Even with well over a decade in the marketplace, DVDs can still be the source of some confusion for the average buyer of home electronics. Competing formats is not unheard of when it comes to DVDs, as a challenge had emerged within only three years of its debut threatening the very survival of the standard. It would seem, however, that format wars could now be a thing of the past with HD-DVD's recent abdication to rival Blue-Ray Disc. This fourth article of the series examining many things DVD will now take a look at the vanquished contender format of HD-DVD.
Now in what appears to be an inherent characteristic of the DVD, whereby the very acronym seems to engender competing definitions (viz., "Digital Versatile Disc" versus "Digital Video Disc"), HD-DVD has alternately been defined as "High-Definition DVD" and "High-Density DVD." Both meanings describe the format accurately, however, as it is precisely the high data density that makes possible the high-definition video. With strong backing from consumer electronics power Toshiba, HD-DVD was envisioned to become the successor to the standard DVD format. Under steady pressure from the competing format of Blue-Ray Disc, however, support for HD-DVD continually dwindled until around two years after its debut it would be discontinued. Following on the heels of a series of high profile defections to Blue-Ray, Toshiba conceded the market and effectively rendered HD-DVD defunct. The HD-DVD Promotion Group that had been organized to advocate for the format was disbanded soon thereafter.
The HD-DVD Promotion Group had been organized as a consortium of electronics manufacturers and movie studios to coordinate efforts worldwide on behalf of the format. Toshiba Corporation served as the chair, with NEC, Sanyo Electric, and Memory-Tech rounding out the leadership in various capacities, with a total of sixty-one general members and seventy-two associate members. Toshiba had previously served as the chairman company for the DVD Forum, which had been comprised of industry insiders with a similar mission of promotion and advocacy for DVDs in general. But advances in laser technology yielded by Sony and Pioneer lead to the development of Blue-Ray, creating a deep schism in the industry between those who backed Blue-Ray and those who championed HD-DVD. Even though today's Blue-Ray Discs are virtually identical to standard DVDs, at the time of their introduction Blue-Ray Discs had to be housed in a protective caddy that posed various problems, many of which involved increased expenses, such as requiring special players that can accept them.
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By Paul Wise. When it comes to Blank CD Media, Paul suggests Tapes.com for more Blank Media.
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