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 December 1, 2007 The Blue Laser Struggle Continues The developers of the HD DVD and Blu-ray formats, based on blue-laser technology, hope to eventually displace the widely accepted SD DVD format, which is based on red lasers. While red-laser players can play back 480-line, progressively scanned video frames from optical media, the shorter wavelength of the light beams produced by blue lasers allows such players to track more densely packed optical signals: high-definition frames composed of 720 or 1080 lines, scanned progressively or interlaced. A few months ago I offered a list of the blue-laser disc players then available to consumers. Blue-laser players are now in their second and third generation, and not much has changed since then. HD DVD players continue to cost less than Blu-ray machines, but even the latter are beginning to appear for as little as $500. HD DVD arguably got a big leg up when DreamWorks and Paramount announced their exclusive commitments to the format. However, few articles mention the price Toshiba paid for the studios’ loyalty. Further complicating things are continuing changes in the way blue-laser players operate. For instance, the Blu-ray format has four Profiles, two of which (1.0 and 1.1) are being used in players currently on the market. Each Profile applies updates to the core operation of Blu-ray players; for example, persistent memory storage and Internet connectivity. This means that it’s possible that media mastered in one Profile might not work correctly in a player with a different Profile. For example, 1.1 discs with updated menus can’t be played on Profile 1.0 players, such as Sony’s PlayStation 3. To be fair, no studio has yet released a Profile 1.1 disc. The question is whether it makes sense to buy the current iteration of Sony’s PS3 or wait for the Profile 1.1/2.0 version. HD DVD has its own quirks. Run out and buy an HDMI 1.3-compliant receiver (e.g., Yamaha’s RX-V3800) to decode the Dolby TrueHD soundtracks played by your Toshiba HD-A30 HD DVD player, and you may be disappointed to find that the HDMI 1.3-compliant A30 doesn’t support high-bit-rate audio over HDMI. You need the HBR option, which is available on the more expensive Toshiba HD-A35. Then there’s the looming threat of HDMI-CEC. It’s easiest to think of Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) as an expansion of what’s offered by RS-232 and other proprietary control protocols, such as Mitsubishi’s NetCommand: remote-control codes via a cable rather than an infrared beam. The problem is that HDMI-CEC is already shaping up to be yet another protocol that doesn’t work with all manufacturers’ products. So where is the blue laser now, after more than a year in the market? Let’s take a look at what each camp has recently released in an effort to gain your loyalty. Blu-ray The biggest Blu-ray news comes from Samsung and LG. Both companies will have dual-format players in their lines (the second generation for LG), while Samsung is driving prices down with their BD-P1400 Blu-ray model (under $500). Could it be that companies are silently acknowledging the format war may never end? Samsung BD-P1400 ($499): This younger sibling of the excellent BD-P1200 saves you money by deleting the latter’s excellent Silicon Optix Reon processor, which means your SD DVDs won’t get first-class treatment. One feature the BD-P1400 and BD-P1200 share is Samsung’s Anynet interface, the company’s branded version of HDMI-CEC, which allows a device to be operated remotely via HDMI. CEC is simply an update of what RS-232 offers for pre-HDMI devices. Watch out, though; there’s already evidence that CEC will foster proprietary control within a single manufacturer’s product line, in an effort to get consumers to buy only products made by that manufacturer. Samsung BD-P2400 (estimated $599): Rumors abound that Samsung will release this counterpart to the BD-P1400. But the question remains: what would the BD-P2400 offer that the BD-P1200 doesn’t? I don’t think Samsung themselves know yet, which is probably why the BD-P2400 hasn’t been launched. Some sources indicate that Samsung may hold off and release the BD-P2400 as a Profile 2.0 player. Sony BDP-S500 ($699): Glance at Sony’s comparison of their BDP-S300, BDP-500, and BDP-2000ES Blu-ray players and you’d be hard-pressed to find any major differences except support of Dolby TrueHD, and improved support of DTS and Dolby Digital core layers on compatible media over HDMI. Most hi-def media formats support a hi-def audio codec such as Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby TrueHD, as well as a "core" layer that makes them compatible with older, pre-HDMI 1.3 receivers that don’t support the new HD audio formats. The BDP-S500 also supports the xvColor system, Sony’s version of xvYCC. See the BDP-S2000ES, below, for more about xvColor.
Pioneer BDP-95FD ($999): The only apparent difference between the BDP-95FD and its predecessor, the BDP-94FD, is the former’s HDMI 1.3a capability, which supports Dolby Digital Plus and TrueHD. Pioneer’s Home Media Gallery and top-shelf build quality continue to be the greatest differences over the less expensive competition. Panasonic DMP-BD30K ($499): Panasonic finally gives the stalwart DMP-BD10 a younger sibling that seems to possess all of the older player’s virtues as well as Final Standard Profile (aka Blu-ray Profile 1.1), which supports a separate audio and video processor for true picture-in-picture capability. Provided the Blu-ray media supports it, PIP can enhance the content of DVD extras such as film commentaries, and real-time peeks into the production process while you’re watching the film -- but again, only if the media supports it. Price-wise, the BD30K does present an advantage over the BD10, but if you already own a BD10, there’s no compelling reason to upgrade. HD DVD Toshiba continues to push out new HD DVD models every few months. Their current 3 series offers more streamlined cosmetics and . . . well, it’s hard to say what’s new about the Toshibas. The good news is that the HD DVD technology seems to be maturing an order of magnitude faster than that of its Blu-ray counterparts. I suppose that’s the benefit of having only a single major manufacturer, rather than several, focusing on this format. Toshiba HD-A3 ($299): As far as I can tell, the HD-A3 is similar, if not identical to, the HD-A2. Toshiba’s entry-level model, it supports resolutions up to 1080i. Toshiba also lists support for the newer HD audio codecs, such as Dolby TrueHD. However, I have a hard time believing that -- the HD-A35’s HBR option unlocks high-bit-rate content such as Dolby TrueHD over HDMI. Several calls to Toshiba shed no light on the subject. Improved Internet capability is also a benefit, though there’s not yet a lot of downloadable material to choose from. Toshiba HD-A30 ($399): The HD-A30 is basically the HD-A3 with 1080p output.
Universal players: Blu-ray and HD DVD LG BH200 ($999): HDMI 1.3, improved iHD support, HD DVD playback, and a better-looking chassis sum up LG’s updates of their Super-Blu universal player. However, reports of problematic CD playback and lack of multichannel TrueHD support, and no Silicon Optix HQV, make this a less attractive alternative to Samsung’s upcoming BD-U5000. Then again, the Samsung is still MIA. Samsung BD-U5000 (ca. $999): Samsung’s answer to LG’s BH100 and BH200 universal blue-laser players has reportedly been delayed until December. Unlike older universal players, the Samsung will use Broadcom’s BCM7440, a new processing chip that allegedly has better HD DVD support, which should mean more reliable playback of HD DVDs and support of iHD menu features. Reported but not confirmed are rumors that the Samsung will support Blu-ray Profile 1.1 and offer full support of Dolby TrueHD via HDMI. Silicon Optix HQV Reon SD/HD conversion will also, reportedly, be part of this impressive package. But until the player is actually on store shelves . . . The stalemate continues . . . You might think the winner of this war will be the format for which the most players are sold. In fact, a recent move by Wal-Mart and Best Buy pushed over 90,000 Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD machines into consumers’ hands for less than $100 apiece. But player sales will amount to nothing if HD discs don’t sell. Over the past few months, Blu-ray has joined HD DVD in offering free movies with the purchase of a player. The hope is that customers will get hooked on the new format and keep buying. But market research shows that most of the nation’s TVs are still hooked up to standard-definition cable sources -- who’s to say that an HD DVD player won’t be relegated to the playback of SD DVDs? To the uneducated, a $100 HD DVD player is little more than a glorified red-laser player, especially if the consumer bought on the basis of price. And to the untrained eye, SD DVDs look pretty good when played on an HD DVD player. ...Anthony Di Marco
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Sony BDP-S2000ES ($1299): Sony’s
Elevated Standard (ES) products typically offer better build quality and hand-picked,
close-tolerance electronic components. As far as I can tell, these are the only
differences between the BDP-S2000ES and the half-as-expensive BDP-S500. If your display
supports xvYCC (basically, extended color response), you may be interested in the
BDP-S2000’s xvColor support. Then again, you’d also require media that contains
the extended color info, and would need to be sure that Sony hasn’t made any changes
to the xvYCC standard that would make xvColor incompatible with non-Sony displays.
Toshiba HD-A35 ($499): The
HD-A35, currently the top of Toshiba’s series 3, includes 1080p output and True Color
support (provided you have a compatible display). And High Bit Rate turns on the newer
hi-def audio formats, such as Dolby TrueHD. But for $599 you can probably find an HD-XA2,
which, with the latest software update, supports everything the HD-A35 does, has better
build quality, and a Silicon Optix video processor for very nice video upconversion of
SD DVDs.