Blu-ray bares teeth in format fight to the finish

[Evi]

There are few who contest the fact that the acceptance of CD-ROM and then DVD-ROM standards for video game software led to new opportunities for the interactive entertainment industry. Disc-based software made massive worlds and high-end graphics a cheap and easy-to-produce reality that would have been hard to imagine on cartridges. But now, a potential conflict over the successor to DVD storage may help shape the next battle for console and home-entertainment supremacy.

Electronics and entertainment companies have been throwing their support behind various high-density disc specifications for months in the hope that theirs will become the widely accepted standard for everything--from games to high-definition movies and home video recording. Two dominant camps have emerged: the HD-DVD Association, which has the support of the standard-setting DVD Forum, and the Blu-ray Disc Founders Association, which has the support of many international computing and entertainment behemoths, including Sony.

"This is a macro-level battle between the consumer electronics industry and the PC industry, as both Sony and Microsoft try to fill the home networks with standards they prefer," said American Technology Research analyst P.J. McNealy.

Both the Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats use a narrower blue laser--compared with the standard red laser--to allow more data to be squeezed onto a CD-sized disc. Whereas standard DVDs can hold about 5GB of data, Blu-ray discs (BD) can hold roughly 23GB to a layer, while HD-DVD discs can hold about 15GB. These numbers can be increased through the use of dual-sided and/or dual-layered discs, which are currently in development by both high-density camps. Both discs come in rewritable and read-only (ROM) formats and are projected to be widely available in the US by late 2005 or early 2006, according to each format\'s representative organization.

The format skirmish officially entered the video game realm in August, when Sony declared in an interview with Kyodo News that the PlayStation 3 will support the BD-ROM format, in addition to standard DVDs and CDs. Sony chief operating officer Ken Kutagari later confirmed this at September\'s Tokyo Game Show. "On the computer applications front, including video games, the importance of a medium with the capability of storing huge amounts of data and programs is becoming greater than ever," Sony said in a press release accompanying Kutagari\'s announcement.

Speculation increased in early October when NEC and Toshiba, the main companies behind the HD-DVD format, publicly announced that they were trying to convince Microsoft to accept their standard in the next Xbox. "Of course we\'d like [Microsoft] to use it," Toshiba president Tadashi Okumura said in media reports from the Japanese SEATEC conference. Microsoft offered a strict "no comment" on the issue.

While Microsoft has previously shown public support for the HD-DVD, it\'s still far from certain whether its next console will support the format. Indeed, Microsoft may decide to follow Sony\'s lead and jump on the Blu-ray bandwagon, a move Sony might welcome.

"It is my understanding that Blu-ray Disc will be open to any company that wishes to use the technology," said Ingemar Henriksson, webmaster of the fan site Blu-ray.com. "Sony has invested a great deal into Blu-ray, so anything that helps it become more popular is a good thing for them." Sony did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

The DVD Forum also left the door open for Forum-member Microsoft to support the rival Blu-ray format if it chooses. "The DVD Forum charter states that members shall not be required to support Forum-approved formats to the exclusion of other formats," a spokesperson for the Forum said. Still, such a move could possibly alienate Microsoft from the nebulous 220-member body, which, incidentally, also includes Sony.

Regardless of what format Microsoft chooses, game developers will have to make good use of the extra storage space if either standard is to succeed. Julien Merseron, worldwide technical director for Ubisoft, said that a developer could use the extra space for everything from more-detailed textures and sound files to faster-loading redundant data. "It is not really the additional space that will lead to new gameplay experiences," Merseron said, "but [it] will allow us to add more details and objects into the levels, and that can lead to a better immersion." Merseron added that, while he "would tend to think that HD-DVD has a brighter future," both standards are equally viable from a technical and business standpoint.

Besides storage capacity, one factor will likely determine whether gamers accept either new format: the price. Sony would not speak on the record about how the integration of Blu-ray technology would affect hardware and software prices for its next system. A Sony Blu-ray recorder currently goes for 224,000 yen ($2,049) in Japan, and blank Blu-ray discs run about 2,700 yen ($25), according to Blu-ray.com.

Henricksson is quick to downplay the potential effects such high costs might have on developing Blu-ray-enabled video game hardware. "The major cost factor of Blu-ray players/recorders are the blue-laser diodes, so the prices of Blu-ray-based products won\'t come down until they begin mass production of blue-laser components. Sony hopes to drive up the production volumes with sales of the PS3 in the same way they did when they adopted DVD for the PS2."

As for the discs themselves, a PowerPoint presentation released by the Blu-ray Disc Founders Association estimates production costs for BD-ROMs at roughly 110 percent of current DVD production costs. The increase comes from a slight jump in material costs, while estimated costs for manufacture and distribution of BD-ROMs remain consistent with those for DVDs.

Concrete data for potential HD-DVD costs is harder to come by, but Bill Hunt, editor of technology Web site The Digital Bits and a proponent of unified DVD standards, said any cost difference would be minimal in the long run. "Current DVD/CD production lines would have to be modified more for Blu-ray Disc than HD-DVD, but as economies of scale come into play, the difference will quickly evaporate."

And what of Nintendo? The always-secretive system maker (which didn\'t respond to requests for comment) bucked the industry trend by supporting a proprietary 1.5GB minidisc format for the GameCube. McNealy feels that Nintendo may make a similar move in the next generation of consoles. "Nintendo likes to make hardware that is not too expensive in order to keep the pricing down," he said. "Further, Nintendo\'s traditional strengths have been in software development, not hardware development, so cutting-edge hardware is not likely compared with Microsoft and Sony."

The standards each company chooses for its next console could have implications outside the video game realm as well. Just as the huge installed base of PS2 users partially drove the success of DVDs, the next dominant system might break the stalemate for high-definition movie formats. "The PS3 will obviously sell a huge number of units, and you can bet the [movie] studios aren\'t going to ignore that built-in market," Hunt said. Merseron pointed out that Sony\'s potential acquisition of MGM\'s movie lineup would also help push the Blu-ray standard in that market.

In the end, McNealy said, it might be a previous format war that provides the best template for the current one. "Go back to the days of VHS and Betamax," he said. "Why didn\'t all the companies involved choose just one standard? The market decided."

Whether it\'s Blu-ray, HD-DVD, or some other standard, what the market will decide this time around is still very much up in the air.

The Article <--- Not that it matters...I posted the whole friggin thing...

This is a very interesting article. I\'m really excited about things to come. Nintendo is the best secret keeper in the biz :rolleyes: I hope they do better in the next generation war.

edit- I\'m cranky if I don\'t have chocolate.  I hope xbox2 chooses blu-ray.

[videoholic]

Nintendo has become such a non issue.

[Evi]

Originally posted by videoholic
Nintendo has become such a non issue.

I know what you mean. They may or may not choose HD-DVD or Blu-ray...hell...they may even do their own format again like they did with GameCube :rolleyes: If that\'s the case...I\'m sure it\'ll be games only. Which is what consoles are about anyway. Although I still enjoy watching DVDs on my PS2...the picture quality is better than my parents\' piece of shiz DVD player.