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MEDIA CENTER PC NEWSOctober 4th 2005 Intel and Microsoft Take Stance On Blu-Ray and HD-DVD
The two companies made their statements at the same time, but the reasons behind the move had different emphases. Intel, which is famously neutral about third-party technology, surprised everyone at the weekend by announcing it would be supporting HD-DVD at the expense of Blu-Ray. The decision was apparently a last minute one and hinged around a number of issues, notably that of copy-protection. Intel's forthcoming Viiv platform is aimed at placing Intel chips at the centre of the digital home. One part of that vision is the mandatory managed copy - storing legally purchased movies on a home server for streaming around the home. Intel claims that HD-DVD has embraced the idea, whereas Blu-Ray has not come up with any positive suggestions as to its implementation. Speaking at a new conference, Donald McDonald of Intel's Digital Home Group said “The reason we provided support for HD-DVD is that basically it has committed to several features. Specifically, the mandatory managed copy.” However, the olive branch was still extended to Blu-Ray in the hope that they decided to have a change of heart. “We have not heard an unequivocal statement from the Blu-Ray camp to say that you’ll be able to have mandatory managed copy without any kind of complications and any kind of issues. So we could be thrilled if they were able to deliver a similar commitment,” McDonald said. “The opportunity is for Blu-Ray to unequivocally commit to having exactly the same consumer friendly features.” Microsoft included the mandatory managed copy in their list of reasons for supporting Blu-Ray, but they also threw in a few others for good measure.... Support for hybrid discs - HD-DVD discs can hold an HD-DVD and a DVD version, effectively future-proofing the purchase of a disc. Low production costs - A long held belief that HD-DVD production would be cheaper than Blu-Ray was confirmed with the news that two major Chinese disc manufacturers are to convert their production lines to HD-DVD. Low disc replication costs - DVD production lines can be converted to HD-DVD with only minimal investment. Disc storage capacity – Microsoft believes that HD-DVD has made greater progress in getting high-capacity discs out of the lab and into the real world. Interactivity standards – HD-DVD interactivity is XML based, Blu-Ray uses Sun-s Java Mobile Edition which Microsoft reckons the major studios oppose. Needless to say, Blu-Ray has issued a firm rebuttal of these complaints and has even had some support from companies normally loyal to Microsoft. Both Dell and HP issued a statement countering the "inaccurate information" given by Microsoft and Intel about the relative merits of the two formats."From a PC end-user perspective, Blu-Ray is a superior format. It offers 67-150 per cent more storage capacity, higher transfer rates, slim-line notebook compatibility, broadband connectivity and a proven interactive layer with BD-Java," said Maureen Weber, general manager of HP's Personal Storage Business. "The technical merits and consumer benefits of Blu-Ray Disc make it the ideal solution for HP's customers."The issue of the mandatory managed copy is an important one and it is interesting to see the wishes of the home media center enthusiasts being cited as a core distinction between the two formats. Blu-Ray like to think of their format as having superior copy-protection, which appeals to the studios and disc manufacturers. However, HD-DVD has the forethought to see how big the home media server is going to become in the next few years and for that we salute them. |
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