This is very long. So I hope you find it interesting. And if it helps just one person off the fence (to either side to be perfectly honest), then it was worth my time to type it.
I followed the HD wars for over a year before jumping in. I’ve tried my best to examine the pros and cons of each side and base my decisions based off that. I don’t claim that all my facts are correct, but getting the “truth” hasn’t exactly been easy. In the end, you have to do the best with what you have. And keep in mind that this is my opinion. I don’t claim that my decisions work for everyone out there. Just that this is what is important to me. So I’m not looking for rebuttals to me reasoning. I’ve made my choice. You’re welcome to point out any “flaws” you’d like, but don’t expect an answer.
1) I’ll start with the big one. Please excuse the size, but I think this was the biggest factor I looked at when choosing. HD DVD has a maximum of 30GB and Blu-ray has a maximum of 50GB. At first glance, this seems a huge advantage for Blu-ray. What I’ve discovered however is that 30GB seems completely adequate at this point.
The reason I say this is I’ve seen
multiple threads where people have tried to hash out which format has the best picture quality. The method they usually seem to use is to take a small portion of a freeze framed image and blow it up 200x to compare to something similar on the other format. You’d think at this point the differences would reach out and punch you in the nose. But in every single thread, the results are hotly debated. I finally decided that if these people, who are fanatical about picture quality, can’t pick a clear winner at this point, then there must not be enough of a difference to get worked up about. As for myself, I usually
watch my movies, not stare at freeze frames blown up 200x. Plus my eyes aren’t nearly as well trained as those doing the tests. I typically don’t see compression artifacts, edge enhancement, mosquito noise, macro-blocking, etc. And that’s fine with me. I can see that stuff if I try, but I’d rather not train my eyes to pick out all the blemishes. I’d rather just enjoy the show.
Furthermore, I’ve watched King Kong on HD DVD. That’s not considered
the best movie on HD (most would say Pirates of the Caribbean currently holds that crown), but it’s among the very best HD has to offer on either side. And it looks
fantastic to me. Since it’s over 3 hours long, I’m not concerned that HD DVD has a mere 30GB. In fact I think that will be adequate for most anything to come along.
Now, I’ve seen posts on Blu-ray sites (yes I’ve followed both sides in this war) and I usually see comments about how HD DVD folks are simply worrying about
now and don’t consider how giving up 20GB will affect us in the future. We’re being short-sighted. It’s a fair statement, but what does it really mean? It’s true that in 5-10 years the epic movie could make a comeback and we’ll start see 6-8 hour movies that won’t fit on a single HD DVD. But I
very seriously doubt it. Besides, how important is it that the entire movie fit on 1 disc once you reach a certain point. I’ve seen purists who argue that
any split in the movie isn’t representing the “actual” theatrical experience. But most people take a more realistic approach. So I don’t think it’s the feature length we need to be concerned about here. If HD DVD can do 3+ hours, that will cover 99.9% of what’s out there that I’m interested in. Some Microsoft guys told me HD DVD could do Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (4:23) on one disc. Maybe they can, maybe they can’t. All I know is I can’t watch all that in one sitting anyway, so I don’t really care if it’s 1 or 2 discs.
Bonus material doesn’t count either. It’s already the norm for 2-disc sets on DVD and we’ve already seen 2-disc sets on HD DVD and Blu-ray. I don’t think anyone cares that there isn’t that additional 20GB on the main disc for bonus material. It can easily go on a second or third disc. So there’s no space disadvantage there either.
This leaves interactive content. And this is where the Blu-ray folks have a valid argument. That extra 20GB on Blu-ray has the potential to be put to good use. Now remember, this is my opinion and my opinion only. But I don’t really care. I have over 700 movies on DVD and I’ve watched every single bonus feature, trailer, read all the text stuff, listened to all the commentaries and I’m done. I’m burned out. I no longer care. I’ve seen the interactive stuff and it’s really cool. It’s fun to demonstrate to my friends. They ohh and ahh over it. But at the end of the day, I just don’t care. When I watch my movie, I don’t want stupid crap popping up. And when I want to watch bonus material, I have no desire to have the movie playing in the background distracting me from trying to see what’s in that tiny picture-in-picture box off to the side. I’ve heard rumors that Blu-ray might be able to show the bonus stuff in the main window and stick the movie in the small pip window. And I still don’t care. I know it’s a huge selling point on both sides, but it’s pointless to me. So if that 20GB means I’ll be missing some cool interactive feature, so be it. I won’t miss it.
End result: 30GB is plenty of space for my needs.
2) First impressions. I know it’s wrong to go off first impressions, but I can’t help it. HD DVD did a super job from day 1. There were problems here and there, but they still did very well. Blu-ray made a
horrible first impression with me. Their movies looked like crap, they couldn’t get their 50GB discs going, and on and on and on. For what it’s worth, Blu-ray
still hasn’t finished a few things up. In particular their interactive stuff is still not ready. That’s holding up releases. Their copy protection still isn’t complete. That’s holding up releases. Now those are two features I don’t care about, but it certainly makes the other side look better when they had their act together from day 1. Plus it inspires more confidence about how well my platform will be supported in the future.
3) While we’re on the topic, HD DVD mandated that certain hardware requirements be met from day 1. Like an internet connection for example or their interactivity software. As a result, content producers can go to town with stuff. On the Blu-ray side, you never know what features will be present on the hardware, so you either risk some users not being able to take advantage of all the features on your title, you dumb things down to the lowest common denominator or you just wait. Warner is doing a lot of waiting because the interactive features aren't there yet. Fox is doing a lot of waiting because the copy protection isn't fully in place yet. That’s why HD DVD users can buy The Matrix today and Warner is holding off on Blu-Ray (along with many other titles).
4) Next up is region coding. HD DVD doesn’t currently use it. Blu-ray does (on
some titles). I’ve heard it said that HD DVD
could turn it on at some point. I’m not sure if that’s true or not. But what I do know is that they don’t use it today and Blu-ray does.
5) Hardware Costs. I paid $250 for my HD player. Blu-ray simply can’t touch that at this point. That made it a very easy choice for me.
6) Software Costs. I’ve heard that Blu-ray discs are cheaper than HD DVDs. That may or may not be true, but I feel it’s a silly thing to argue about. Prices will come down eventually. Plus I’m not stupid enough to pay full retail. And if I just have to have it, I can afford those few extra dollars. This is a total non-issue for me.
7) How about exclusive studios? I’ve seen all kinds of crap on this one. The truth of the matter is both sides have movies I want to see. And both have material you couldn’t give me. At this particular point in time, HD DVD has more titles that interest me. But that’s a stupid way to make a decision. The gap may continue to widen or it might not. Both sides have a story to tell, but in the end, no one can predict the future. So I didn’t let this affect my decision. Only a fool would believe that he can say with any certainty exactly how things will look a year from now.
8) Here’s a fun one. First of all, not all Blu-ray advocates are idiots. I’ll admit that up front. But I’ve seen a few here and there that like to talk about how Blu-ray has three layers of copy protection and HD DVD has only one layer. After picking myself up off the floor, I have to wonder who these people work for. By and large, copy protection is a benefit to the content owner and a hindrance to the user. The user has nothing to gain from copy protected computer software, video games, CDs, MP3’s, DVDs, etc. In what insane universe can copy protection be considered a benefit for the user? THIS IS NOT A “FEATURE”!!! I guess it’s true that if you tell a lie enough times, people will start believing you.
9) This one is another hugely personal opinion, but I hate Sony. Now I’ll agree that none of the corporations in this little war have clean hands. In fact the whole lot of them have such dirty hands that they’re barely recognizable
as hands any longer. But I dislike Sony more than the rest. Now, this has nothing to do with anything. If Blu-ray was my format of choice, I’d suck it up and deal with it. But that’s not the case so at least it makes me feel better.
10) I’ve heard some say that the lossless sound on Blu-Ray is better than the lossless sound on HD DVD. That just sounds like complete crap to me. If no bits have been thrown out during the compression stage, then you have the exact same soundtrack when it’s uncompressed. I’ll admit that I don’t know enough about this to speak intelligently on the topic, but at the end of the day, that sounds like a bunch of crap to me. And like picture quality, I’m not into it enough to compare and contrast different soundtracks to find the “perfect” one. When the movie is playing, I’m too into the story to notice minute differences. I say both sides have awesome potential. When quality sound tracks are created in the first place, then it’s all good to me.
11) 5 free movies from Toshiba from now until the end of July. The choices are limited, but you can't beat free.
12) Blu-ray movies are supposed to have a protective coating to help prevent scratches. HD DVD doesn't. That's a very nice Blu-ray feature.
Anyway, that just about sums up my feelings. I can’t say which side is “better”. I can only try to separate the facts from the crap the studios are feeding us and decide what’s important for me. I've done so and hope you find this valuable as you ponder your decision.