Hollywood & Bollywood on Blu-ray Disc vs HD DVD

As the tussle between Blu-ray Disc vs HD DVD hots up Bollywood has entered the fray. Eros International, the leading Bollywood company released ‘Heyy Babyy’, directed by Sajid Khan, on Blu-ray high-definition disc format in March 2008. It's the first-ever Bollywood offering on Blu-ray that has been released globally. At the moment, it seems Blu-ray is winning the PR battle in Hollywood as well as Bollywood.

So what's this controversy?

Blu-ray Disc (BD) is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data.

The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codecs offers consumers a great HD experience.

PC World says: Regardless of which format wins, an even newer optical technology is already waiting in the wings, ready to douse cold water on the victory parade. Backers of the Holographic Versatile Disc announced this month that the format will support mammoth 200GB media when it launches in the fourth quarter of this year--posing a direct challenge to blue-laser-based storage formats like Blu-ray and HD-DVD.

The Times says: As many as 20 companies currently part of the HD-DVD Promotion Group could be preparing to remove their names from the alliance’s 130-strong membership list, The Times has learned. Paramount emerged as the latest major Hollywood studio poised to switch allegiances.

Blu-ray is currently supported by more than 180 of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer, recording media, video game and music companies. The format also has broad support from the major movie studios as a successor to today's DVD format.

In fact, seven of the eight major movie studios (Disney, Fox, Warner, Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate and MGM) have released movies in the Blu-ray format and six of them (Disney, Fox, Sony, Warner, Lionsgate and MGM) are releasing their movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format. Many studios have also announced that they will begin releasing new feature films on Blu-ray Disc day-and-date with DVD, as well as a continuous slate of catalogue titles every month.

Indian Film Company Eros’ slate of Blu-ray Disc releases has begun with Director Sajid Khan’s ‘Heyy Babyy’ starring Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Fardeen Khan and Boman Irani, followed by superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s 'Om Shanti Om'.

“The proven Blu-ray technology has allowed us to take our films to new heights, fully utilizing the larger capacity and interactive capabilities for an incredible all-new consumer experience," commented Sunil Lulla, President of Eros International India.

Physically, both Blu-ray and HD-DVD media are dye-based optical discs, similar in size to today's DVDs. Both formats pack more data on the disc by relying on a blue-laser diode instead of the red laser used in current DVD technology. The blue laser has a shorter wavelength, which allows it to read more data packed into a given space.

Although, according to experts, neither Blu-ray Discs nor HD-DVD media will work on existing DVD players, both formats incorporate laser designs that make them backward compatible, so devices based on them will play back current DVDs and audio CDs. And both formats will use the same video compression schemes: MPEG-2, H.264, and VC-1. This development evens the playing field with respect to the video codec, at least.

While both formats will continue to support existing audio formats, advanced audio codecs are still being nailed down, as is the copy-protection scheme.

So which format has the advantage? As its name implies, HD-DVD is more closely related to its predecessor--but only in that the disc's physical structure is virtually identical to that of current DVD media. Proponents of the HD-DVD format point to that trait as an asset that makes ramping up production more seamless than doing so with Blu-ray Discs.