A New DVD Format War
Just when you thought it was safe to buy a nice new all-singing all dancing DVD player/recorder, along comes a new format war to add to an already confusing marketplace.Once the original DVD standard settled down, DVD players quickly became one of the most successful consumer items of all time. The new format revitalised the home entertainment market, and hardware manufacturers benefited both directly and indirectly, as enthusiasts clamoured to buy bigger and better televisions and sound equipment to get the best from their new DVD players.Then came recordable DVD, but the problem, as is so often the case, was that there were a number of different recording standards, all of them incompatible. It was just like Betamax versus VHS all over again. Now low-cost multi-format recorders supporting all the standards are hitting the streets, the recording problem is becoming less of an issue, and so one could be forgiven for thinking that's the end of the format wars.But technology has a habit of advancing at a relentless pace, and now a new battle is set to commence. The hi-tech companies are fighting it out to establish the standard for next-generation "high capacity" DVDs.
Higher capacities will allow for even better picture and sound quality than the existing standard, and will become more popular as high definition televisions really start to take off.There are two competing high capacity DVD technologies, HD-DVD (High Definition DVD) and Blu-Ray. HD-DVD works by using multiple layers on a single disk, and its main advantage is its low production costs. Blu-Ray is technically superior ? it uses blue laser light instead of the red light used by existing players. This blue light has a smaller wavelength, and so the pits that it creates on the surface of the DVD to encode the data, are smaller. Smaller pits means more pits in the same space, which means higher capacity.
Blu-Ray can store more information than HD-DVD, but presently is more expensive to implement. When Blu-Ray is combined with the multi-layering technology behind the competing format, it will see capacities rise to as much as 200 Gigabytes. Existing DVDs hold only 4.7 Gigabytes.The battle will most likely be won by the format that gets the most support from the big Hollywood studios ? nobody is going to opt for a DVD standard with a small catalogue of titles. With Blu-Ray being backed by the likes of Hitachi, HP, and Sony (who own MGM studios), it would appear to have the edge. Hollywood however, is remaining non-committal, afraid of backing a losing horse.
For now then at least, the formats are caught in something of a chicken-and-egg situation. As has been the case so many times in the past, only time will tell which format will come out on top..
Roger Faraway is the Technical Director at http://www.dvdgopher.co.uk - a popular site offering more than 25,000 DVD titles and a large selection of DVD hardware.roger@dvdgopher.co.ukHemi Heaven Video Now Available
Langley, B.C. (ContentDesk) March 31, 2006 -- Horsepower Heaven Videos has just released the newest Drag Racing DVD. Hemi Heaven features Hemi-powered Super Stock cars in action during three 2005 west coast Hemi Super Stock Shootouts at Las Vegas, Seattle and Mission Canada.Producer Larry Pfister has been producing this genre of drag race videos since 2001 when the highly acclaimed Four Days in May became the quintessential video on these race cars. Since that video everybody asked me to do something just for the Hemi cars says Pfister. In 2005 we shot the three biggest Hemi Shootouts on the west coast and put them all together on one video .In addition to the Super Stock Hemis is exclusive coverage from the 2005 MOPARS at the STRIP.
Dubbed the Wildest Mopar Party in the West, this gathering of Chrysler enthusiasts and their vehicles shows everything from 300 m.p.h. Top Fuel Dragsters to million dollar restored muscle cars of the seventies.A two DVD package Hemi Heaven...
Hemi Heaven Video Now Available
Dvd > Hemi Heaven Video Now Available
Where To Look For Dirt-Cheap DVD Software. Part VIII
DVD95Copy - $45http://www.deprice.com/dvd95copy.htmCopy any DVD to a regular DVD recordable (DVD?R(W)(DL)) with just 1 click - keeps all of the original DVD features like menus, different audio streams and subtitles. Data DVDs can be copied aswell.Added DVD+R DL (double layer / dual layer) support. Dvd95Copy is now the worlds first tool that makes an exact (real 1:1) copy of a DVD. Now you can copy data DVDs as well.With Dvd95Copy you can backup your DVDs to one DVD?R(W)(DL) without the need to split it. Even episodic DVDs and those containing a full and widescreen version can be backed up to one recordable.You can choose between 4 different copy modes: * Full-Disc copy-mode: This will copy an entire movie-DVD to one regular DVD recordable DVD?R(W)(DL).
* Movie only copy-mode: This will copy the main movie only to one regular DVD recordable DVD?R(W). * Split to 2 DVD copy-mode: This will split a movie-DVD into 2 discs so it will fit to two regular DVD recordables. * 1:1 copy-mode:...
Where To Look For Dirt-Cheap DVD Software. Part VIII
Dvd > Where To Look For Dirt-Cheap DVD Software. Part VIII
Interested in Improving the Sound of Your Stereo? Consider Records
Introduced in 1982, the compact disc was intended to provide better sound than the 40-year-old long-play record album, popularly known as the LP. Using a laser rather than a diamond needle for playback the compact disc was smaller, more convenient to use, and less susceptible to damage than the LP. A bonus was that the format was said to offer "perfect sound forever." "Forever" isn't that long these days; improvements in digital sound have come along in the last twenty years and the music industry introduced two new formats this decade that are designed to improve upon the "perfect" sound of the compact disc. Those formats are the Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) and DVD Audio (DVD-A.) Over the years, various audio publications have criticized the sound of compact discs, describing the sound as "harsh", "brittle" or "sterile" compared to the sound of the LP. After years of research, SACD and DVD-A were introduced several years ago and introduced sound that was said to be cleaner and more...
Interested in Improving the Sound of Your Stereo? Consider Records
Dvd > Interested in Improving the Sound of Your Stereo? Consider Records
Card Shark Uses Skills to Inform, Not Exploit Casino Consultant Demonstrates Cheating Techniques to Casinos, Law Enforcement Agencies, and Now the General Public
Florence, KY (ContentDesk) January 7, 2006 -- Beginning Sunday, January 8, its Vegas Week on the Travel Channel. Cheats & Scams 2 features Sal Piacente, an expert on casino scams. This airs in the advent of the (January 24) release of Poker Cheats Exposed, produced by Pocket Aces, LLC. The 2-1/2 hour DVD program features Piacente revealing the methods/devices used by professional card sharks to fleece unwitting poker players and offers advice to guard against them.According to Card Shark Media, an estimated 60 million people in the U.S. play poker in casinos or at home or watch poker on television.
Poker is so hot right now, especially with the young crowd. Theyre real vulnerable (to card sharks), Piacente comments. Casinos and card clubs dont have a vested interest in poker like they do other games. No matter who wins, they collect the rake. Its up to the players to protect themselves and thats where I come in. For over two decades, Piacente has been a consultant to...
Card Shark Uses Skills to Inform, Not Exploit Casino Consultant Demonstrates Cheating Techniques to Casinos, Law Enforcement Agencies, and Now the General Public
Dvd > Card Shark Uses Skills to Inform, Not Exploit Casino Consultant Demonstrates Cheating Techniques to Casinos, Law Enforcement Agencies, and Now the General Public
Backup Platinum 2.0 ? Backup to CD-RW, DVD, USB, FTP or LAN
(ContentDesk) November 24, 2004 --
SoftLogica LLC announced Backup Platinum 2.0, an easy-to-use yet powerful backup program designed for Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003.It makes a reserve copy of your critical data virtually to any type of storage media: hard or USB drives, CD-R/W or DVD +/- R/RW media, FTP server or Local Area Network. Built-in CD/DVD engine allows you to erase the rewritable disk before burning and automatically split large backups to several parts using disk spanning.128-bit encryption with Blowfish and multichoice ZIP compression on the fly are available to keep your backups small and secure.
The program uses "Wizard" approach to define the backup set: what, where, how, and when to backup. So you become familiar with its features and may start using it in a few minutes after the installation.Backup Platinum is based on multi-threaded file-processing engine and creates detailed logs of all operations. It comes with a flexible scheduler...
Dvd > Backup Platinum 2.0 ? Backup to CD-RW, DVD, USB, FTP or LAN
Downloadable Videos to Enhance Game Guide Industry
Game Xplain has announced the launch of a new series of low cost, downloadable, game guide videos. These videos demonstrate to the viewer, both visually and audibly, strategies for the most popular video games.Prior to Game Xplain's launch, gamers typically purchased expensive guides or tried to make sense of complicated FAQs for help. Game Xplain's narrated videos ensure an accurate and entertaining portrayal of strategies that are priced with the average gamer in mind. "Game Xplain strives to redefine the game guide industry," said Andre Segers, founder of Game Xplain,"?and our latest venture - low cost, downloadable videos to provide the clearest strategies available anywhere - advances this objective."About Game XplainGame Xplain, founded in 2003 by Andre Segers, is the only gaming website solely dedicated to video strategies. Before transitioning to its new downloadable video format, the company produced DVD game guides that Planet GameCube called "a great product with impressive...
Downloadable Videos to Enhance Game Guide Industry
Dvd > Downloadable Videos to Enhance Game Guide Industry
photo printer Dvd A New DVD Format War
Wedding Rings - How to Choose a Perfect Ring
Selecting a wedding ring isn't as easy as it looks. You are going to wear your ring for the rest of your life, so it should be something you won't get tired of in a couple years. You will have to look at and try on many different rings before you come to a final decision and, being an intelligent consumer, you should know what your options are.First, you will have to decide how much you can afford to spend. Then, with your budget in mind, choose the material you want your ring made of.Wedding...
Dvd gold ring A New DVD Format War
Dvd > Wedding Rings - How to Choose a Perfect Ring