High Definition DVD

High definition DVD, also known as HD-DVD (which actually stands for High Density DVD), is one of two competing high definition storage format - the other being Blu-ray.

The need for a new, high capacity storage format, has been primarily brought about by the rapid rise in popularity of HDTV in Japan and the US. HDTV has much higher bandwidth than either NTSC or regular DVD discs, so in order to record programs from HD- DVD higher capacity discs, of at least 30GB, are required.

High definition video is also being used increasingly to make Hollywood movies as it offers comparable quality to film at much less cost. Therefore, the studios plan to release future movies on one or both high definition formats.

HD-DVD was developed by Toshiba and NEC and has the support of the DVD Forum, along with a number of Hollywood studios. Currently those studios which have announced support for HD-DVD are; Universal Studios, Paramount Studios, Warner Bros., and New Line Cinema. It has a capacity of 15GB for single-sided discs and 30Gb for double-sided. It doesn't need a caddy or cartridge and the cover layer is the same thickness as current DVD discs, 0.6mm. The numerical aperture of the optical pick-up head is also the same as DVD, 0.65mm.

Because of its similarities to current DVD, high definition DVD is cheaper to manufacture than Blu-ray, because it doesn't need big changes in the production line set-up. Both HD-DVD and Blu-ray have backward compatibility with existing DVDV discs. That is that current DVDs will play in HD-DVD player, although new high definition DVD won't play in older DVD players.

High definition DVD currently supports a number of compression formats, including MPEG-2, VC1 (based on Microsoft's Windows Media 9), and H.264 which is based on MPEG-4 and will be supported by the next version of Apple's QuickTime software, which will be included with Mac OS X Tiger.

Kenny Hemphill is the editor and publisher of The HDTV Tuner - a guide to the kit, the technology and the programming on HDTV.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


How To Choose a Computer Mouse

Computer MiceEvery computer user can hopefully identify their mouse and... Read More

What Tablet PCs Can Do for You

Tablet PCs are great. If you are a mobile person,... Read More

ATA vs SATA

Hard Drives: ATA versus SATAThe performance of computer systems has... Read More

Quality Recovery and Rework - When It All Goes Wrong

When Quality is the Target, but not the Result, what... Read More

Expansion Cards Part 2: AGP

Expansion Cards Part 2: AGPThe first in this series of... Read More

How to Avoid Getting Ripped-Off When You Purchase A New Printer

It's no big secret that printer companies like HP and... Read More

Computer Components for Idiots

There are many fancy add-ons for computers, but the basic... Read More

JunxionBox -- WiFi Access Everywhere

Now you can more easily access the Internet wherever mobile... Read More

LCD Vs. CRT

When buying a new computer, or upgrading your monitor, you... Read More

7 Steps to Cleaning the Laser Toner From Your Laser Printer

Cleaning a laser printer, fax, or copier of laser toner... Read More

How To Take Care Of Your Laptop Computer

As the proud owner of a laptop computer, you'll want... Read More

The Printer Cartridge Game

Think you got a great deal on a printer? Like... Read More

The Constantly Changing World of Inkjet Technology

We have finally advanced to a time when technology can... Read More

Computer Hardware Preventive Maintenance Software

Computers often break down at the worst of all times.... Read More

Flyback Transformer-How to Locate the ABL Line

Whenever there is a complaint about monitor contrast problem I... Read More

Blu-ray: A Primer

Blu-ray is an optical disc format which is set to... Read More

Getting The Proper Laptop Screen Size

Are you sick of viewing everything on that small screen... Read More

Used Laptop Computer: Your Quick Purchase Inspection Guide ? Part 2

Used laptop computers are everywhere these days. How can you... Read More

RAID Disk Recovery

RAID is short for Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive)... Read More

War of the Disks: A Close-in Analysis of the Hard Disk Drive vs. the Solid State Disk

Much has been written about solid state disks (SSDs) becoming... Read More

Testing Diode -The Accurate Way on How to Test Semiconductor Diode Using Multimeter

Testing diodes is different from testing a resistor because you... Read More

How to Change, Upgade or Remove an IDE Hard Drive

Hard drives - Hard drives are a little more complicated.... Read More

5 Tips For Buying The Right Laptop Computer

It's easy to be intimidated by all the laptop models... Read More

Emergency Response VSAT Internet Communications

As 2005 begins, there are a number of products on... Read More

A Review of Refurbished Toshiba Laptops

Toshiba offers a few of their refurbished laptops in the... Read More

How To Refill Your Ink Cartridge

Forget about emptying your wallets every time you see the... Read More

ABCs Of DVD Drive Abbreviations

The number of different formats available in DVD drives can... Read More

Getting to Know Inkjet Printers

Inkjet printers were born in the 1980s, replacing the popular... Read More

Testing Flyback Transformer - How to Test and When to Replace It

Nowadays, more and more monitor comes in with flyback transformers... Read More

What is ESR Meter?

All capacitors have a certain amount of resistance to the... Read More

RAM - What is It & Why You Need Plenty

This is the first article in the Understanding Your Computer... Read More

Printer Ink Cartridges - The History

You are working at your computer and trying to print... Read More

10 Things to Ponder Before Moving Your Office Network

Moving the office network? How hard could it be? Anybody... Read More