programs as Australian colour television really got into its stride — from a
slow 1975 start.
It’s believed Sony lost the battle
because it wanted Betamax to be the
industry standard, presumably to
reap the royalties and manufacturing
licensing fees from the proprietary
technology.
JVC, for its part, was content to
‘open share’ the format with other
manufacturers, thereby missing out on
substantial potential earnings — but
ensuring that VHS proliferated in the
market place. By 1984, 40 companies
were on the VHS bandwagon, with
Betamax at only 12. Finally admitting
defeat, by 1988 Sony was manufacturing VHS recorders.
No, the HD-DVD versus Blu-ray is
not about the hardware — it’s the software! Each camp has supporters lined
up – and big guns they are:
HD-DVD
Movies: Warner Home Video, Universal Studios, HBO and New Line Cinema, Paramount Home Entertainment.
Others: Dell, Hewlett-Packard, NEC,
Sanyo, Thomson.
siliconchip.com.au
Blu-ray
Games: Electronic Arts, Vivendi.
Movies: Sony Pictures, Columbia
TriStar (Sony-owned), Walt Disney Productions, MGM (20% Sony-owned),
Paramount Home Entertainment, 20th
Century Fox, Lions Gate Entertainment.
Others: Adobe, Intel, Microsoft, Apple, Dell, Thomson, JVC, Mitsubishi,
Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Hitachi, LG, Samsung, Sharp,
Yamaha, Zenith, BenQ, Maxell, TDK,
Verbatim.
DVD Forum
The DVD Forum is an international
association of hardware manufacturers, software firms, content providers
and other users of Digital Versatile
Discs (DVD). Its purpose is to exchange
and disseminate ideas and information
about the DVD format and its technical capabilities, improvements and
innovations.
The forum was founded by the companies involved in the original DVD
format war to make sure that compromises could be reached regarding the
future of the high definition format.
Current members include Toshiba,
NEC, Sony, Matsushita and
Philips (and a few hundred
others). Yes, Toshiba, Sony,
etc – the progenitors of the
two opposing high definition
recordable formats – are still
members.
The final frame
As this story was wound
up, news came through that
Samsung plans to make
a combo HD-DVD/Blu-ray
player. The company currently supports the Blu-ray
group but is reported to be
wary of launching a solo
format unit.
Samsung feels it has sufficient resources to support
HD-DVD as well “in the
Samsung’s BD-P1000 combo Blu-ray/HD-DVD
near future” and the current
player will output 1080i and 720p hightarget of the company is “to
definition signals, as well as standard-definition
be ready for a super-combo
signals. The $US1000 player is expected in the
recorder, capable of recording
next few months, possibly as early as May.
on both Blu-ray and HD-DVD
media.”
possibly make it expensive, at least in
This would be the solution everythe beginning.” It’s likely to appear in
body needs, Samsung believes, in order
the US in the next few months.
to “avoid the confusion of different forThere are rumours that LG is close
mats.” However, such a device “would
behind with the same ambition. SC
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April 2006 15
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