Blu-ray Disc Versus HD-DVD

Step on up and take a ringside seat in the matchup between Blu-ray disc versus HD-DVD. Who will prove to be the heavyweight champion of the world?

First, let's see who can carry the weight. The HD-DVD is capable of storing 15 gigabytes on a single-layer disc and 30 gigabytes on a double-layer disc. That's pretty hefty especially compared to the humble DVD with much smaller storage capacity. How does Blu-Ray technology compare? A Blu-ray disc can hold 25 gigabytes on a single-layer disc and 50 gigabytes on double-layer discs. What's more, with multiple layer support built into existing Blu-ray disc players, Bluray struts its stuff with the potential for 800 gigabytes of storage capacity!

Just looking at storage capacity alone, HD-DVD is already obsolete while Blu-ray technology has its eyes set to the future. If consumers wanted multiple discs for a single movie, they'd stick with DVD and swap out discs as needed. HD-DVD discs can hold quite a bit of data but high definition movies plus bonus features often exceed that capacity. As a result, consumers are stuck managing multiple discs.

Back to the ring. HD-DVD is in the corner while Blu-ray comes out swinging. Blu-ray has the support of nearly 80 percent of the market backing the technology up. Industry-wide, the world's leading consumer electronics manufacturers, major film studios, and computer companies support the Blu-ray format. This means that the Blu-ray player or Blu-ray recorder you just invested in will have plenty of high definition movies and blank media to choose from.

With a wide selection of Blu-ray disc players on the market comes competition. And we all know what a healthy dose of competition means to our pocketbooks: lower prices.

In a head-to-head battle between Blu-ray DVD and HD-DVD, Blu-ray is the heavyweight champion of the world!

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Martin Wyman is a contributing author on Blu-ray Technology News at Lifestyle Technology News.