A recent survey conducted showed that consumers generally prefer the Blu-Ray Disc format over HD-DVD (High Definition DVD). Both formats are contenders to become the standard next generation DVD format and both sides won’t give up arguing that their technology is the best for consumers and for business. In the survey, 1200 people were questioned and the result was 58% prefered Blu-Ray, 26% were undecided and 16% preferred the HD-DVD format.

Of the consumers questioned, those who actually showed real interest in next generation formats overwhelmingly chose Blu-Ray also. 66% favoured Blu-Ray Disc, 19% were undecided and 15% preferred the HD-DVD format. "While we are still in the pre-launch phase for both formats, Blu-ray Disc is the early front-runner," said Mark Penn, whose firm conducted the poll. "Consumers perceive Blu-ray as the favourite on technology company support, gaming, storage, and disc versatility."

Some of the biggest reasons why Blu-Ray was the preferred format the ability to play the discs in more devices (PCs, upcoming consoles), backward compatibility with current DVD media and the larger disc capacity the format has over HD-DVD. "From day one, we've focused on delivering the best possible consumer experience while building support from the best brands in the world," said Maureen Weber, chief BDA spokesperson. "The result is a format that delivers a consistent, compatible consumer experience across a range of platforms, which is clearly something that resonates with consumers."

The Blu-Ray Disc Association has announced that Blu-Ray hardware (players, recorders and computer drives) are expected from Sony, Hitachi, Panasonic, Sharp, Dell, Phillips, LG, Pioneer, Mitsubishi and Samsung. The Blu-Ray disc format will also be used in Sony's next generation Playstation 3 (PS3) console. The format war looks like it may lead to a repeat of the VHS vs. BetaMax war which cost billions of dollars and was a pain for consumers.

Source:
TechNewsWorld

This is a measure of hype, not performance. It means nothing.

I personally am also looking forward to Blu Ray more than HD-DVD, but this poll says nothing about the product itself and thus is kinda useless.

I agree I'd be more impressed to see what DVD's are coming out in Blu Ray since Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros (New Line/HBO) have all announced preliminary HD-DVD releases.

"Some of the biggest reasons why Blu-Ray was the preferred format the ability to play the discs in more devices (PCs, upcoming consoles), backward compatibility with current DVD media and the larger disc capacity the format has over HD-DVD. "

From this it sounds more like hype. from what I understand Blu Ray is not backward compatible because of the different laser whereas HD-DVD can play existing DVD media. I'm still on the fence on this debate but the above qoute really threw me off.

Wake me up when the dust settles.

I don't think you're current on what's going on. Both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are based on blue-lasers, as mentioned in this article from 2003. Both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players will be backwards compatible with DVD.

Whichever can be played on computers and have blanks where you can burn stuff and have the encryption cracked will be the winner.

Who the hell did they survey for this? I doubt they'd get a significant number of informed opinions if they surveyed people from DVD Talk, let alone random consumers.

I'd be surprised if common folks know what Blu-Ray or HD-DVD is.

And let's not forget the fact that um, consumers can't really decide which format they like since they're not available yet.

i dont understand how consumers would have any preference whatsoever. I consider myself knowledgeable in this sort of stuff and i really dont know the difference. From what i understand they are both backwards compatible, and thats all that matters to me.

t would think the only reason why people would want Blu-Ray is that its going to be in the PS3. But even that "regular" consumers may not even know.

They're surveying people about vaporware and then proclaiming the results an "early lead"?

That's a classic. Marketing at its best.


How about they have a survey asking people if they're willing to spend a dime on *either* format knowing that there isn't a unified standard? Wanna see the results of that?

Maybe they assumed Blu-ray meant Ray Ban sunglasses?

I think PS3 being Blu-Ray is a HUGE factor. I think these people surveyed are probably leaning toward Blu-Ray because of PS3. Blu-Ray will already have an installed userbase from millions of gamers.

This survey is utter nonsense. They might as well have polled people on who they plan to vote for in the 2016 presidential election.

HOLOGRAPHIC DISCS NEAR CONSUMER APPS
With handheld platforms targeted
By Paul Sweeting 6/9/2005 Video Business (a Variety Group trade magazine publication)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON--While the Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD camps pound away at each other in the next-generation DVD battle, the next next-generation of storage technology is making rapid strides toward consumer applications.

Holographic disc maker InPhase Technologies (http://www.inphase-tech.com/) is on track to begin selling read-only and read-write versions of its discs by early 2007 and is targeting portable entertainment devices as its first commercial market, InPhase president-CEO Nelson Diaz said last week. The company is already in discussions with major videogame manufacturers about using the technology in handheld game systems, Diaz said.

Another technology developer, Optware (http://www.optware.co.jp/english/), is planning a 2006 rollout of holographic discs and storage devices and is aiming squarely at the home entertainment and digital cinema markets, company founder Hideyoshi Horimai said.

Both companies also have developed low-cost replication and encryption processes for prerecorded holographic media. "We're about 20 times cheaper than Blu-ray per gigabyte of storage," Diaz says. "And it's very difficult to pirate."

Both Diaz and Horimai spoke at a meeting of the DVD Assn. held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology here. The DVDA represents companies involved in DVD production, authoring, mastering and replicating. The NIST is investigating long-term data storage options for government archivists. The advantages of holographic storage over conventional optical technologies such as DVD are very high storage density and high data transfer rates.

InPhase Technology, for instance, is producing prototype quantities of a 2 GB wafer about the size of a postage stamp. The company hopes to be able to push the storage density up to 100 GB within a few years. Single-layer DVDs store 4.5 GB. Single-layer Blu-ray discs are expected to store about 25 GB of data, and HD DVD discs can hold 15 GB per layer. Multi-layer discs can store more. But neither of the high-def DVD formats can pack as much data into as small a space as InPhase's system, making the technology highly suitable for portable uses.

"I don't think holographic storage will take over the business of distributing movies for the major studios, but there are some applications that the blue-laser formats just can't do, like movies on a cell phone or handheld games," Diaz said.

Unlike conventional optical discs, which store data bit-by-bit, a holographic recorder essentially takes a photograph of an entire field of data--1.2 million bits per pulse of light in InPhase's case. The entire field, or "page" is then stored together in a single spot on the disc or wafer. Multiple pages can be stacked up in the same spot by slightly shifting the angle of the laser beam.

Such "volumetric" storage, using the full thickness of the disc rather than just the surface, allows more data to be packed into the same area. As the discs are read back the same way, data transfer rates are much higher than with conventional optical media. Instead of each light pulse conveying a single bit of data, each pulse conveys 1.2 million bits. Optware says its Holographic Versatile Discs can achieve data transfer rates up to 20 MB-per-second, about 10 times faster than today's DVDs. Higher data transfer rates improve overall image quality and are critical for the high-intensity graphics found in videogames.

Holographic technology itself has been around for many years. The problem has always been finding a stable and cost-effective medium to store the images. InPhase, a 1999 spin-off of Bell Labs, developed a new type of photo-sensitive polymer than can be easily fashioned into discs, wafers and other forms. Optware used InPhase technology to develop 300 GB discs that are the same size as conventional DVDs.

Another advantage of the technology is that, apart from the storage media, it is relatively inexpensive to deploy. InPhase's holographic recorders are made almost entirely from off-the-shelf parts, including the same red-laser diodes used in current DVD players and the same CCD image detectors used in digital cameras. "A 40 GB [playback] device could be under $100 retail to start," Diaz said.



OptWare's HVD:

http://www.optware.co.jp/english/what_040823.htm

Frankie Munez / Zorf from Ogg.

Ha! I was reading about this on AVs. This survey was taken by the BDA!
http://www.blu-ray.com/

Blue-Ray dvds hold more per disc than HD and that sounds like the better bet given how many TV series there are and how popular it is right now.

I am thinking less and less that the PS3 is going to be the sell through hit that the PS2 was. Prices are rumored at $400-$500 for this machine. The market has sort of shown that $300 is the maximium that people will pay. Sega Saturn was out first (barely) but had a price tag $150 more than the PSX. Same will happen with PS3 and XB2. The "winner" in the next gen of gaming is hardly decided yet. I am not so sure that they will hit 1M units for quite a while.