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December 31st, 2006, 15:28 Posted By: wraggster
Via gamescentral
So the “next gen” format war is upon us with two sides lined up, ready to take your money for your fourth version of Full Metal Jacket (I can’t believe that you actually got it on Laser Disk…what were you thinking). If you are like most people, you are wondering a couple of things, the first being why would I want to buy another version of Full Metal Jacket, and is the $200 add on drive for the 360 worth the money, especially if I already have the PS3? More importantly, which one of the two (the PS3 or 360 HD DVD drive )looks and performs better. This article will attempt to answer these questions with background and information, as well as present evidence to why the ultimate conclusion was reached.
What is the difference between next gen and current gen?
Well, with Blu Ray and HD DVD, you get the picture that the creator intended. This is full, uncompressed motion picture glory brought to you in up to 1080p resolution with true 16x9 widescreen support. Compare this to the current gen of DVDs which offer only 480p and although they do offer widescreen support, it is not “true” in the sense that it is not output in 16x9 format. DVDs, and anything that is broadcast in 480p is actually a compressed signal that is stretched by the display that is projecting it. This causes image degradation and coupled with the fact that current generation movies are limited to, at the most, 9 GBs of space to work with, and that is the reason why artifacts (those little digital square thingys) and picture noise are so common on DVD.
Next Gen disks have much more space to work with, and will therefore (if the transfer is good) nullify any artifacts and noise as well as increase picture depth, color intensity, black level and clarity. If you have watched TV in HD and then switched to the standard feed, you will experience an exaggerated version of what I am explaining. DVDs have better quality then standard TV, but HD DVDs and Blu Rays have better quality then HD TV, so the comparison is not completely crazy.
OK, so that question is answered (I hope) and I have piqued your interest. Well, your second question (one of multiple parts) is why are their two formats, what is the difference, and which one (and player) is better? This is the “money” question, and the reason that I have written this article. You see, unlike most sane people, I have both HD DVD (in the form of the Xbox 360 add on drive) and Blu Ray (in the form of the PS3) players and I am going to try and answer all of your questions while staying completely unbiased (I am not a 360 fanboy even if my previous story on the 360 HD DVD drive was featured on a site by that name).
Why are there two formats?
Remember the debate between Beta Max (a Sony format) and VHS? Well if you don’t, those were the two formats that battled it out to be the first home video, with VHS being the ultimate winner (there are still plenty of bad jokes made at the expense of poor Beta Max). The funny thing is that when Beta Max was introduced, it was highly touted as a superior format sporting better quality, and although this was true, it was ultimately the arrogance of Sony that caused its demise. Sony has been behind a few of these proprietary blunders (MiniDisc, UMD), always attempting to push new formats on consumers that must be played on Sony players, and the comparisons in this generation are warranted.
With Toshiba being the leader of the HD DVD camp, and having numerous other companies supporting their format, HD DVD has already been called the winner. This may be a little presumptuous as Blu Ray has many backers as well. The real issue is not that there are two formats, but rather that not all studios are supporting both formats. The war was almost avoided, but the two sides were unable to come to an agreement and the confusion to the consumer began. The war may be pointless, however, as there are reports of players capable of playing both formats being released in the not to distance future, so there may be never be no clear winner.
So what is the difference between the two formats?
This is a question that I have attempted to answer in my previous two write ups of the individual players, so this may be a bit of a rehash. I find that the best way to show not only what each drive is capable of, but to also showcase their differences is with the following chart.
More at the link above
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